# Please help! Eye problems



## griffinthegolden (Nov 15, 2018)

Hello all. We are new to the forum. Just came here looking for some advice. Griffin is experiencing eye problems. He has done this is the past but not nearly as bad. It has been going on since this morning. He has had issues like this in the past but has never lasted long at all. The picture below is when his eyes were really bad today. They seem to go back and forth. He went to the vet this morning and was given antibiotic cream to put directly into his eyes. It seems to dry his eyes out. i would think he needs something to lubricate his eye instead. Any ideas on whats going? All help would be greatly appreciated. Will probably call an eye specialist tomorrow if he is not greatly improved.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Please don't wait till tomorrow, make the call for an eye specialist NOW. Looking at those eyes and imagining how inflamed, painful and/or itchy they must be is absolutely heartbreaking. PLEASE go to the emergency vet if you don't know what else to do.


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## TheLittleDuke (Nov 11, 2018)

I am sorry for your dog's situation. It looks like it is a 'cherry eye', or prolapsed third eyelid - but I could be wrong.

Editing this just to add - I do think you should take Griffin to a vet asap. If it is cherry eye then it can be painful and serious. The sooner you get a diagnosis the better.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Your poor guy.......

I would take him to an E Vet as soon as possible. He probably should be seen by specialist- a Vet ophthalmologist, but you may need a referral and there could be a wait for an appt. 

Are you close to a Vet School Clinic? If you are, call them to see if you can get in right away. Most of them have Emergency Vet services at the clinics.


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

I would get to a veterinary opthamalogist ASAP. Eyes are nothing to mess around with. It could be something simple, like Horner’s, with an easy fix, or it could be something much more serious, requiring surgery.

Even if he is better, you need to get to the bottom of this to find out why it is happening and what can be done to prevent future occurrences.

Poor baby


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## griffinthegolden (Nov 15, 2018)

We ended up taking Griffin back to the vet last night. His eyes seem to be fine when he is occupied but when he lays down to relax the third eyelid comes up and his eyes seem to roll back. The vet did a tear test and determined that he wasn't producing tears like he should. After using the eye drops we were given his eyes are showing no improvement. I am not convinced that it is just dry eyes. Any more ideas? After reading online it looks to me like it could be Horner's. Our vet did not even mention this as a possible diagnosis. He goes back to the vet tonight to see if his tear production is improving. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

Go to a veterinary opthamalogist, sooner rather than later. My very respected vet told me that my girl had something in her eye and proceeded to try to remove it. It didn’t work. 

I immediately went to the opthamalogist, who diagnosed her with Horner’s in the first 5 minutes of seeing her. My vet didn’t think of it because my girl was only 5, and he thought she was too young for it. Her Horner’s was caused by inflammation of a nerve in her neck, probably caused by her older puppy grabbing onto and hanging from her neck.

Regular vets aren’t specialists, and eyes are nothing to mess with.


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## drew510 (Sep 12, 2017)

Tahnee GR said:


> *Go to a veterinary ophthalmologist*, sooner rather than later. My very respected vet told me that my girl had something in her eye and proceeded to try to remove it. It didn’t work.
> 
> *Regular vets aren’t specialists, and eyes are nothing to mess with.*


Bolded for emphasis. I am a little shocked your vet hasn't already suggested an ophthalmologist.


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## Maggie'sVoice (Apr 4, 2018)

If it is Horner's you might want to also have the thyroid checked. 
"A correlation has been shown between Horner's syndrome and hypothyroidism in dogs; therefore, it may be wise to have your pet tested for hypothyroidism, as well." From...
https://bluepearlvet.com/medical-articles/horners-syndrome/


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## MyMaggieGirl (Nov 12, 2008)

Go to a veterinary eye doctor ASAP!!! as the others have said. They eyes are nothing to mess with. No matter how much you trust and like your vet, your pup should be seen by a specialist NOW. That looks so painful.


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## puddles everywhere (May 13, 2016)

This looks very painful and so sorry this is happening. FWIW my puppy came home with a runny left eye, I went to 3 different vets telling me there was no problem and all was well. At 15 months I finally took to the opthamologist and it took about 3 minutes to find the issue. So nothing against the regular vets but they are not equipped to handle golden eyes. I could have saved a bundle by just going there first and my puppies eye just had drainage, nothing like what you are looking at.


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## TheLittleDuke (Nov 11, 2018)

If you are suspecting it is Horner's Syndrome then you should take Griffin to a neurologist asap.


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## littlehouse (Sep 19, 2018)

Here's a really good explanation of Horner's syndrome: Horne' Syndrome - Northwest Animal Eye Specialists - Kirkland, WA


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## MBach (Jan 28, 2018)

Another eye condition to be aware of with Goldens is uveitis, which is an inflammation of the uvea, the layer of the eye that includes the iris and other elements. Humans can get this, too. Uveitis is really the symptom, and the root causes can range from local physical trauma to one of the systemic illnesses that cause general inflammation in the body--e.g., diabetes or some types of arthritis. Goldens are susceptible to uveitis. (This is why some breeders advertise their pups as eyes certified.) My eldest Golden was diagnosed with this a couple of years ago, and looking back, I now think it had been going on for a while, off and on. I would say her eyes looked like your sweetie's at times. Also, in extreme weather--either very warm or very cold, when the outside temperature is extremely different from that inside the house, I notice her eyes will run a little when she comes in from outside, and the vet explained that big sudden changes in temperature cause pressure changes and leakage. My vet was able to diagnose the uveitis, but consulted with an ophthalmologist at several points to develop a treatment plan. In her case, at this point it only involves eye drops which relieve the pressure in the eyes. Without drops, dogs with this condition can develop chronic migraines. Just one more possible explanation you might ask about. I hope (((Griffin))) feels better soon, and I know that will make you feel better. Wishing Griffin and you the best.


