Eye Secretions in Dogs

Dog eye secretions may mean nothing at all and be perfectly normal or they can be an indication of a virus, allergies or infection. When the eye secretion or discharge is clear, this is a good sign and means it's probably caused by something rather benign, such as dust, or allergies or wind blowing in the dog's face. If just one eye is secreting, the dog may have an eyelash or another foreign object in its eye. However, if the secretion is filled with pus and yellowish green in color this means your dog has an infection, which could be serious.

  1. Glaucoma or Ulcers

    • If your dog is suffering from glaucoma or corneal ulcers, this can result in secretions from the eye.

    Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye)

    • Conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the lining in the eye. It causes yellow-green pus or a watery secretion from a dog's eye. Conjunctivitis can result from a problem with the tear duct; distemper; tumors; dry eyes; allergies; birth defections or an injury to the eye. If your dog has this condition, it will squint and blink too much and it may paw at its eyes or keep its eyes closed longer than usual. The eye will be red and inflamed and crust may appear. You can use saline washes to treat this infection, or use antihistamines if the dog has allergies.

    Excessive Tearing

    • When secretions from the eye make the dog's fur smell or even stains it and infects the skin that it touches this is the result of excessive tearing called epiphora, which can happen when a dog has glaucoma; eye inflammation; corneal ulcers; allergies; abnormal eyelashes or tumors. Surgery may be required if there is a duct obstruction, abnormal eyelashes or ulcers. Antibiotics and/or topical medicine can be applied when there is corneal damage.

    Dry Eye

    • Dogs, like humans, can suffer from dry eyes. This means they don't produce adequate amounts of tears to clean their eyes. This results in a sticky discharge from the eye. However, dry eye can also be the result of the dog's own immune system that is attacking the tear gland tissues, or even ear problems. Additionally, if the dog was hit in the head this may have done damage to the tear-producing gland. Dry eye is also a symptom of distemper.

    Other Considerations

    • If your dog is suffering from an endocrine disorder such as hypothyroidism (sluggish thyroid) or Cushing's disease, this can cause discharge from the eye. Parasites can also cause eye secretions. Sometimes dogs inherit genetic flaws such as corneal dystrophy, which causes recurring episodes of corneal ulcers, or cherry eye, which is medically referred to as prolapse of the nicitating membrane and hypertrophy.

    Breed

    • Some dogs tend to have more eye secretions or eye discharge than others because of the shape of their faces. Boxers, Pekingese, pugs, and bulldogs are flat headed dogs. This means their faces are flatter, causing their eye sockets to be shallower and their eyes to protrude. Eye secretions can result.