The Zim Family Cocker Spaniel Forum

I took him to the vet yesterday and he was prescribed some drops to reduce the inflammation. She also gave him a shot.

Today it looks exactly the same. I was very scared and had no idea what it was. So I started looking around the forums and just found out this is a very common problem with American cockers and even has a name, cherry eye!

Jim even wrote an article on this and gives very interesting tips and information about this problem here. But here it says that you can massage it back in, which I don't think I will ever be able to do by myself :(

My question is, how many of you have had this issue with your cockers and what did you do? And what would you do in my case?

why can't you massage it back? Zoey has that problem as a pup now as an adult it stays out. All you do is put your finger over the inside corner of the eye(they should close their eye you don't want to poke your finger in their actual eye)rub gently as if you where rubbing your own eye. It should go back in. You may have to repeat it often at first. How old is Rai? as Zoey grew it happened less and less, even the vet was suprised how easily it slid back into place.

Thanks Becky. Is it really that easy? I personally have always had a weird thing with eyes, can't think of putting a finger inside them (thank goodness I don't use lenses ).

Rai is almost 2.

We will try to try to do it... I can't stand the sight of him looking like that...

We're trying but it's impossible, he keeps moving and trying to escape. He's so stubborn.

it is outragously easy!!!! trust me! I bet Rai won't mind at all. I meant to say Zoey doesn't have hers pop out at all now and she is 3. I would at least give the massage a chance before you decide on surgery to correct it. Good luck!

Is this is the first time it's happened to Rai? I would try to massaged it back into place myself now that the meds have had a chance to take down some of the inflammation. Here is a video showing how to massage it back into place. This guy makes it look easy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjyBLzCN ... e=youtu.be If you are not comfortable or if Rai is still giving you a hard time then I'd take him back to the vet and have her try.

Thanks guys. We've been trying for quite a while now, but nothing changes. I don't want to tire him out either, and we are not sure we are doing it right. We'll try again later... The inflammation persists.

I'd let the vet give it a try. It may be that you can't get it back in because it won't go . At least then you will know how to do it better after seeing it done, if the vet is successful

You owe it to your dog to give it a try.Even after surgery problems usually occur in later life. It happened to my dog 2 years ago and apart from the first week of happening it has never returned. Once youve done it you will wonder why it seemed so hard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_O66KHZ2s8
Heres another video in greater detail.
Good luck and don't rush to vets with this one.

Cherry eye often pops out in a puppy, as they are still growing into their adult size.
And as pups they play sooo hard!
As a youngster, my Bridgette would often pop one, and we would massage it back in each time.
Once she matured a bit, maybe about 10 months of age or so, it stopped and she has never had it pop out again, and she is now 3 1/2 years old.

As others suggested, you really need to massage it back in.
I too was leery of doing this, but it is sooo easy.
You will not hurt the pup, just massage the inner corner of his closed eye.

Will be watching for an updated picture after you massage it back!

I did it!

I owe you guys big time! I'm so happy Thanks everybody for your helpful advice and the videos. I was so worried about surgery.

Edit: The vet says this is not the best solution, because he will have it again. What do you think? What should we do if it reappears?

This is a picture of Rai, taken 3 minutes ago.

I knew you could do it!
Good job!

For now, If Rai was my pup, I would watch him to see if the cherry eye continues to pop out. Possibly this may not happen again, or it may be an infrequent occurrence that you can massage back in.

I have heard that the longer the tissue remains out or exposed, the tissue can become damaged, and may then require some type of surgery.

Good luck, and thanks for the latest picture of Rai. He is adorable!

ditto

Nicely done! Rai is back to his adorable self again! I knew you could do it!

If it happens again just do the same thing. If it continues too often then you might consider surgery but I would only if it was happening too often or if you didn't catch it soon enough to massage back in. It may be that this is the only time it happens... if so you avoided a big vet bill.

