# Eye Boogers...



## cmarrie (Sep 17, 2014)

I'm bathing Wrex right now and in one side he's got dried/gummy eye boogers in the hair around his eyes. Water and gentle washcloth massaging isn't removing much. Is there something eye-safe that will dislove it?

Look how much he's filling out! (Ok, the angle on one makes him look cartoonish, but he's so "adolescent" these days!)


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

I always let it soak in the warm water and then use a fine toothed comb to gently comb out the crust. A flea comb works great.


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## loves (Jul 2, 2013)

A quick swipe with finger or moist tissue once a day will keep them under control. If left alone and to build up it often leaves red raw skin underneath once you get them off. They do not come off easily. Warm water and fine tooth comb as suggested above works.


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## peccan (Aug 26, 2014)

Here's a groomer's blog post: Pet Grooming: The Good, The Bad, & The Furry: Cleaning crusted eyes Point to take: let the boogers soak and get them out while wet: they'll become hard if they're allowed to dry. 

The entire blog is a good read.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

I agree with all suggestions.....keep eye boogers under control by wiping the eyes daily, and when encrusted soak with warm water and use a flea comb to get the rest! Just another part of poodle maintenance LOL!!!


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

Just want to add, Loves is right, underneath will often be red and raw. I learned how to take care of it when I worked at the groom shop. Misha's eyes are wiped every day multiple times


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

Maybe I'm weird, but I use my contact solution saline stuff. I soak a soft rag with it and wipe thir eyes. If their eyes look icky, I can even flush them with it. 

(I do buy the two pack of solution, the dogs' bottle is marked with a red 'X' which is in theory, supposed to keep from sharing bottles. It's a cute theory, at least. lol)


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## loves (Jul 2, 2013)

Sully just gets a teeny bit in his eye corners, only need to wipe it off every couple days, unless I catch him and do it daily. No biggie. But I have seen dogs come in for grooming with huge wads stuck to their face and often have to be gently shaved off and underneath is the red raw sore looking skin. Poor babies and all someone had to do was swipe their finger under their eyes once a day.


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## Suddenly (Aug 8, 2013)

I agree with soaking with watt water and softening up. Maybe a nice soft washcloth to remove, or the flea comb would do the job. Everyday cleaning is a great idea.


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

My 2 don't get much of anything in their eyes... I can't picture what you guys are talking about, with it being red underneath too.

I "inspect" both babies often because they LOVE it, especially Apollo! I have to "pretend" to be picking fleas off of him and he begs for me to not stop (I kinda spread the hair on his head behind ears and scratch etc) he just loves it,
So because they like it I often check their eyes and paw pads etc, but usually there's just a tiny brown-crusty-thing on the inner corner of their eyes and it flicks off easily, like no big deal at all... So I wonder if because I do the "pretend-flea-picking" the crusty stuff don't get to build up... Cause I've never had to let it soak or anything they come right off with a little scratch of flicking of the nail ...


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## cmarrie (Sep 17, 2014)

You are lucky, Lou! Wrex's eyes are watery all the time, it seems like. If not from the teething, than from the shaggy hair on his face. From what I've read it should (not necessarily go away, but) get better when he's all done teething. It's also not bad when his face is nice and short after being groomed. 

Sadly, Wrex suffers from the sad red skin. Even though I wipe the goobers away anytime I see them (at least a couple times a day), I'm not there all night and he can wake up with one that flushed out on it's own and got smooshed into the fur under his eye. 

I'll have to continue wetting, gently rubbing and combing out for now. The hair around his eyes gets so shaggy so fast. Long before I'm ready to take him for another groom. I'm not at all interested in learning to groom Wrex, but maybe I should get a tiny pair of clippers and some round scissors and learn to keep his face/eyes trimmed.


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## poolann (Jan 31, 2013)

cmarrie said:


> You are lucky, Lou! Wrex's eyes are watery all the time, it seems like. If not from the teething, than from the shaggy hair on his face. From what I've read it should (not necessarily go away, but) get better when he's all done teething. It's also not bad when his face is nice and short after being groomed.
> 
> Sadly, Wrex suffers from the sad red skin. Even though I wipe the goobers away anytime I see them (at least a couple times a day), I'm not there all night and he can wake up with one that flushed out on it's own and got smooshed into the fur under his eye.
> 
> I'll have to continue wetting, gently rubbing and combing out for now. The hair around his eyes gets so shaggy so fast. Long before I'm ready to take him for another groom. I'm not at all interested in learning to groom Wrex, but maybe I should get a tiny pair of clippers and some round scissors and learn to keep his face/eyes trimmed.


You can also ask the groomer to use a short blade around his eyes if his skin will tolerate it.


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## cmarrie (Sep 17, 2014)

I'll do that. I'm calling today for an appointment.


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## georgiapeach (Oct 9, 2009)

Just a thought: for those with dogs who have runny eyes and eye boogers, I'm wondering what you're feeding your dogs? I've found that a grain free kibble helps with eye boogers. Sunny had them badly when I got him from the rescue, who fed a grain inclusive kibble (economic necessity). After changing him to grain-free, he hardly has any, and no runny eyes whatsoever. Excessive eye discharge can be a sign of allergy.


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## cmarrie (Sep 17, 2014)

georgiapeach said:


> Just a thought: for those with dogs who have runny eyes and eye boogers, I'm wondering what you're feeding your dogs?


Wrex came to us eating Fromme Adult formula which has many grains in it as well as chicken. In mid October I switched him to TOTW High Plains puppy formula. No grains, no chicken. I didn't notice any change in the eye gunk. To be fair, he'd been getting tiny 1-2 calorie training treats many times a day each day. These treats were corn/soy free, but I believe contained grains. Recently (last week) the bag ran out and I replaced it with Wellness Pure Rewards beef jerkey. These are grain free and chicken free. I'll be curious to see how the eyes react once I have him groomed and get the hair out of his face. I don't know how he can see anything with this crazy Beatles hair mop on his forehead!


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