Any vets? My dogs eyes smell like fish...

[Autumndays123]

Hi all,

I've had my dog just over a year and since she was a puppy. The entire time I've had her, she's had 'leaky' eyes. It never seemed to bother her so I assumed it was normal.

Anyway, I took her to the vets last week for an unrelated issue (which turned out to be fine). The vet said she might have conjunctivitis which is causing the leaky eyes and gave me some (expensive) eye drops. I questioned it and pointed out her eyes have been like that her entire life etc but took the drops nonetheless. I've been applying it twice a day for a few days and not only are her eyes 5x 'leakier' they now smell very very strongly of fish. It's so strong you can smell it when you walk in the room and no amount of wiping them seems to help

I'm going to phone the vet tomorrow but I imagine they will try and brush me off with some more (expensive) medication. I've had a look online and the only thing I can find relates to anal glands. It's definitely not coming from there though.

Anyone heard of this before?

Never heard of this before but you could get a second opinion at a different vets? I always think we know our dogs best - if they seem ok then they probably are- they should have at least discussed your point about her eyes always being like that & (I’m assuming) it not bothering her?! xo

Leaky eyes are not normal, poor dog. See another vet.

Anal gland smell is like metallic rather than fishy really. I'd see another vet.

@Somanysocks

Leaky eyes are not normal, poor dog. See another vet.

Some breeds do just produce more tears than others

What breed is your dog?

@GarnetsandRubies

What breed is your dog?

She's a chihuahua crossed with a Pomeranian

It could be epiphora, definitely take her back to the vets to tell them the drops haven't worked, they should know what to do next. Hope she is OK

Couple of causes-
Tear overspill where tear ducts aren’t draining tears away down the inside of the nose. It’s really common in small breeds where the tear ducts aren’t wide enough. A lot of them live with it. Can try to improve things by flushing or dilating under anaesthetic.
Extra hairs growing on eyelid edges or just inside lids. These need specialist surgery to get rid of.

Some breeds do just produce more tears than others

No, tear production is well controlled and there are normal limits for it regardless of breed.

Excessive tear production is usually due to irritation of the eye (due to eyelashes ingrowing and rubbing, infection or allergies etc) or it's a blockage of the drainage duct that runs from the eye to the nose.

Tear production can be checked with a shirmer tear test. If excessive then the cause should be investigated. If your dog has always had this problem she may well have a congenital blockage of the drainage duct or an abnormal eye conformation causing chronic irritation