Symptoms of Eye Injuries in Dogs
Your veterinarian will examine your dog’s eye to determine what’s wrong and the severity of the injury. The vet will also ask you about whether you’ve noticed any of the symptoms listed above. If the problem isn’t immediately apparent (such as a foreign object that’s visible in the eye), your vet may do further testing and check your dog’s pupils.
If you see discharge, this could indicate an infection, such as Conjunctivitis Pink Eye. More serious symptoms might include: bleeding in the eyeball, displacement of the eye within the socket, or any changes in color. These symptoms indicate an emergency situation and call for immediate treatment by a vet. In these cases, it’s important to understand how dog insurance works with emergency clinics.2
Dogs can also be injured by objects like fireworks, or even by sticking their head out the window in the car. A pebble or insect could hit your dog’s eye and cause a corneal ulcer or even penetrate the eye. The wind hitting your dog’s face can also cause dryness and irritation.
Treatment for your dog’s eye will depend on how severe the injury is. Your vet might prescribe eye drops to relieve pain and/or prevent infection. In many cases, your dog will also need to wear a cone collar to prevent him or her from scratching at the eye and making the injury worse.
Common Eye Injuries Seen in Dogs
Eye injuries can occur at any time and can range in severity from mild to injuries that put your dogs sight at risk. The types of eye injuries that are commonly experienced by dogs include:
Needless to say, there are countless ways that dog eye injuries can happen including: