crying

Your Pet: My Dog Is Crying Bubba’s eyes are tearing constantly and have been for sometime now. His caretakers wipe his eyes at least ten times a day but the tears keep coming. Bubba does rub his eyes on occasion but overall does not seem to be too concerned about the situation. That apparently (and rightfully so) is not the case for his caretakers. Bubba is a boxer dog about three years old. He has had no other health problems other than his propensity to produce tears. It is to the point now where there are tear tracks below the inner potion of both eyes and the hair in that area is disappearing. What should be done? All together now, “take Bubba to his veterinarian.” Tear production is a normal function. Tears bath the eyeballs with a clear slightly viscous solution that moistens and protects the outer layer of the globe and the lining of the lids. Tears drain from the eye through an opening called the nasolacrimal puncta through a duct called the nasolacrimal duct into the nose. From there they reach the back of the nasal passages drop into the back of the oral cavity and are swallowed. There are cases where these ducts can be plugged causing the tears to fall out of the eyes instead of draining into the nose. This may be Bubba’s problem but there are other possibilities. I suspect that Bubba is producing excess tears and overwhelming the nasolacrimal ducts’ ability to drain all the tears appropriately. This happens in people when they cry. I do not however think Bubba is crying. There is a condition called entropion which causes excess tearing. This condition involves the inward rolling in of the eyelid or lids. It usually occurs in the lower eyelids and with the inward rolling of the lids, hairs along the border of the lids comes in contact with the eyeball causing irritation with blinking which causes excess tearing. This condition is usually genetic and is more common among certain breeds of dogs. Boxers do have a higher incidence of entropion cases. Treatment for entropion usually involves surgical correction of the rolled lids by resecting excess lid tissue and creating a normal lid margin, sort of a lid tuck if you will. Another possibility that can lead to excess tear production is a condition called dystichiasis. Dystichiasis is the occurrence of tiny hairs protruding from the lid margins in inappropriate direction toward the eyeball causing contact when blinking and thus irritation. This irritation then leads to tearing. Resolution of dystichiasis involves surgery. We can attempt to epilate each of the offending hairs which removes the irritation. There is potential for re-growth however which then would require another procedure. There are many cases of dystichiasis that can be resolved using and entropion procedure as described above. By simply rolling the lid margin outward, the dystichia no longer contact the eyeball and the irritation is eliminated. The cause of Bubba’s tearing problem, whatever it might be, should be fairly straightforward and I suspect so too will be the appropriate treatment.