Last Updated on December 11, 2021 by Griselda M.
Have you ever questioned yourself why my dog won’t open one eye? Well, many owners foresee this sign as a threat, but in fact, it’s a serious healthwise red flag.
Dog eye infections are not a rare medical diagnosis and need professional treatment. That way, your pet dog doesn’t develop further health problems.
On many occasions, we’ve seen that dog owners won’t maintain eye hygiene in their dogs. So, in this article, you will acknowledge why and how eye infections occur and how to treat them right.
Eye Infections In Chihuahuas
Infections in the eyes can be a common experience for your Chi if you don’t maintain their eyes clean. Early signs for dog infections can be redness, disorientation, or even shortsightedness. Eye infections are inflammatory processes that happen in the eyes, and if not treated, can bring health issues.
The earliest symptom of eye infections is squinting eyes. If your Chi has issues when exposed to brightness and light, there is a good chance that they have a foreign object stuck in their eyes. If you see these symptoms, try to examine the eyelid.
You need to lift it and see if there are any sand particles or maybe dust stuck there. If you can, then you need to proceed with an eye-cleaning process.
Eye infections can lead to different health problems such as cherry eye, conjunctivitis, glaucoma, inflammation, or on some rare occasion’s blindness.
As an owner, you need to acknowledge how to spot early symptoms and act fast and precisely in these situations.
Read more about How To Get Rid Of Dog Eye Stains?.
Symptoms And Causes
In this section, we are going the list the most common infections and their causes.
1. Allergies
When it comes to allergies, many dogs have them. Many of the owners have not acknowledged which allergies their Chihuahua has. So, it’s up to you to make allergy tests and examinations to see what precisely your Chi is developing allergic reactions to.
Another thing that can spike up allergic reactions is inhaling allergens. Your Chi may have runny eyes or a watery nose if it is showing an allergic reaction. Dogs can have allergic symptoms after getting exposed to a high amount of powdery pollen grains.
Symptoms can be redness in the sclera and eyelids, scratching the face, sneezing, and sniffling.
If you see these symptoms in your Chi, try to remove plants that are easily accessible or keep an eye on them when you take your Chihuahua for a walk.
2. Dry Eyes
If your Chi won’t produce enough natural tears to keep its eyes hydrated, a dry eye infection can develop. If not treated in time can induce inflammation and be the cause of vision impairment and corneal ulcers.
The dry eyes effect causes are still an enigma to veterinarians. On many occasions, it’s connected to an immunity disease.
3. Conjunctivitis
Conjunctivitis can be identified by tissue inflammation on the whites of your pet’s eyes or around the inner eyelids. Squinting of one eye, or red eyes with swollen eyelids can also be a considerable symptom.
Blindness is a possible outcome, although it is uncommon. Dog distemper, dry eye, and genuine airborne irritants are all possible causes of this disease. Conjunctivitis can also happen due to eye injury or a lung infection.
4. Glaucoma
In many cases, glaucoma can go unnoticed by the owner. There are rarely any easily seen symptoms that lead to the early stages of glaucoma. Regular veterinarian checkups are mandatory. That way, early-stage glaucoma can get discovered. Otherwise, it’s hard for an owner to spot it.
One symptom that can lead to glaucoma is scratching of the eyes. A dog with glaucoma will rub their paws around its eyes regularly. Other symptoms can be redness in the eyes, swollen eyelids, clouded eyes, and soreness.
There are three leading causes of glaucoma. Congenital glaucoma is a type that comes with birth. Usually, when a dog experienced issues in the development of the ocular, at least one eye is affected. This type of glaucoma occurs around the 5th month of puppy growth. So, and owner needs to track their Chi because then it has a higher chance of development.
Primary Glaucoma or shortly Primary is a type of glaucoma developed because of genetic traits. The two main genetic-based glaucomas are PACG and POAG. As an example, we can take the beagle’s genetics. They have the POAG as a recessive gene and often develop glaucoma because of that.
Secondary glaucoma occurs cause of other diseases that can disturb the aqueous humor into the eye.
TreatmentAnd Medication – Visiting A Veterinarian
When you spot any of the listed symptoms in your Chi, react accordingly and fast. The best way to deal with eye infections is by appointing a veterinarian examination. That way, you can be sure that there won’t be any space for further development of eye injuries.
Usually, veterinarians will prescribe eye drops and ointments that will help you remove the inflammation and stop any infectious processes in the eyes of your Chihuahua.
You, as an owner, can keep at least the eye hygiene of your Chi at a higher level. Often cleaning the eyes with wipes and checking the eye hydration can help you avoid eye infections in your Chihuahua.
If you need to apply ointments for eye infections, try to do it smoothly so you won’t cause any stress toward your Chi. The same goes for eye drops. You can get your Chi to lay down and then put two to three drops of the given medications and massage their eyelids.
So, next time you catch yourself questioning, why my dog won’t open one eye, take into consideration to visit a veterinarian.
Final Thoughts On Why My Dog Won’t Open One Eye
Infections, especially eye inflammations, need a fast medical response for you to avoid further problems. Healthwise, eyes are the largest source of information intake in all beings, and they must be healthy. Keep an eye on the sight health of your Chihuahua and its response to light or objects.
Next time you question yourself, why my dog won’t open one eye, you for sure have the answer to that question.
If you notice your dog squinting one eye, don’t take that lightly, and do a veterinarian examination.
Any extra thought on this topic? Feel free to comment down, and we will happily discuss it with you.
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