What is the white stuff coming out of my dog’s eyes? Surprising Answer

5 Common Types of Eye Discharge in Dogs

Let’s take a look at five common types of dog eye discharge and what you should do about them.

What the Color of Your Dog’s Eye Discharge Means

Yellow or green dog eye discharge: Boogies with a mucus-y color likely indicate an eye infection and should be examined by your veterinarian.

White or cloudy dog eye discharge: Dogs with cloudy or white eye discharge likely are experiencing eye inflammation rather than infection—a common culprit is allergies. Eyes might also appear inflamed due to corneal ulcers, dry eye, or a foreign object irritating the eye.

Red or bloody dog eye discharge: Bloody discharge is never normal and requires immediate veterinary attention. Causes include injury, extreme inflammation, glaucoma, or a tumor, Dimock says.

Of course, when humans think of eye infection, we think pink eye. So, can dogs get pink eye? Typically no—not in the traditional human sense, anyway, Dimock says. Dogs with pink eyes are most likely experiencing another cause of inflammation not linked to the same infection spread between humans, and pink eye is not something typically spread from pup to owner, or vice versa.

How to Put Eye Drops in Your Dog’s Eyes

To administer eye drops at home, Dimock recommends making it fun for your dog. Be generous with treats, make sure he knows what a good boy he is, and follow up the ordeal with something he enjoys, like a walk or game of fetch.

Petty suggests facing your pup forward, rather than tilting his head up, for optimal delivery. “If you are right-handed, hold the bottle of drops in your right hand and rest your wrist on top of the dogs head,” Petty says. “Never tilt the dogs head up so that they can see the eye drop coming, you should have the dog look forward as you put the drop in. It makes for a slightly smaller target, but I promise the dog will blink each and every time that it sees the drop on its way.”

Eye Discharge in Dogs

Dog eye discharge — whether in the form of dog eye boogers, green eye discharge or something else — can be completely normal… or not. Here’s what to know.

Have you ever wondered if your dog’s eye boogers are normal or not? A dog’s eyes can leak and tear for many reasons, some of which are normal and some of which are not. Tear stains are unsightly, but more importantly, dog eye discharge might indicate a problem that requires vet attention.

According to Beth Kimmitt, DVM, resident of ophthalmology at Purdue University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in West Lafayette, Indiana, a dog’s eye is always producing tears, and these tears typically drain at the corners of the eye. “Technically, a normal eye should not have any ocular discharge, but a small amount of clear discharge may be OK,” she tells us. Clear dog eye discharge might look brown and slightly crusty when it dries.