Squinting

kieranlavin · 04-15-2007, 12:57 PM

My wife took our two poodles to her parents this weekend to be groomed. Her mother (also a poodle owner) has had pretty good luck with a groomer near their house (about an hour away) so my wife takes them there. It's also a chance for my wife to see her parents and catch up.

Last night while my wife was still up there, she was telling me how our older dog (Tanner) was squinting a lot and seemed like he was high on drugs or something (just being aloof I guess). Our younger dog (Tessa) has always seemed to squint a lot but it's usually when she's sitting on the back of the couch looking over at me in the kitchen with the track lighting somewhat in her eyes and in sunlight. It's usually related to bright lights. Tanner has never really squinted and nothing ever really seems to bother his eyes. In fact, several times when playing around with him, I've been concerned that I thought I poked him in the eye but he continues on.

Today my wife came home with the dogs and I'm seeing first-hand the squinting. I am wondering if maybe the groomer poked him while cutting him. Or if there might be something else wrong. I got his attention and moved my hands around and he seems to follow them but not as accutely as I'd expect (like he's seeing shadows maybe). I broke out the laser pointer that he loves and he chased it around a bit but still not as accutely as normal. He looks at me from across the couch without a problem (wide eyes) but when I get closer especially up in his face to get kisses, he starts squinting. Another thing I'm wondering is if maybe he was difficult with the groomer and they got frustrated maybe and slapped him. I've met the groomer a few times and don't think that's a possibility but, quite honestly, when he's being difficult, *I* have come close to giving him a quick slap on the rear!

I'm wondering though if this seems to ring a bell with anyone in terms of something health-related that we should be bringing him to the vet TODAY? He's taking a nap now and I'll leave him be for most of the afternoon to see if maybe he's just tired and that's why he's squinting (can't keep his eyes open?!) I'm thinking I'll just see how he does later this afternoon and tonight and then tomorrow before maybe bringing him to the vet tomorrow after work (or, if the condition gets worse, I'll just take the day off tomorrow)

Any suggestions, advice, or comforting words would be appreciated

Macky · 04-15-2007, 01:29 PM

Did the groomer put flea medicine on him? The reason I ask is because my cat used to squint after flea treatment on the back of her neck. I don't know if there were fumes that irritated her eyes but she did it for a short time after the treatment.
I had a boston terrier that had a corneal lesion. He squinted a lot! IMMEDIATE attention is essential if that is the case. You can not always see the lesion unless the vet stains it. Best thing to do since squinting is not normal is to take him to the vet ASAP. A scratch leading to corneal lesions can rapidly become worse if treatment is not applied as soon as possible!

cshellenberger · 04-15-2007, 02:41 PM

Some groomers also use mineral oil in the eyes to protect them from soap. I'd call the groomer and find out, it so, you can flush the eyes with a saline solution made for that purpose which you should be able to find at a drug store or Walmart. Otherwise, I'd take him to the vet and have to eyes checked out.

kieranlavin · 04-15-2007, 02:50 PM

He actually seems a lot better now after a nap. I don't think they used flea spray but it's a possibility. It could also be the smell of the perfume they put on the dogs. The groomer's not around today or tomorrow so it'd be difficult to find out about a mineral oil. I was thinking of flushing his eyes but didn't think of saline (my wife has that for her contacts anyway). I was thinking more along the lines of water.

In any case, he seems almost fine now. He sat and stared at me while in his crate for about 5 minutes without squinting. That's the other thing, it's squinting and not blinking at all. If his eyes were bothering him in terms of a scratch or irritant, I would think he'd be blinking. Who knows, maybe the pouring rain is flushing anything out of his eyes on it's own?! I played with him with the laser pointer without his little "sister" and he seemed just fine. When I stopped the pointer, he'd run a little past it and then come back exactly to where it is. After 10-15 minutes of playing around, he only slightly squinted once.

I'm going to keep an eye on him but he seems fine as of now. Thanks for the suggestions. At least I have some suggestions to throw out there if I need to take him to the vet.

briteday · 04-15-2007, 03:07 PM

I can think of lots of things that could get in a dog's eyes at the groomer...shampoo, dips or medicated products for parasites-residue left in the tub, something put in the eyes to avoid soap getting in there (I've heard everything from mineral oil to teramycin ointment), little bits of hair from clipping around the eyes.

I've also been told by a few neighbors that their groomers use sedatives if the dog is nippy. That could take a while to wear off. Is this groomer in or share a vet's office? They would have easy access to medication. But even benedryl will do sometimes.

Like everyone else, I say keep an eye on things (no pun intended!) until Monday. If things don't improve or worsen I would take the dog to a vet.

BTW, how is Tessa doing with housetraining? I received your PM but you had a lot of extenuating circumstances at the time.

kieranlavin · 04-15-2007, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by briteday

BTW, how is Tessa doing with housetraining? I received your PM but you had a lot of extenuating circumstances at the time.

She's doing pretty good. Not entirely there yet. She probably pees in the crate once a week. She had been doing it 3-4 times a week at first but she's gotten a lot better. The only times she does pee in the crate are times that I *KNOW* she has to pee before going to bed yet, no matter how hard I try or how long I spend trying to get her to pee, she won't do it. She's only interested in playing around. Anytime she's good and pees for me before going to bed, I give her a little treat of 2 or 3 eye droppers full of water. She's jealous of her big brother who has his water bottle and sucks down a major quantity of water before going to sleep. Oh well, it's a slow process and she's slowly coming around.

A little setback this weekend since they were away and Tessa was unaccustomed to the different house.

kieranlavin · 04-18-2007, 11:53 AM

The problem seems to have gone away. Monday morning he was squinting a bit so I put two drops of plain water in each eye. He seemed fine after that. In fact, when previously I thought his eyes were wide open, I guess they weren't! After the water drops, his eyes seems WIDE open. I left Tuesday morning for a business trip but my wife says he seems fine now.

I was never all THAT worried because he was still seeing ok. He followed the laser pointer and any balls I threw to him he catched without a problem, etc. So, it just seemed like it was something that was bothering him. Thanks for the suggestions everyone