As for your vets comment.... surgery doesn't always work the first time either. I'd rather go the non invasive ... less expensive... pain free route first! Besides, my vet is the one who showed me how to do this to my last cocker ... she had cherry eye many times before we made the decision to go the surgical route.

Thanks again, every one.

I am glad you tried it and it worked. Holly had it twice and as it came It went away after a gentle massage. Just keep an eye on him. Be careful if he scratches his eye.

It may well keep popping out for next week or two, like my dog's, but it hasn't returned in two years now. Diet plays a big part certain vitamins and minerals help keep connective tissue strong, but thats another story. when it first happened to my dog I remember him rubbing his face on the carpet after a bath. I didn't bath him so don't know if shampoo got in his eyes but that was how it happened.

How do you know if its "too late" to massage it back in? My vet didn't even try doing this! Or mention it, or drops or anything! He jut said we will " watch it" and went on to give the dog his shots an then was gone...

Here are the instructions I somewhat followed from Bullwrinkle.com:

"There are old timers with extensive experience with "Cherry Eye Condition" that recommend an alternative to surgery, especially those breeds that have high surgical risks. The first thing that is done to "treat" this condition is to prescribe an antibiotic ointment, second use warm compresses to the corner of the eye, third is to massage the gland lightly with the index finger applying even gentle pressure in a circular motion. Once the tear duct becomes "unblocked" even if it is out of its normal place it is now of a size that usually can be returned by pulling very gently the outer tissue and "popping" the tear duct back into place. You may have to replace the tear duct several times over a two week period, sometimes I have heard for even a month, but then it does not require surgery, and the dog as a general rule has no more problems with the condition whatsoever. We urge new pet owners to be very careful when attempting to use this technique because you can cause injury to the eyeball if you scratch it when trying to massage the tear duct. Try to find another owner of a bulldog or similar breed to walk you through it the first time to make sure you are doing it correctly. We do urge you to seek veterinarian assistance if the condition worsens or if this technique fails to make an improvement. There are some bulldogs that have an inflamatory disease as well and you may see a worsening of the condition. Inflamatory conditions must be treated with an anti-inflamatory antibiotic drop or ointment."

I made a few changes to the above instructions. I used OTC lubricating eye drops I bought at a pharmacy. They were called Gen Teal. I trimmed my fingernail all the way down. I did the massage and popped the gland back in keeping light pressure on it for about 5 minutes. I repeated the process for the next 2 days but I saw immediate results after the first day. It has been 3 months and we have not had another occurrence of cherry eye!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_O66KHZ2s8

Best of luck don't forget OTC drops or some kind of eye drops.

Two of the cockers in my family have had a cherry eye pop out, one time for each. Thanks to this forum, I massaged it back in immediately, with no vet visit needed! Neither one has had it happen again

The key is, you need to massage the cherry eye to try to put it back in as soon as possible each time it happens. If the cherry eye is not massaged back in, the tissues dry out and most likely will require surgery to repair.

As a 6-9 month old pup, my Bridgette had a cherry eye pop out several times during rough play with the other dogs. Each time I massaged it back in as soon as it happened. She outgrew the cherry eye problem within a few months as the eyelid skin tightened, and is now 4 years old.

I think if I were you, I would try to massage it back in. You can use saline drops to moisten it if it seems dry. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose. Take a look at the you.tube video, that will help. Have you asked the breeder if it's happened to this dog before?

(I've had dogs in rescue where we had no idea how long they'd had the cherry eye, I put saline drops in the eye, and half an hour or so later added more saline drops, and massaged it right back in. So I don't think time is so crucial. What I am pretty sure about is that it will not resolve on it's own.)

And regarding the vet- personally, I'd be looking for a different one!! Good vets know that at least half of their work is with you, making sure you feel listened to and helped and supported!! I'm sorry you've had a less than great experience with your new dog and the vet.

Find some human OTC eye drops for a month.

There is a stickied thread on cherry eye with lots of info.