Dogs are often prone to eye issues, and distinguishing between dog eye allergies or infection can be challenging for pet owners. If your dog is showing signs of eye discomfort—such as redness, discharge, or swelling—it’s important to assess the symptoms carefully. While both allergies and infections can cause similar signs, the urgency and treatment can differ significantly depending on the underlying cause. Understanding the difference is key to ensuring your dog gets the right care at the right time.
What are eye allergies in dogs?
Allergies in dogs, leading to irritation of your dog’s eye or eye issues, are similar to allergies in humans. They develop due to irritation of your dog’s eye, usually by allergens they come in contact with.
Common allergens in dogs:
The most common allergens leading to irritation of your dog’s eyes are:
- Grass, pollen and dust mites.
- Certain foods and treats,
- Chemicals or diffusers and
- Scented candles can also lead to flare-ups of allergies.
Signs of dog eye allergies and how to recognise them:
In most cases, both of your dog’s eyes will be affected. The most common changes and signs to look for in your dog’s eyes are:
- Itchiness
- Irritation
- Watering of the eyes
- Redness around the eyes
- Possibly swelling of the skin around the eyes.
Although irritation can be present, this should not be causing severe pain in most cases.
What are dog eye infections?
Infections happen when certain bacteria find their way to your dog’s eyes and lead to an infection and soreness. In most cases, for bacteria to cause a serious problem, an underlying corneal ulcer should be present which is usually the consequence of scratching or hitting the eye.
Common type of eye infections in dogs
There are common bacteria found in soil, surfaces, grass and water that, even though we are exposed to them on a daily basis, they usually cause no problems.
If your dog is experiencing eye issues and is showing signs of a sore eye already, which would possibly suggest an underlying ulcer, an eye infection can occur when these bacteria find their way to the eye.
Signs of dog eye infections and how to recognise them
Eye infections in dogs are usually, but not always, sore. Your dog might be showing signs of irritation, a sore eye, struggling to open one of their eyes and showing signs of significant purulent (green or yellow) discharge.
Eye infections are very common in dogs, especially in certain breeds, and you should seek urgent advice from your vets if you are worried about the appearance or the irritation in your dog’s eyes.
What are the differences between eye allergies and eye infections?
The main difference between the two is the stimulating and instigating factor(s) leading to the problem and eye irritation.
In allergies, the problem originates from a reaction to something in the environment. Removing this instigating problem will likely reduce the irritation in your dog’s eyes and help to alleviate the problem.
However, when an infection has occurred, the issue in your dog’s eye is much more serious and, unless the particular bacteria causing the infection are dealt with and treated with specific antibiotics, your dog might develop complications that require urgent referral to an ophthalmologist.
When to seek veterinary care?
You should never underestimate a problem and, especially if your dog is struggling to open one eye or you are worried an eye infection might have occurred in your dog’s eye, seek immediate veterinary advice.
Irritation of the eye, due to an eye infection, can deteriorate and become an emergency even within 24 hours; hence, we always recommend seeking veterinary advice as early as possible.
If your pet experiences one or more of the symptoms above, we are here for you. Request an appointment and get in touch with one of our specialised ophthalmologists.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is the main difference between dog eye allergies and an eye infection?
In most cases, allergies will cause mild irritation and clear discharge while an infection will cause more severe pain, discomfort and purulent discharge.
2. My dog has green/yellow discharge from its eye. Is this an emergency?
Although it’s probably not an emergency and as a first step you can use some cooled down boiled water to gently clean any excess discharge, we would recommend arranging a check up if the discharge persists for more than 24 hours.
3. Are eye allergies painful for dogs?
Allergies tend to cause irritation but rarely cause significant pain.
4. Can I wait to see if my dog’s eye problem clears up on its own?
You can review how things progress in the first 24 hours after initially noticing the changes in your dog’s eyes. If the signs persist or deteriorate, you should not ignore the problem any further.