# Eye Infection?



## Braccarius (Sep 8, 2008)

Came home from work today and saw some gunk on Harley's eye so I cleaned it off and didn't think much of it. 30 minutes later... he had more gunk there so I grabbed him and looked at his eye. The white portion I could see is slightly pink (not alarmingly so) but his eye is rather watery. The gunk is also white-ish in colour. Since he's due for his shots I'm probably going to book him for an appointment shortly anyways, but I was wondering if I should make them see him tomorrow instead.

Suggestions???


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## Braccarius (Sep 8, 2008)

Checked him this morning and there's nothing.... nothing but paranoia on my part.


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## TomCat'sGirl (Aug 27, 2010)

I just took Cash in the "white" part of his eye very red he had gunk in his eye which was green. They gave him eye drops and he's doing fine.


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## arcane (Sep 18, 2007)

do warm washes with baby wash cloths ..is there any opthalmologists in your area if this continues? I know my Demi was just examined early Nov and she has deep set eyes, she has this on occasion..nothing going on with her but a dust or debris irritation but better to be safe than sorry ....Boston daughter


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## Braccarius (Sep 8, 2008)

arcane said:


> do warm washes with baby wash cloths ..is there any opthalmologists in your area if this continues? I know my Demi was just examined early Nov and she has deep set eyes, she has this on occasion..nothing going on with her but a dust or debris irritaion but better to be safe than sorry ....Boston daughter


No . Closest one is either Barrie or Detroit. Doesn't much matter though, I'd fly him out if I had to..... he's my baby . Booked him an appointment with the vet... so I'll be able to let ya'll know at about 5:00 today LoL.


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## Braccarius (Sep 8, 2008)

uhhhh... so the vet says they can't give him his rabies vaccine if he has an eye infection because his immunities will be reduced.... true or bs?


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## arcane (Sep 18, 2007)

Braccarius said:


> uhhhh... so the vet says they can't give him his rabies vaccine if he has an eye infection because his immunities will be reduced.... true or bs?


is he on the 3 yr protocol? I wouldn't vax if he has any type of infection ...


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## Braccarius (Sep 8, 2008)

arcane said:


> is he on the 3 yr protocol? I wouldn't vax if he has any type of infection ...


Naw he's on the one year protocol. Three year is more convenient, but I like doing a yearly check-up. Guess I'm going back in a few weeks with both dogs LoL


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## arcane (Sep 18, 2007)

Braccarius said:


> Naw he's on the one year protocol. Three year is more convenient, but I like doing a yearly check-up. Guess I'm going back in a few weeks with both dogs LoL


I certainly wouldn't be vaccinating every year  check up yes, pokes no way!


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## Braccarius (Sep 8, 2008)

arcane said:


> I certainly wouldn't be vaccinating every year  check up yes, pokes no way!


Sounds good. They never really gave me an option on the length of time of vaccinations. To be honest, I did not realize there was a 3 year or 1 year until recently (after his last booster). The things you find out along the way....


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## GoldensGirl (Aug 2, 2010)

You probably know about this earlier thread on eye infections: Golden Retrievers : Golden Retriever Dog Forums - View Single Post - The importance of eye exams

I'm adding the reference here so others can find it, too.

Good luck! And Happy Thanksgiving!
Lucy


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## Braccarius (Sep 8, 2008)

GoldensGirl said:


> You probably know about this earlier thread on eye infections: Golden Retrievers : Golden Retriever Dog Forums - View Single Post - The importance of eye exams
> 
> I'm adding the reference here so others can find it, too.
> 
> ...


 
Absolutely agree. Anyone who has a golden over the age of four should always be on the look out for pigmentary uveitis. As Harley is only 2 1/2 I am less inclined to be worried about him having PU as this is a disease the affects mostly seniors. Also, his breeder (Oh heck might as well let the cat out of the bag) Arcane also does CERF's on her breeding stock which gives me more confidence. Should he have been 6 or 7 and having an eye issues I would never have posted this thread and brought him in directly and had his eyes examined.


