Keeping Your Pup’s Eyes Clean and Healthy

Just like you, your dog views much of the world through her eyes! She sees her favorite toys, finds the best place to mark her territory, and of course gets excited when her favorite people walk through the door! But for many breeds, including poodles, malteses, shi-tzus, and many more, the eyes can be very difficult to keep clean.

Most of the problems with little dogs’ eyes is that they have a bad case of “smooshy face.” When you look at your pug, shi-tzu, or Pekinese, you might notice that he has only a tiny little space between the tip of his nose and his eyes… and that’s where all the fur likes to grow! In larger dogs or dogs with shorter fur, this can often be taken care of by the dog himself when he grooms by licking or scratching, but for little dogs with long fur, some human intervention can be required. That’s why Lucky Dog Grooming in Littleton always makes sure that we keep our dogs’ eyes clean and neat.

Why bother? Your friend doesn’t just look sloppy when her eyes are stained with tears, crusted up with “gunk” (totally the technical term!), or matted down with lots of hair. The worst part is that this can lead to eye infections—including short-term, acute eye infections that can require a trip to the vet, or long-term, ongoing eye infections that can even lead to blindness! What’s more, your pooch can see better if you keep her eyes clean—so she can have more fun in life!

How to clean. While we clean the eyes of all the dogs we groom at our salon in Denver, sometimes you’ll need some touch-up sessions. We recommend wiping gently at your dog’s eyes with a soft, wet cloth… that’s it! The trick is getting them to let you do it and making sure you clean all that “gunk” off, every day. Some dogs prefer warm water, which helps to break it up, but others seem to prefer room-temperature water. Test the temperature by touching the cloth to your inner wrist or even to your own eye, and never get it too hot! If your dog is fussy, fuzzy, or if you just can’t commit to daily grooming, you can also try clipping the hair around your dog’s eyes once per week. This removes the “gunk” and prevents it from sticking in the future.

How to prevent. Unfortunately, most dogs get eye staining and buildup for no good reason! Some dogs do suffer from allergies, either environmental or seasonal, and you can check with your vet on this. Food allergies may also cause symptoms. If your dog is licking and scratching at other areas, this is usually an allergy. In any case, exceptional hygiene is the answer!

What to avoid. Don’t put chemicals in your baby’s eyes! So many products on the market use bleach, hydrogen peroxide, or other lightening chemicals. These can cause eye injury and further irritation, and most only hide the problem, anyway.

Of course, if your fluffy friend just won’t let you get near his eyes, check in with our expert grooming team to see about targeted grooming sessions. While we see most clients on an every-six-week basis, we are open to quick eye trims in-between to help you keep your pet healthy!