Dog Eye Injuries: Types, Symptoms, Treatment, & Prevention

Whether from playing around or spending time outdoors, a dog can sometimes injure their eye. As an owner, it’s important to know how to care for your companion if this happens. Dog eye injuries should usually be tended to by a vet, but you can take action beforehand to help keep your dog calm.

Familiarize yourself with these eye injury types, symptoms, and treatment options so you’ll know what to do.

Types of Dog Eye Injuries

Many things can cause your pup’s eyes to hurt. Some may just be uncomfortable, like dust in the eye, but others can require more extensive treatment, like deep cuts. Some of the eye injuries that can happen include:¹

• Corneal injuries: Corneal injuries can be caused by things like trauma or dry eyes. Corneal lacerations are scratches on your dog’s cornea, and corneal ulcers are sores on the outer layer of the cornea.
• Retinal injuries: Trauma, holes, tears, and some diseases can cause your dog’s retina to detach. It’s typically treatable but could lead to vision loss.
• Foreign object injuries: Foreign objects in your dog’s eyes — like pollen, dirt, splinters, or even small rocks — can cause redness, swelling, or watery eyes. It’s a good idea to leave removal to the professionals.
• Penetrating injuries: Sometimes, an object can pierce the eye, causing bleeding and swelling. Damage could lead to glaucoma, cataracts, or partial vision loss.
• Eyelid injuries: Cuts, bleeding, or swelling in the eyelid could cause further damage and should be treated quickly.² Your dog may also experience secondary eyelid entropion, where the eyelid rolls inward due to trauma, inflammation, or infection.
• Proptosis: If your dog’s eye is bulging, or partially or completely out of the socket, this is called proptosis. You may also notice eyelid spasms, swelling, and bleeding. Vets may be able to surgically put it back in place, but vision loss or removal of the eye could happen.
• Bleeding: Blood vessels in your dog’s eye can be damaged due to trauma and cause intraocular bleeding. Your dog may not be able to close their eye, and swelling can occur.

You might need to see a veterinary ophthalmologist for particularly serious or challenging injuries.

Dog Eye Injury Symptoms

If your dog has injured their eye, you may notice signs like:²

• Pawing at their eyes
• Twitching eyelids
• Squinting or rapid blinking
• Inability to open or close their eyes
• Teary or watery eyes
• Red eyes
• Cloudiness or discharge
• Eye bulging or falling out of the socket (proptosis)

Your dog may also show general signs they’re hurt or uncomfortable like agitation, restlessness, or excessive panting.³ If you see yellow or green discharge, this could indicate a dog eye infection instead of an injury.⁴

When to see the vet: How to tell if a dog eye injury is serious

Generally, all eye injuries require medical attention — even those that may heal over time on their own. However, there are some instances when an eye injury could be considered more serious and a trip to the vet is urgent.

These symptoms can indicate a need for immediate treatment by a vet:¹

• Bleeding in the eye
• Displacement of the eye within the socket
• Changes in color throughout the eyeball
• Foreign objects in the eye

If your dog is experiencing any of these symptoms, try to keep them calm and place a cone collar on them — if you can — to prevent further damage while you get to the vet.

Diagnosing Dog Eye Trauma

Your veterinarian will examine your dog’s eye to determine what’s wrong and the severity of the injury. They may also ask you about any symptoms you’ve noticed. If the problem isn’t immediately apparent (such as a foreign object that’s visible in the eye), your vet may do further testing or refer you to an ophthalmologist.²

Tests can include a fluorescein stain test to look for surface injuries, a Schirmer tear test to check for dry eyes, checking the pressure in your dog’s eyes, or checking their vision using lights or moving objects.^1,2

Vets may sedate your dog to keep them calm during diagnostics and treatment.¹

Treating an Eye Injury in Dogs

Treating eye injuries depends on the type and severity of the injury. With most injuries, your vet may prescribe eye drops, topical medication, or oral medication to relieve pain and/or prevent infection in addition to other treatments needed.^1,2 In many cases, your dog will also need to wear a cone collar to prevent them from scratching at the eye and making the injury worse.²

Below are some of the common treatment methods a vet may recommend for different dog eye injuries:^1,2

If your dog’s eye needs to be removed, a surgery called enucleation is used.¹

Dog eye injury home treatment

For dogs with minor eye irritations, it may be OK to simply keep watch over them at home and put a cone collar on to prevent further irritation. Using a dog-safe saline solution can help rinse out irritants, but you should never attempt to remove an object yourself.⁶

If you notice any signs that their eye isn’t getting better, or their injury is more extensive, a trip to your vet can be a good idea. Even if an eye injury starts as something simple, getting the proper treatment can help prevent it from getting worse.

Dog Eye Injury Recovery and Prevention

Minor dog eye injuries can typically heal in a week or so when treated properly, moderate injuries may take a few weeks, and more complex eye injuries could take longer if surgery is needed or other complications arise. Some eye injuries could turn into chronic issues or result in vision loss.^1,2

Some of the ways you can help prevent your dog from injuring their eyes are to:^1,2

• Supervise play time — whether inside, outside, or with other animals.
• Ensure sharp objects (such as branches or a metal fence) that could poke their eye aren’t accessible.
• Use a dog-safe eye wash to rinse their eyes after contact with potential irritants (like chlorine or dirt).

Dogs could also be injured by sticking their head out of the window of the car. A pebble or insect could hit your dog’s eye and cause trauma. The wind hitting your dog’s face can also cause dryness and irritation.

MetLife Pet Insurance Can Help With Dog Eye Injury Vet Bills

While you can certainly do your best to prevent an eye injury for your dog, sometimes the unforeseen happens. Eye irritations and injuries should be closely monitored, and seeking veterinary care is important. When unexpected vet bills pop up, having pet insurance to help cover the costs can take the worry out of paying for your dog’s medical care.

MetLife Pet can reimburse you for up to 90% of covered expenses,⁷ and in our policyholder mobile app, you have access to a 24/7 vet chat⁸ so you can get answers to your pet care questions no matter the time of day. Make MetLife Pet dog insurance a part of your financial plan — start by getting a free, personalized quote today.