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## arcane (Sep 18, 2007)

Braccarius said:


> Absolutely agree. Anyone who has a golden over the age of four should always be on the look out for pigmentary uveitis. As Harley is only 2 1/2 I am less inclined to be worried about him having PU as this is a disease the affects mostly seniors. Also, his breeder (Oh heck might as well let the cat out of the bag) Arcane also does CERF's on her breeding stock which gives me more confidence. Should he have been 6 or 7 and having an eye issues I would never have posted this thread and brought him in directly and had his eyes examined.


I have never had a DX of PU..knock on wood! or even a cataract for that matter in my or purchased breeding stock...I recently took Harleys dad Boston ( 5 yrs of age) and 3 of my others for their yearly eye exams ( 2 boston daughters ) mid nov, all perfect  we should keep our *eye* on anything out of the ordinary...and now you can all bash me for not sending in my cerf forms! :


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## Braccarius (Sep 8, 2008)

arcane said:


> I have never had a DX of PU..knock on wood! or even a cataract for that matter in my or purchased breeding stock...I recently took Harleys dad Boston ( 5 yrs of age) and 3 of my others for their yearly eye exams ( 2 boston daughters ) mid nov, all perfect  we should keep our *eye* on anything out of the ordinary...and now you can all bash me for not sending in my cerf forms! :


Its funny you mention catarcts. A friend of my family has a golden... for the life of me I can't remember where from. By 3 or 4 she spent 3 grand an eye so that the dog wouldn't lose her vision... come to think of it I think she got the surgury in Northern Michigan... so there's probably a vetinary opthamologist somewhere around here. I'll ask my vet....


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## GoldensGirl (Aug 2, 2010)

*Veterinary opthalmologists list*

Google is my friend.  Just found this list of veterinary opthalmologists, which appears to be sponsored by the American College of Veterinary Opthalmologists: Ophthalmologist Listings. Not a substitute for recommendation from one's own vet, but perhaps a starting point.

Hope all goes well!

Lucy


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## arcane (Sep 18, 2007)

Braccarius said:


> Its funny you mention catarcts. A friend of my family has a golden... for the life of me I can't remember where from. By 3 or 4 she spent 3 grand an eye so that the dog wouldn't lose her vision... come to think of it I think she got the surgury in Northern Michigan... so there's probably a vetinary opthamologist somewhere around here. I'll ask my vet....


actually I should correct my above comment, I did have 2 girls I purchased from other breeders have punctate cataracts ( which are a breeders option) I returned one and spayed/sold the other to a pet home.


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## Braccarius (Sep 8, 2008)

arcane said:


> actually I should correct my above comment, I did have 2 girls I purchased from other breeders have punctate cataracts ( which are a breeders option) I returned one and spayed/sold the other to a pet home.


Let me get this straight. As a breeder, if I am "retiring" a dog... I should spay her before I sell her? :doh::doh::doh::doh::doh::doh::doh::doh::doh::doh::doh::doh:


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## arcane (Sep 18, 2007)

Braccarius said:


> Let me get this straight. As a breeder, if I am "retiring" a dog... I should spay her before I sell her? :doh::doh::doh::doh::doh::doh::doh::doh::doh::doh::doh::doh:


: Play nice now!!!! :smooch:


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## arcane (Sep 18, 2007)

and yes in my sandbox, all my retirees are spayed and recover with me before being placed!


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## GoldensGirl (Aug 2, 2010)

You two are a hoot! 

Thanks for graceful lessons.

Lucy


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## Braccarius (Sep 8, 2008)

*UPDATE*

*His Ears*
Brought Harley in at 3:45 today and spent an hour with the vet going over EVERY little thing about him. (Definitely going to get my money's worth if we're going to the dreaded vet!!!). Started off asking him to check his ears.... he did a swab and the second he pulled it out I could tell Harley had an ear infection. Stupid yeast! I couldn't tell because I clean his ears once a week so the outside of the ear looks good and clean....but in deep in his ear is a mess apparently. He hasn't even been doing head shaking or pawing.... or anything really to show he has an ear infection. Did NOT see that coming @ all. 

