Gun Dog Forum

Hey guys -

Quick question. Took my pup out for his first hunt yesterday, and he did great! All that training and tips from here really paid off.

Today I noticed that he is having trouble opening his right eye all the way, and when it is fully open, his eyelid is twitching. There are no signs of any swelling, and I pulled the eyelids open and didn't see anything physical in there, but it's definitely irritated due to the twitching eyelid.

Is there anything I should do to help him out? Or just let his body naturally get whatever is irritating it out. I'm assuming he either got some dirt in it yesterday or maybe poked it on something while we were in the field.

Thanks for the help guys!

If you can't see anything under the lids you might try flushing with sterile saline or Vetricyn wash. Sometimes that will wash a piece of junk out where you can remove it. Or use some opthalmic ointment without any steroids in it. I buy the triple antibiotic ointment for wounds at walmart - it has to be the OINTMENT (petroleum jelly base) not creme, and it CANNOT have hydrocortisone or any other steroid in it.
If that doesn't relieve the dog quickly, then go see the vet. If the dog has scratched his cornea you do not want to mess around. It's painful and can go south in a hurry.

shags is correct.
It can also be a piece of 'something' behind the so called 3rd eyelid.

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Thanks for the help guys. I went over to the pet store by my office at lunch and bought some eye rinse (nutri-vet eye rinse - http://www.nutri-vet.com/eye-rinse-for-dogs/)

I flushed his eye with a quick couple drops, then again about an hour and a half later. He is not blinking hardly at all anymore, and his eye has stopped watering. I'm going to keep an eye on him (no pun intended) and see if it starts back up, but I'm thinking that this eye rinse got whatever foreign material was bugging him out.

Thank you all for the help!

It is a good idea to check you pup out thoroughly after every hunt. eyes and ears are the most important, then check entire body for cuts and thorns. It only takes a few minutes but it saves a lot of headache later. Glad your pup is okay though.