Our question this week was:

Dr. Jon - How can I safely wash dried tears from my dogs eyes?

Tammy Smith



Answer

Hi Tammy– thanks for your email. Your question was – How can you safely wash dried tears from my dog's eyes?

An important rule of thumb is to NEVER put anything near or in your dog's eye that you wouldn't but in or near your eye.

The safest way is to take a damp tissue (moistened with some warm water) and gently clean the debris around the eyes. Take care to avoid the eye.

As you clean around the eyes, tell your dog if he or she is being good. Give positive reinforcement when they behave well to make it even easier next time you need to do this.

An article that might be helpful to you is Eye Care in Puppies. Although this is written for puppies, all the principles about caring for the eye and signs of eye problems are the same.

Best of luck!


Dr. Jon



P.S. If your dog is having chronic eye discharge – you might find this article on Epiphora in Dogs helpful.




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