Gypsy has conjunctivitis in both eyes. I first noticed it last Monday. It is obvious she is uncomfortable and possibly in some pain from it.

We went to a new vet yesterday and had a pleasant experience for a change. He gave me eye drops to put in her eyes 3x's a day, however she sure can squeeze her eyes shut tight, proving this to be a challenge!

She is avoiding bright light, like her window of sunshine. Spends a lot of time laying on the floor. Nothing has slowed her down from wanting to play outside however, so I know she still feels halfway ok. I feel so bad for her though, seeing how miserable she is.

The vet said that I should see an improvement by Monday or Tuesday. I am going to keep trying to get these drops in to help her and could use a prayer to help us get there! Remember, she is reactive to everything so not the easiest dog to medicate!

I hope you're able to get the eye drops in her eyes.

Ciara has dry eye and I have an ointment to put in her eyes if her eyes get really red and irritated. She's good about this part. Now if you have to give her pills - that's a whole different story. She sure can clench her jaw really tight. I count myself lucky with some meds that I can get her to take them in a pill pocket - but that doesn't work for everything.

Thank you Johanna!

We finally have us a little routine worked out. I wash her face/eyes several times a day. As I get a washcloth ready, I tell her to 'hop up' on the bed, where she waits for me. I wash her face and get the gunk out of her eyes. I read that conjunctivitis is a staph infection, so every wash cloth goes in the laundry after we wash her face and eyes. I know I got the drops in last night, this morning and this afternoon. This morning was the easiest- we were both so animated about it. She laid on one side so I dosed that eye, then she rolled over and I got the other one.

The good news is that tonight her eyes are looking quite a bit better. I actually saw some white in the white of her left eye, which was the worst. So a few more days should have her just about over this, I hope! I made some Golden Paste today too and got her started on that. And I am looking for some kefir starter grains because I want to start her on it too.

I think this is related to when she walked through Weed and Feed with wet feet last month. The toxic chemicals that were then on her feet, and she was licking it off. So to try to detox her and get her system back on track I am doing Golden Paste and Kefir. The Kefir I can use to mix her lunch of The Honest Kitchen with instead of water. I am also thinking of getting Colloidal Silver and adding that to her diet. I have been reading up on it and she might really benefit from it too.

I just know that I have been sick to my stomach over this stuff. Seeing her so miserable has done me in. We haven't been walking either. I figure if her eyes are sore and hurt, she isn't enjoying much else. We went once a few days ago and it wasn't great.

I think we are going to go watch TV in bed till her next dose at 10pm. It will be nice to just relax and not be so stressed for the first time in nearly a week!

I'm really glad to hear that you (and Gypsy) worked out a way to get her drops. Our dogs are just so important....

Well, seems I am not getting the drops really in the eyes. Todays afternoon drops I am almost certain they just rolled right off or out and I Know her eyes are no better now than last Thursday when we went to the vet. It is very disheartening to see they are still inflammed. I can tell bright lights bother her by how she squints and blinks fast.

So tomorrow I am going to call the vet again and take her back in. Something has to give. I am failing her and she is suffering.

Please don't say that you're failing her. You're doing everything you can with a reactive dog. I sometimes have trouble putting drops in my own eyes, I blink at the wrong moment.

Maybe the vet can give you an ointment. Nova had an eye problem and we used an ointment and I put it on her lower eyelid. Of course, each dog is different.

In any case, I sure hope the vet can help.

MJ

Thank you MJ!

You are right...I am doing everything I can. Some moments are better than others. Sometimes the drops roll right off, other times, like this morning, I definitely got the drops in. I can't stand the gunk in her eyes, but force myself to leave it alone so I don't keep irritating her eyes. Doing considerable more laundry to attempt to contain the infection- trying to prevent recontamination.

I am also giving her Golden Paste and putting Colloidal Silver in her water. The first is made with Turmeric which is a great anti inflammatory. The silver is supposed to be a natural antibiotic with awesome healing properties.

Vet had said it should be better by today, but with the struggle to get the drops in, I am giving it a few more days. Praying for this to all be over soon!

Gypsy's eyes are not responding to the drops. Will be making an appointment with the vet today for follow up.

Her eyes usually look pretty clear first thing in the morning, but as the day progresses they produce a lot of gunk and she squints and blinks a lot. When administering the drops, I can still see a lot of inflammation. I am not putting drops in today at all, because they aren't working and it is generally said if something isn't working to discontinue.

I am inclined to think there is something more going on than pink eye/conjunctivitis.

We have an appointment for late tomorrow. I usually get the drops in around 6am. Today was going to skip them since they don't appear to be working, but the gal at the vets office advised to continue. So we went in, washed her face (a warm washcloth run over her face very gently) then put the drops in- got the right eye with little trouble, then she laid on her right side, opened her left eye nicely and I got a good drop in from above .... I wish it was always that easy! This one event made me feel like we are both turning pro at doing drops! My luck next time it will be like pulling teeth haha!

Anyway, if they have a cancellation, they will call me.

Good news on drops and on appointment-thanks!

Update on Gypsy: I could still see some areas of beet red inflammation in her eyes, so we went back for a follow up.

Before I say anything else, I have to tell you all that I really do like this new vet! He understands her very well. She lets him touch her!

Her eyes are better, but the conjunctivits is not all gone. He did a test to see if she is producing tears and she is not. This test consists of putting a little special strip of paper looking stuff on her eyeball for one minute. It's just the end of the paper thing, which is sterile when put in there. I assume that should make her eye water, which it didn't. She handled the test really well.

