My Dads Golden has a eye problem. His eyes are squinty and watering all the time. The tears run right down them. The Vet says his tear ducks are probably plugged and would have to opperate to fix them. Anyone heard of this or think it may be something else. His eye lashes are ok they checked them. What do you Golden owners think?
Larry
Larry -- Goldens in the field lines are somewhat prone to this, especially if they have loose lower lids. (Droopy lids can't hold the output of the lacrimal ducts.) Tetley, my grand champion hunter, has this. I've never really considered it a problem worth correcting surgically, though. He just has little "water marks" that extend down half an inch or so. How bad is it on your dad's golden?
Give me a couple of days to check with some of my contacts at CURR (Canine Underground RailRoad) to see if any of them have had the operation performed, and what the results were.
Its bad enough to consern my dad as he would like to help the dog if he can. He was told a dogs tears for the most part are behind the eye in the dogs nasel passage? [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img] I know our dogs eyes water some...way different breed though. My dads dog acts as if his eyes bother him though, blinking, squinting and rubbing them
Yeah, there's a passage in dogs (just like in humans) that lets excess fluid drain out. That's where it all goes unless the passage is blocked or the eyelids droop; remember that fluid will take the path of least resistance so even if the passage is clear, a droopy lid will cause it to leak out and run down the face.
Still checking with my contacts, but another question for you. Is the vet who wanted to do the operation a surgeon? The reason I'm asking is in my experience surgeons tend to look at every symptom as an opportunity to cut...and cutting is not always the best option. Excessive tearing could also be from allergies, dryness (like us in the winter when we heat with wood), and we've even seen this from a tooth infection that was irritating surrounding tissue...including the tear duct. The way you describe it sounds like irritation. I'd make sure the irritation wasn't from some other cause before signing up for surgery.
I have a Labrodor with bad eyes. Not that his eyes water, I just think its because his eye sight. Sometimes he dosent even reconise me and barks at me. I dont know if he is just stupid and forgets or he has bad eye sight. [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img] I have heard of the dogs eyes watering before. I think it was my aunts dog that had something like that. I think that dog became blind in one eye I might be wrong. Her dog was old any way. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img] Her dog was a Chow. It could be the breed thats eyes water. [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]
Okay, here's some feedback from my golden contacts. About 30% of the time tear duct blockage is fixed with eye drops and massage of the area. Apparently the drops dilate the ducts and the massage is supposed to dislodge the blockage. With only a 30% success rate, some vets don't even bother with this step.
The surgery consists of anesthetizing the dog, then passing a thin cannula (wire) thru the duct. You want someone who has done this more than once or twice, since doing this improperly can cause scar tissue that makes the problem worse.
Several replies suggested second opinions. There were a few owners who reported the second opinion was that the problem was caused by droopy lids and that the ducts were not blocked at all. Others reported the ducts were blocked by mucus from allergies; once the allergies were cleared up the ducts worked just fine.
Not a single answer, but hopefully this gives you some things to think about. Good luck!
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