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## MBach (Jan 28, 2018)

P.S. I forgot to mention... Uveitis in dogs can also be a repercussion of Lyme Disease and other tick-borne diseases. My dog has tested positive for Lyme and undergone long-term antibiotic therapy for it, but we don't really know when she first contracted it. So if you live in an area where any of the tick-borne diseases, such as Lyme, Ehrlichia, Rocky Mtn. Spotted Fever, and so forth, are prevalent, you might want to have him tested for those.


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## TheLittleDuke (Nov 11, 2018)

Hi OP, how's Griffin going? Your silence worries me. Hope he's fine! 

Best wishes


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## Zeke1 (Nov 20, 2015)

TheLittleDuke said:


> Hi OP, how's Griffin going? Your silence worries me. Hope he's fine!
> 
> 
> 
> Best wishes




Bumping up


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## Brodys Rockies (Jan 8, 2019)

*Sulfa based antibiotic???*

*I agree with all the other post regarding taking him back to your vet or an eye specialist ASAP.* 

I do have a question, though... *Was Griffin on a sulfa antibiotic just prior to his eyes developing this issue???*

We had a similar experience with our last Golden, River. He developed a hot spot that became infected, so the vet prescribed a commonly used sulfa-based antibiotic as treatment. The antibiotic label had a warning in the small print...sulfa based antibiotics can cause a reaction to the tear ducts though this is a rare occurrence. Sure enough, the antibiotic attacked River's tear ducts causing him to have no tears, or what is commonly referred to as dry eyes. Not having tears to lubricate his eyes caused his eyes to become inflamed and look similar to the way your dog's eyes look. This is a painful disorder than in some cases is irreversible. 

Fortunately, our vet then prescribed having a specific compound drug made at a pharmacy that could develop a compound drug cream to aid in healing his tear ducts, combined with and a product then that was called Real Tears, artificial tear drops to lubricate his eyes. Slowly but surely his tear ducts began to heal, thus producing tears once again. In time his tear ducts began functioning properly and River experienced a full recovery. Your vet can do a tear test to determine if your dog's tear ducts are producing tears. At the time of the tear test done on River, his tear ducts were producing zero tears.

I'm not suggesting this is what Griffin is experiencing but thought I would mention. If Griffin was not on a sulfa-based antibiotic, then this is more than likely a non-issue. Hope Griffin recovers. His eyes look like what he is experiencing is no doubt painful. *Once again, get him back to the vet or an eye specialist as soon as possible.*

*Editing to make a suggestion*...It wouldn't hurt to ask the vet or eye specialist to conduct a tear test to see if Griffin's tear ducts are producing tears...


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## Champ (Jun 10, 2006)

Not sure if you are checking this post anymore, but just in case, how old is your dog? The same exact thing would happen to my Golden when he was under 1 year old. It happened at least once a month (sunken eyes, red, swollen conjunctiva, third eyelid coming up over the eye). It looked very scary and painful, not just a normal allergy. The only thing the ophthalmologist could find is he had ectropion (loose eyelids) and Follicular Conjunctivitis. We used steroid drops for his eyes for a while, I removed chicken from his diet at the suggestion of his breeder (and switched the brand too. not sure if this had anything to do with the improvement or if it was just a coincidence, but I stay away from chicken based kibble just in case), and after multiple trips to the vet to get more anti-inflammatory drops for each flare up, it seems he eventually outgrew it after he was about a year old. He has not had any more issues for over a year now. I don't exactly have a clear answer as the vets are even a bit puzzled as to what it was. Apparently follicular conjunctivitis typically happens in young dogs and goes away eventually, so maybe that is what it was.

Here is some more information on this condition: https://animaleyecare.com/common-eye-diseases/follicular-conjunctivitis/

Hope this can help someone, even if the OP doesn't come back!


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## Bassem (Mar 21, 2021)

griffinthegolden said:


> Hello all. We are new to the forum. Just came here looking for some advice. Griffin is experiencing eye problems. He has done this is the past but not nearly as bad. It has been going on since this morning. He has had issues like this in the past but has never lasted long at all. The picture below is when his eyes were really bad today. They seem to go back and forth. He went to the vet this morning and was given antibiotic cream to put directly into his eyes. It seems to dry his eyes out. i would think he needs something to lubricate his eye instead. Any ideas on whats going? All help would be greatly appreciated. Will probably call an eye specialist tomorrow if he is not greatly improved.





griffinthegolden said:


> Hello all. We are new to the forum. Just came here looking for some advice. Griffin is experiencing eye problems. He has done this is the past but not nearly as bad. It has been going on since this morning. He has had issues like this in the past but has never lasted long at all. The picture below is when his eyes were really bad today. They seem to go back and forth. He went to the vet this morning and was given antibiotic cream to put directly into his eyes. It seems to dry his eyes out. i would think he needs something to lubricate his eye instead. Any ideas on whats going? All help would be greatly appreciated. Will probably call an eye specialist tomorrow if he is not greatly improved.


My golden retriever has the same issue , please let me know what happened and what the vet said at the end , where I live you can only find few vets and not professional, I appreciate your response


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