So he gave us a prescription of a gel that contains Cyclosporine (immuneomodulator) that I have to put in her eyes 2x's a day. It reduces inflammation, stimulates tear production, and helps to reduce damage to the tear glands. He also said to get Systane eye drops for dry eyes. He said I can put those in her eyes as often as I want. This will help her eyes feel better so she isn't squinting and blinking so much. I can discontinue the original eye drops. Her dry eyes is what has been causing the mucus in her eyes.

We will go back in 10 days...on the 1st, for a recheck. Hopefully that will be the end of this. I feel horrible that she has had, and continues to have to go through this. I can resume walks with her. She will be happy for that. I stopped because she seemed so miserable squinting all the time. I also feel sad that my checkbook has suffered, but Gypsy Breeze is worth every penny spent to get her better!!

Ciara is on the cyclosporine for dry eye, too. It helps her a lot. Good luck with the new meds for Gypsy Breeze.

I'll have to try the Systane eye drops. Neither vet that I've had has suggested any over the counter meds, but I have to admit, I never asked. I may try that for Ciara as well.

How old is Ciara now? How long have you been giving her the cyclosporine med? It is expensive! Lucily the vet only charged me 1/2 of the office call so $35 rather than $70. But it was $54 for that tiny tube of medicine. And it is to be applied 2x's a day/ every 12 hours.

I feel lucky then that this new vet just told me to get the Systane. He said I can put that in her eyes as often as I think she needs it, and said you get what you pay for so Systane is better than other OTC stuff for dry eyes.

Gypsy is sick and tired of all the stuff going in her eyes. That tiny tube of gel with the cyclosporine in it is posing its own challenges with her new found dislike for all things in eyes. It is getting wasted. Same thing happened with the drops to start but there was more drops than there is this med. And I can't stradle her from behind to hold her still better- she freaks out and bucks me off.

My biggest fear is this is going to be a lifetime deal where she has to have drops or meds daily. She is 4.5yo so it will be years of messing with her eyes. Time will tell and our paws are crossed for a good ending.

Okay, new tactics developing!

Treats go in my shirt pocket to pique her interest and cooperate. Got that gel in both eyes. These are bison and apple Fruitables that just came today that she dearly Loves!

Then we had popcorn.

Then I wanted to water spots in the yard for 15 minutes because it is dry and icky, and she loves biting at the water when she brings her frisbee back so we played for 15 minutes and she had Fun!

Her eyes were still very dry and she was squinting a lot this morning so no walk again. I think this evenings frisbee and water play made up for it though. Happy doggo, happy mom. We both needed it.

Congrats to Bev & GB! May the enticement continue to entice!

Hi, Bev,

Ciara is going on 12 this year and I think this started for her when she was about 7. When it first started the vet had her on a tacrolimus compounded ointment. That was when we were down in CT. I don't remember what that cost, but it was a solution that had to be stored in the frig and it got to be I would forget to do the drops 2x a day. It would last a while that way, but I think the cyclosporine seems to be more effective. We've been using that the past year and it's gotten to the point that I don't do it everyday. I do it once a day and maybe 2-3 times a week. At this point, I kind of judge it on if the eyes are red or not. Most days she is pretty clear in both eyes.

One thing I have to watch right now is that after I put the ointment in, I have to keep Roisin away from her for a bit or Roisin will go and lick her eyes. I don't find that Ciara blinks a lot or is squinting, so it seems that it does get a bit better over time. I'm going to give the Systane a try as well and see how that does for her.

Johanna,

My vet was telling me about the tacrolimus compounded ointment. He said they don't keep it in stock because it expires before they need it. So he wanted to try this cyclosporine ointment first.

Last night she resisted a little, and i may have gotten more than a 1/4" in her eyes, but it was good to get it in there. A little bit later we played in the water and as we went to bed, her eyes looked really red again. Of course, then I felt bad and felt we had washed to medicine out. But we also got the gunk all out too. This morning she was extra resistant to let me put the ointment in, but she woke up with very little gunk. Her squinting was less obvious this morning too.

And I didn't do the Systane last night, figuring she really just needed a dang break. I will do it today if I feel she needs it, but overall, I am hoping we have turned a corner. I can't imagine having to do this for the rest of her life.

Hi Bev and Johanna,

The use of tacrolimus for eye inflammation reminded me that we used it for a few years for perianal fistulas in Mars. We got it from a compounding pharmacy. It completely cleared up his condition-or maybe the reaction just settled down after a few years.

Anyway, for us it was a good drug. Of course, cyclosporine is as well. I guess you have to find out what works for the particular problem.

good luck

My vet didn't stock the tacrolimus either. I ordered it through a website they used on line. I'd place the order, the vet would OK the order and then they would compound it and send it to me. I like the cyclosporine better because I can keep it one the top of the desk near where I sit in the living room and I find it easier to remember to check her eyes and use it.

New question, Johanna...or two q's really

When you check her eyes, how do you do it? Just getting a visual? or?

And what exactly are you checking for?

My vet said the reason she is producing the gunk in her eyes is that she isn't producing tears. I had a fleeting moment this morning that I thought we might be turning the corner because her eyes looked pretty clear- no gunk. Short bit later and ever since, plenty of gunk.

I have no doubt she is over it, as am I.

And I haven't been walking her because of the gunk and squinting. Her eyes are a nightmare.