Eye Redness from Food Allergy?

[Shavy]

Vet's office isn't open tomorrow, so I will call on Monday and try to get him in, but in the meantime I was wondering how members would weigh in on this. I got my pup about a week ago from the breeder and immediately switched him off of the generic dog food he was getting to Wellness Super5mix. He doesn't eat it as enthusiastically as Eagle Pack (as I saw the other day when we dropped by my parents' house and he helped himself to their dog dish ), but I chalked that up to Wellness' reputation for not being as appealing to dogs as other brands of food.

He's not itching or scratching or biting, and his stool is a little soft but fully formed. There's no discharges, no vomiting, no waxy ears. However, since I've brought him home, his eyes have developed a redness to the sclera around the 'base' of the eyeball. By that I mean, there's no redness around the pupil, but rather when he rolls his eyes to look around, you can see a mild redness to the sclera that looks like it might be irritation. Could this be a reaction to the switch in food? He has a lot more sclera showing around his eyes than most dogs, would this possibly lead to higher chances of irritation?

[marshies]

It could be stress. That's what my vet said on y first check up. Could also be infection. Did the pup fly in?

[Shavy]

Originally Posted by marshies

It could be stress. That's what my vet said on y first check up. Could also be infection. Did the pup fly in?

Nope, I picked him up (1 hr trip). He has been nervous his first week here, though he's definitely coming around and becoming more confident. If it were an infection, wouldn't there be swelling or discharge or tearing? Right now, he just looks a little, um, high.

[marshies]

Mine had normal discharge and looked normal other than the redness.

[Shavy]

Originally Posted by marshies

Mine had normal discharge and looked normal other than the redness.

And it was just move-induced stress? Interesting, I'd never heard of that...

How long did it take for your pup's eyes to clear up?

[marshies]

Mine had a particular stressful flight that took 12+ hours. It took a week or 2?

[marshies]

But mine could've also been infection from the flight staff sticking their fingers into different crates. The vet just said as long as it doesn't get worse to leave it be.

[carmspack]

usually mild dehydration

[marshies]

Originally Posted by carmspack

usually mild dehydration

Carmen, that's very interesting, the vet didn't mention that possibility.

Can you go into it a bit further? Are the symptoms just red eyes? Amaretto sometimes still has a tiny bit of redness in her eyes. But both times at the vet and they both thought it was fine.

I do try to make her drink water during the day, but dang this easily distracted girl. The water bowl just isn't exciting unless we've JUST come back from our walks.