Leaking eyes

Question
Hi Dolores,
My 3 year old American Cocker is perfect in every way.
I walk her every day(at least 45 minutes) and I feed her what i think is fine premium dog food (it's called Drassel, the company is located just outside of Montreal)....all that aside, i would like to know what i could do to help my pup with her crusty, leaky eyes.
I purchased her a little over a year ago from a woman who claimed she was a purebred with papers but i have yet to see those papers and quite frankly, over time, i really don't care what her provenance is, i just love her and she's the light of my life.
Her eyes do concern me though.
This past year she has had cherry eye which hasn't lasted more than 2 days but her eyes do leak on a daily basis...every few days i take a warm moist face cloth and work the clots out but would love to know what causes them....
are they allergies? Could it be congenetal?

Answer
Who diagnosed Cherry Eye?  That doesn't go away.  I think your girl needs to see a Vet Opthalmologist for a complete eye exam.

Could it be allergies?  Yes but it could also be dry eye.  Does she have droopy eye pockets?

One thing you can do to soothe her eyes is to buy some Genteal Gel eye drops.  Totally safe for dogs (vet opthalmologists love it) and pop it in several times a day.

I've never heard of Drassel dog food but there's a new dog food called Addiction that is a raw, dehydrated food. You just add water and rehydrate it.  Takes away all the concerns re bacteria and they have novel proteins which are perfect for a food trial.  Their website will tell you where it's sold in Montreal if you want to give it a try.  If you do, transition slowly.

But please do try and get her to an Eye Dr. and don't rely on your family vet to treat or diagnose this.  You can ask your vet for a referral or just find an Opthalmologist and call up yourself.  They'll ask who referred you - just give your vet's name.

The Genteal Gel drops can't hurt in the meantime and will make her eyes more comfortable.
Delores