doggie

my doggie, i think 11yrs old is having eye trouble. parents told me the vet said he has dry eyes and his eyes get covered in some goop? its gross. vet told parents to put eye drops in his eyes. i found out last week they are using peoples eye drops? i think that is making it worse. its a shed-su. im getting worried and scared for him. he bumps into things, seems like he cant hear too.

Could be that he is having some blindness. One of my oldest eskie son's is blind. I noticed the white foggy look to his eyes, but didn't know how blind he was until I was walking him on a leash in my front yard & he ran smack into the tree. Now I am very careful to be his "guiding eyes". He is the most sweet & loving eskie, but fights with the others because of his lack of sight.....but he gets my special love.

its making me quite sad. i dont know what to do for my doggie. it is a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shih_Tzu

Many times the vet has prescribed meds and eye drops that is used in people too for my dogs. There is overlap here for some meds and not uncommon. I wouldn't worry about this. Dry eyes is common in older dogs as they cannot produce enough tears to flush the eye, and goop develops from all the foreign material that isn't flushed and can lead to eye infections if left unflushed or uncleaned. Also it is common even in younger and older shih-tzus, due to the nature of the position and shape of their eyes and all the hair surrounding it. It helps to keep it pulled back or trimmed around the eye area to prevent the goop and infection.

The blindness is another issue and I am sorry this is happening and the suspected hearing loss as well. Lots of possibilities for the blindness but has been checked by the vet so it sounds like you are in good hands.

Keep his environment safe for him, use gentle touch in the house and outside to guide him, and on leash, and even consider using gentle all over body rubs/massage for tension relief as he cannot do all the things he used to and is surely feeling strained. Hang in there, as gross as the goop is, kept clean and flushed, you'lll have a happy, healthier dog free of infection.

Oh, ((((((( Ariesmars! )))))))
I'm so sorry your dog is ailing. Best wishes for healing -- hope the drops eventually do the trick.