*His Eyes*
His eye isn't infected... just more mucus due to his ear being infected. The doc went over his eye and he's certain its caused by the ear... I can't argue that... the crap he pulled out of his ear was ridiculous.

*Elbow*
Harley strained his elbow at the park twice so I asked him to check it. He's not limping or showing any signs of discomfort in the least... I was just concerned about his elbow and perhaps getting a recurring injury. The vet says his elbow is a little swollen but there's no sign of abnormal bone growth that would indicate displaysia that he could feel. Said we could do an X-Ray but he'd like to try Rimadyl for 10 days...with light exercise... because he can feel slight swelling and a zing more heat. ARRRGHH. On the bright side... Harley wouldn't need to be put out for an X-Ray because he's a big suck and doesn't move.... I guess that's a plus.

*Overall*
Asked him about Blasto and Lepto. Apparently there's been one case in the last 10-15 years of Blasto in my area. However, Lepto is on a marked rise. He said he thought he had a suspicious case last week that looked like Leptospirosis but he doesn't know the result. Pretty decent visit... threw out a feeler for Pigmentary Uveitis and he seemed knowledgeable of it... so that's decent. Left with ear drops, ear cleaner and Rimadyl..... let me know what you guys think.


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## Katie and Paddy's Mum (Mar 31, 2010)

Sounds like you have a very thorough vet. I was really encouraged earlier in the thread that your vet said he wouldn't give the rabies vaccination if Harley had an eye infection. I have always read that you should never vaccinate a dog with an infection. So that is really great!

I have a few comments on the overall visit. But I should state that these are just my opinions, you certainly don't need to pay me much mind. 

Regarding the ear infection: I know you said you clean Harley's ears weekly. When you clean the ear yourself, do you only clean what you can see? One of the best things my vet taught me was how to properly clean a dogs ears (and you might be doing this already, it wasn't clear from your post!). When I clean the ear, I fill the entire ear (canal and all) with the cleaning solution...literally until it starts to empty out of the ear because the canal is so full. Then I cover the ear canal with the ear flop and rub the solution around. As soon as that is done, I let the dog shake his head to get any of the solution out. Then I clean around with big cotton balls. I never dig my fingers into the canal. I repeat until the solution comes out clean. 
Did your vet clean out Harley's ears before prescribing ointment. And do you know if your vet determined whether or not the infection was due to bacteria or yeast or both? This will greatly impact the solution/ointment used, as some fight yeast better than others. Often, especially in recurrent infections, it is a good idea to have a culture taken. That way you know what the underlying bacteria/yeast strain is. 

I am glad his eyes were okay. And it absolutely makes sense that his eyes would be affected too from the ear infection. They're so stoic these pups. They can be in so much discomfort and never let us know!!

Regarding the elbow injury. If he is not showing any signs of discomfort, I would probably be more comfortable keeping him well rested for a few weeks as opposed to using the Rimadyl. It is a pretty powerful drug, and might cause some issues. Even simple glucosamine /chondroitin pills might offer some relief. Others will likely have a better opinion here.

Regarding the lepto vaccination. I am really on the fence about this vaccination. Everything I have read says that if a dog is going to get an adverse reaction from a vaccine, this is the vaccine to do it. It is because it used live properties of the bacteria and those types of live vaccines can cause issues. As opposed to killed vaccines which are much easier. Furthermore, I have read that the lepto vaccine only protects against about 60% of the lepto bacteria strains, and it only provides immunity for 6-9 months. You would be as well off making sure that the strains of lepto that your vet is seeing in your area, are indeed covered by the vaccine. You do not want to vaccinate if those geographical strains are not covered. Also, I read (can you tell I read too much??) that in the winter, because the ground freezes, often many strains of lepto are killed off naturally. So if you're going to vaccinate it would be best to do it in the spring when the virus is more rampant.

Those are just my thoughts. I am sure others will weigh in, and they may be more knowledgeable than myself.

It does sound like a very productive visit. I am glad you got to the bottom of the eye issue. It just sucks that you had to find an ear infection.

