Cherry eye in bulldogs is a very common disease in this popular dog breed, and if it is not treated in time, the dog can get a serious eye infection. In this post, we explain you more about this disease.
What is cherry eye in bulldog dogs?
The eyes of dogs have, in addition to the upper and lower eyelid, an additional eyelid called third eyelid or, being more technical, nictitating membrane.
The condition is very irritating and is followed by great discomfort. In case you live in an area with a low humidity level, your bulldogs’ eyes can become dry and irritated.
Unfortunately this is a hereditary disease, cherry eye commonly affects brachycephalic breeds because they tend to have large, protruding eyes that are prone to pick up different allergens from the air.
The cherry eye in bulldog manifests itself at an early age, approximately from the first year of life.
This is because their ligamentous eye has not yet developed properly during that age. These are the most common symptoms:
- Redness of the eye
- The dog is constantly rubbing and scratching the eye
- Dry eyes
- Excessive tear production
- Discharge coming out of the eye
- Infection
- Blurred vision
- Conjunctivitis
How to prevent cherry eye in bulldogs?
The best thing to do is to prevent it by performing a regular massage treatment around the eyes. This requires a warm washcloth and dog-safe eye drops to gently massage the corner of your bulldog’s eye.
You can also keep his eyes regularly moisturized with an eye wash ointment.
Both of these methods of prevention should be discussed with a veterinarian, who will recommend the application of eye drops with anti-inflammatory components that will help to deflate the eye area, relieve conjunctivitis and keep the eye moisturized.
Third eyelid prolapse surgery in dogs
Once the bulldog already has cherry eye, it will be very difficult to remove it with massages or anti-inflammatories, since it will usually provoke dry keratoconjunctivitis and it will come out again. In this case the best way to remove it is through surgery.
The best surgical method will be to put the gland back in place and fix it with sutures; this will prevent it from coming out again.
After this intervention the only thing that will be necessary will be the application of antibiotic eye drops for about a week.
As we have seen, the appearance of cherry eye in the bulldog is a condition that, although not serious in the short term, must be treated.
Photo by Sébastien Lavalaye on Unsplash