The cause of most cases of dry eye in poodles is a destructive immune disorder called autoimmune ophthalmia (AIOP). It’s important to understand that many factors contribute to this disease: specifically, heredity (the tendency to develop AIOP is hereditary), prolonged exposure to air pollutants such as ozone and high-velocity winds produce conditions that promote the development of AIOP. In addition, some environmental and dietary factors appear to play a role.
An Asquint or half-closed eye is usually not a cause for concern. If the dog will allow you to do so, examine its eyes and those surrounding areas. Look at the eyelashes, inside of the ears, near the nose and lips. Sometimes the hair around an eye covers what appears to be an injury or abnormality. Friction from collars can also result in hair loss around the neck, leading to inflammation similar to dermatitis or hives.
If you detect any open sores on your Poodle’s face that are oozing fluid, have him seen by his veterinarian promptly as this may indicate an underlying problem requiring treatment before further damage occurs. It might only be a matter of removing some crusty deposits from the hair surrounding an area, cleaning it and applying a topical antibiotic ointment. However, some sores may be too extensive to resolve on your own. If no sores are detected with careful examination, then there is probably not a problem.
Watery eyes in poodle caused by irritants such as poodle shampoo or soap residue left in the eye after washing can usually be cleared up with tear-free shampoo or diluted vinegar followed by thorough rinsing. If the dog’s eyes continue to water excessively and if there is also nasal discharge and coughing, he may have an upper respiratory infection caused by bacteria or viruses. He should be seen promptly by his veterinarian for diagnosis and treatment.
If you notice your Poodle rubbing at its face and eyes with its paws, especially if there is a discharge from the eyes, he may have an infection of the footpads called pododermatitis.
If your Poodle has watery eyes, which you think may be caused by allergy or irritation, try applying some OTC human eye drops for temporary relief. If that doesn’t work, consult your veterinarian before further damage occurs to your dog’s eyes.
Why Do Poodle’s Eyes Water?
Why does a poodle’s eyes water when they get excited? This is because of the way their face is built. The tear glands around their eye area are very close to the surface of their skin which makes it easy for them to produce tears. When a poodle gets very excited and starts panting, he begins to sweat, and his face begins to heat up. The heat on the dog’s face causes blood vessels in his eyes to dilate, and this can cause excess tearing while panting due to excitement.
Poodles have what breeders call “wash-and-go” coats that require little grooming compared with some other breeds. Because Poodles have been bred to be water dogs, they have a lot of loose skin and a lot of wrinkles. This can help with their natural ability to swim and retrieve things from the water, but it also means that their facial features are not very well-defined. Because there is so much excess skin, the tear glands sit near the surface of the Poodle’s face and produce more tears than usual when they get excited or nervous.
It is a common sight to see the beautiful dog breed the Poodle, especially its signature look: A puff of curly hair with pom-poms on each ear and a bushy tail. However, there is one thing that most people don’t know just by looking at them: They often have rather wet eyes. This wouldn’t be such an odd fact about this cute pup if it weren’t for how little we knew about why they do.
A French man named Gérard Gascon has dedicated his life to researching our furry four-legged friends, recently publishing his scientific findings together with information from other sources in hopes of shedding some light on why these adorable dogs seem to always a tissue nearby. He believes that Poodles have Watery eyes in poodles mainly because of a particular chromosome they inherited from their ancestors.
He believes that this was an evolutionary change from the Spitz family to which they belong. The Spitz family has a fascinating history as it includes breeds as diverse as Wolfs, huskies and Samoyeds! To trace back why Poodle’s eyes are constantly wet, you need to go back in time for thousands of years.
Gascon explained that dogs with drop-down ears would frequently get infections when hunting or defending their territory. By sleeping on their bellies, dogs exposed the sensitive skin behind their ear canal to incoming bacteria and parasites, leading to severe infections. To prevent this from happening, dogs frequently getting infections started to grow a fold of skin over the ear canal. The theory is that these canals, which are much less exposed to parasites and bacteria, eventually evolved into nearly closed compartments. The tears formed a small water-tight lake.
This constant stream of tears would often cause problems for their owners as it would make them look like they were constantly crying! However, because having teary eyes was such an advantage for their survival, the genes responsible for developing this would be passed on from generation to generation.
Poodles are such a wonderfully intelligent and trainable breed that you think they would be among the healthiest of breeds when it comes to health problems. Unfortunately, because of their large eyes, wide-open nostrils and flat face, they have a predisposition to a nasal disorder in which tear production is impaired or completely absent.
This condition is known as “dry eye,” but the problem arises from an excess tear formation. Unlike some other breeds whose watery eyes result from a lack of tear production (a medical condition called keratoconjunctivitis sicca-KCS), poodles form too many tears that overflow into the dog’s mouth and coat, resulting in wet facial smudges when he licks himself and weepy eyes when he sleeps.
If you groom your dog, you’ll notice the smudges on his face and his wet, weeping eyes; if you don’t, your spouse probably will! The problem is most commonly recognized in young dogs, but it can occur at any age.