Need advice on dog care/grooming.....

[femmocrat]

One of my corgis has such terrible allergies. He has been to the vet 3 times in about the past 3 weeks for itching, a rash, a reaction to the medicine, etc. This week, his eyes are all watery, sticky, and tear-stained.

Here is my question for DU dog-owners (past or present): Is there a good OTC product I can use to clean around his eyes, or maybe a human product, like saline solution? I have some blue eye-stain remover (for dogs), but it doesn't help all that much. I hope the cooler weather will help! The vet said it is seasonal allergies and her dog has it too.

[Madrone]

1. What does he eat?

Food allergies have been shown to be huge contributors to those types of problems. Poor doggie. :(

[femmocrat]

2. Didn't think of that.... hmmm....

He has been eating the same thing for years. The vet said it is seasonal. With the hot, dry fall we are having, there are probably all kinds of environmental factors. He seems to get it in the spring and fall. (We don't even walk him on the road because of the osage oranges.) I just wanted to know what else I can use to clean around his eyes. But thanks.

[Madrone]

6. Eyes...

Wet washcloth as someone else pointed out would be fine ... there are also eyewash products you can buy at petstores. No brand comes to mind, but they should be very easy to find.

If you're interested, I'd also like to mention that the things we've always heard about the proper way to feed animals has been changing over the years. I've read a number of articles that say feeding animals the same food their whole lives can actually contribute to/ cause allergies. Of course we've heard for years that you should pick one food and never change it, so that's what we do. Anyway, there's LOTS of new information on animal nutrition available.

[China_cat]

11. We fed a dog one food for years with no problems

and then one day started having skin problems. When we finally looked, we found that the company had changed the formula for the food without bothering to tell anyone and corn had been moved to the #1 ingredient on the list (meaning it was the main ingredient by weight) and several other forms of corn further down, as well as wheat and soy.

Vet also told us it was seasonal allergies. We changed the food and the problems cleared up within 6 weeks.

[oregonjen]

3. Around his eyes, is it stinky?

If it's the yeasty stink, that turns the fur red, there are a couple of products I know of. One is Vetropolycin, that I get from the vets. It's an oitment that I use for around the eyes and in just a couple of days, my dog's stinky mess around the eyes are gone. It contains bacitracin, neomycin and polymyxin. Also, have you heard of Eye Envy? It's supposed to be pretty good. I have purchased it, but haven't used it yet. However, on the dog website I frequent, it has gotten really good reviews.

[femmocrat]

4. Not stinky, but kind of sticky.

No, I never heard of Eye Envy. Thanks, I'll google it. I thought the vet would give him something, but she hasn't. He might be going back again if it doesn't improve in a day or two.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

5. Yes -

The food allergies as the former poster....

I would put the dog on a total natural diet: http://www.leerburg.com/diet.htm

See how it goes....

(I lived on many kennels - and am quite familiar with the problem )

- You may want to get a gentle bar of soap for people with dry, irritated skin that is oatmeal based to shampoo the poor baby - Let him stand in a warm place with the soap for just a couple of minutes and then rinse him.

As for his watery eyes... My... Let's see, I would use a warm damp rag to clean his face around the eyes -

I do hope he gets better and also, I would look around for an expert in animal allergies since it seems your vet hasn't a clue.

[femmocrat]

8. Thanks for the good advice.

I was wondering if people products would be OK. I'll check into the diet you recommended, too.

[mopinko]

7. you can use a little drop of baby shampoo to wash eyes

just wash and flush with water.
and i wash my dogs with murphy's oil soap. i dissolve a couple of benedryl's in it for itchy dogs.

[femmocrat]

9. Really? I never heard of using Murphy's oil soap..... but

I do use baby shampoo for bathing. The smell so sweet after their baths.

[mopinko]

10. i use baby shampoo also, but

murphy's is better. simple green, even. the point is that it is not a detergent, it is a soap. i picked the murphy's think up from horse people.
the baby shampoo works got for people eyes, also. you should wash your eyelashes regularly.