Dog has a sore eye

[toomanydiets]

My dog has suddenly developed a sore eye, to the stage he can barely open it, he's pawing it in his sleep and he's clearly uncomfortable. He was fine all day and it's one eye so I'm inclined to think grass seed rather than allergy etc. I've given him saline baths but it hasn't helped. I'll take him to vet tomorrow but any suggestions in the meantime?

Might be worth a cone of shame to stop him damaging it further overnight?

Bathe it in tea ( no milk !) The tannin is very healing but gentle.

Thanks for the advice. I gave him an antihistamine and bathed it in saline again (he wouldn't accept the teabag!). He slept soundly and it is much better this morning so I'm hoping it was just a scratch that is healing

@toomanydiets I'd take him to the vet anyway - it could be a corneal ulcer, which are super painful and can lead to blindness if not treated quickly. The vet can test for it by putting a tracer dye in his eye, which makes it visible.

They're a trauma injury, from e.g. running into something, getting something stuck in their eye, scratching too hard etc. Mine got one just by falling off the sofa.