Has your vet ever suggested having his thyroid checked? Especially if he is having recurrent ear infections? A full panel might provide some answers.

I hope everything works out well.
Hope Harley feels better soon 

Kim


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## arcane (Sep 18, 2007)

well overall sounds like an ok visit ...as Harley is over 2, I wouldn't have issue with giving the lepto portion of the vax now...I discourage it in the puppy series...for the elbow, when did these injuries happen? I wouldnt jump into rimadyl, and its your $ re xraying the joint, I would try crate rest and restricted activity for a while first...how rough does he and your little girl play? Ears are a toughy, I had a girl once that the more I cleaned/bothered her ears the worse they got :doh: Just saw Kim's reply, sounds like we are basically on the same fence!


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## GoldensGirl (Aug 2, 2010)

Thanks for the update. I'm glad you got your vet to see Harley and that your boy is now on meds. Good work!

Ear infections are sneaky, so it's good that your vet didn't just rush to treat his eyes. We have had good luck mixing a teaspoon of betadine into the ear-cleaning solution. It helps to combat infections, both yeast and bacterial.

Lucy


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## Braccarius (Sep 8, 2008)

His ear infection is actually both... bacterial and yeast. Honestly, I do a very similar thing to what you're doing Kim... I was actually blind sided by him having an ear infection... really didn't see that coming. Kinda upset that I didn't think of it seeing how his eye wasn't giving off anything but clear mucus.

His elbow thing happened about 3 weeks ago the first time. We were literally walking and he whimpered and started limping. After checking him over I felt his elbow and extended it. There was a little stiffness on the first extension that went away. Also he wasn't bothered by it all that much. After stretching his leg... he was back to normal literally a minute (not even) after the incident and stopped limping. Then 2 days ago he did the same friggen thing. Almost at random he stopped and this time whined at me.... but then he's back to normal 10 seconds later. His stride is strong and he is not hesitant to play or run or do anything. 

Harley and Miri do play rough... back in the day I was worried about him hurting her... now its gone the other way. She has tackled him at full speed... she's a little instigator but he's not really much better. I love that they play together, but I admit sometimes its too much and I have to break them both up. What really irks me though, is he's not limping and acting normal right now... so I can't tell really if he's actually hurt something. He's making me go bonkers!

Suggestions?


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## Braccarius (Sep 8, 2008)

...forgot to mention. He's 74 pounds and according to the vet "In fantastic shape"


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## arcane (Sep 18, 2007)

Braccarius said:


> ...forgot to mention. He's 74 pounds and according to the vet "In fantastic shape"


 sounds just perfect!  any pics?


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## Braccarius (Sep 8, 2008)

*OH My God...*

So, Harley managed to slip on ice and hurt himself last night. Same friggen leg literally an hour after I made my last post and probably 2 hours after he was at the vet. He limped for a good 5 minutes but seemed to be walking normally not soon after. It **** near broke my heart.... *siiiighhh* I can't win.

So, he's on bed rest til further notice. No jumping from anything, playing, or going anywhere.... poor guy. 

I'll post up pictures when I get home. He's awfully purty... his sister ain't too shabby either.


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## arcane (Sep 18, 2007)

Braccarius said:


> *OH My God...*
> 
> So, Harley managed to slip on ice and hurt himself last night. Same friggen leg literally an hour after I made my last post and probably 2 hours after he was at the vet. He limped for a good 5 minutes but seemed to be walking normally not soon after. It **** near broke my heart.... *siiiighhh* I can't win.
> 
> ...


oh crap!!!!! :doh: he needs kleets!!!!!


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## Braccarius (Sep 8, 2008)

arcane said:


> oh crap!!!!! :doh: he needs kleets!!!!!


I'm seriously considering buying bubble wrap...


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## GoldensGirl (Aug 2, 2010)

Poor Harley! He just wants a constant escort.


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## iansgran (May 29, 2010)

From my own personal experience with feet and joint problems, once you hurt something you are not walking right to compensate and it is ever so easy to hurt something else completely unrelated to the hurt part. Bet that is what happened. I am probably too cautious when I walk because of all the bad memories.


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