It can be stressful to wake up one morning and see discharge coming out of your dog’s eyes. When are eye boogers normal, and when are they a sign of a serious problem? How can you tell when your dog’s eyes are sick? Here’s how to decide when to chill, and when it’s a big deal.
Normal eye discharge on pit bull
Are both eyes open?
If your dog is squinting with a discharge, or has one eye open and one closed, this could be serious. If both eyes are wide open, it’s much less concerning. Watch your dog over several minutes, as they might hold both eyes open when they are looking at you (there could be a treat, they have to be prepared!) but then drop their guard and hold the problem eye closed. Any squinting, particularly one eye, combined with a discharge from that eye is grounds for a vet visit!
What color is the eye discharge?
Normal “eye boogers” are clear-ish. Some dogs can be slightly yellow tinged. If you have a white fluffy dog, like a maltese or poodle, sometimes eye boogers look black and can cause staining. These are all not considered abnormal, but are a huge pain in the butt (that could be a whole article!). What eye discharge is not normal? Green is the biggest one. Dogs who don’t produce enough tears may have a thick, ropey, green discharge, but this builds up over time and does not happen overnight. A scratch on the cornea can quickly become infected, and that may cause a discharge that is either green, or sometimes clear.
French bulldog with normal eye discharge, Photo by Maria Rosenberg
Is your dog brachycephalic?
Brachy-what? Does your dog have a smooshed in face and buggy eyes? Is your dog a pug, shih-tzu, french bulldog…. you get the idea. Turns out, these buggy eyes are prone to all sorts of problems! Many of these dogs don’t blink completely, so they are prone to corneal injuries in the center of the eye. In some cases, their eyes are so buggy, it’s hard for them to hold the eye closed to tell you something is wrong! With these breeds, a simple eye injury (that heals in a few days with normal eyes) can take weeks or months to heal! So if your brachycephalic dog doesn’t normally have eye discharge and suddenly starts, call the vet!
Golden retriever with normal eye discharge
Remember, dogs have eye boogers just like people!
If you wake up and wipe the sleep out of your eyes, then don’t panic when your dog has the same thing! Allergy season can cause an increase in normal eye goop as well, and it can even have a faint green tinge. The majority of questions I get in my practice about eye discharge are actually normal! Knowing what to look for can help ease your mind, or set you into action.