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My almost 5 year old beagle's third eye lid keeping coming up covering his eyes. After a few minutes the skin around his eyes look puffy. His eyes get blood shot looking. He has done this just a few times before but lately he has been doing it more often. He does have allergies that the vet said to give him Benadryl for. I am unsure if this is allergy related or if it is something else. At first he acts normal then if it doensn't go back to normal after a few minutes he starts to act like he is starting to panic. Behavior before episode is normal and once his eyes are normal his behavior is normal. Anyone have any ideas on what may cause this or what I can do for him?

Submitted: 65 days and 1 hours ago.

Category: Dog

Value: $9

Status: CLOSED

Pet's Sex: Male
Pet's Age: 4

Already Tried:
So far during an episode I just try to keep him calm. I offer water or an icecube. Usually before the combination of comforting him and letting him eat ice would work but this last time it really didn't help.

Posted by Dr. Deb 64 days and 20 hours ago.

Answer

Does this happen in both eyes at the same time?
Are his pupils dilated, or maybe different sizes from each other?
Does he act wobbly or weak?
Are there any other signs-lameness, drooling, ears flopping differently?

I am on my third beagle and know first hand how wonderful and special they are. One problem that beagles have more than some other breeds is seizures. This could be some bizarre neurologic seizure type disorder. A veterinary neurologist would be a good resource and second opinion. Anticonvulsants may be indicated to stop this problem.

Best of luck with a great dog, follow up with other questions if you want

64 days and 7 hours ago.

Reply

Yes this happens with both of his eyes at the same time. His behavior is normal before and after. When he first starts to do it he is fine then after a couple minutes if his eyes are not back to normal he starts to act stressed. Basically what he does is runs to me or my husband and wants to be pet or comforted. So I rub his belly or ears to keep him calm. After a few minutes of that usually when he opens his eyes again he is fine. His pupils seem to look normal (when you can see them, He doesn't seem to be wobbly or weak, no drooling, his ears are normal until he starts to panic then he holds them back like he is scared. We haven't been able to pinpoint any triggers or anything. Yesterday he was at my parents house (a daily occurance) when I came back there he was outside with their dog. As I walked through the fence he started running around excited. As he was making a circle around the yard I noticed his third eye lids were covering his eyes. When we went in his eyes were still covered. This lasted at least 7 minutes. Then probably 4 hours later he was outside barking at the beagle down the street, when I went out there to get him his eyes were like that again. This time they only stayed like that for maybe 3 minutes (that I know of. I am not sure how long he was like that before I went out). The 3rd time it happened yesterday was shortly after my husband came home from work. He was petting him and was fine. A few minutes later he noticed his third eye lid was covering his eyes again. A couple days before this I was painting the bathroom and it seemed like everytime he walked in there he would start to do it. Well I only allowed him to come in twice. So we thought the fumes of the paint or the dust (we just remodeled the bathroom) was what was triggering it. Up until those 2 days he has never had one more than one time in a day. It also only happened maybe once or twice a month if that sometimes. Until we can get him to the vet is there signs or symptoms we should be watching for?

Posted by Dr. Deb 64 days and 4 hours ago.

Answer

This is an interesting case, and in medicine you don't really want to be interesting. It is true that irritants to the corneas or surface of the eyes will sometimes cause the third eyelids to go up, more often it would cause squinting. I would still recommend a consult to either a neurologist or an ophthalmologist for further evaluation. i'm not sure you need to do anything else but make sure that when it does happen he is safe and can't run out into the road.

64 days and 4 hours ago.

Reply

If something is irritating his eyes could it cause the third eye to stick there? It almost seems like at times he is trying to make them normal and the third eyelids stay half way up. Where you can see half his eye and half his third eye lid.

Accepted Answer

If they are sticking there because the eye is dry, some artificial tears- you can buy them in a drugstore, it is the same product people use. you can try putting a couple drops of that in the eye. See if moistening helps. Other than that try to get in to see an ophthalmologist soon.

Accepts:
Expert:	Dr. Deb
Pos. Feedback:	100.0 %
Answered:	9/20/2009

Dog Veterinarian

DVM VMRCVM '89, 20 yrs experience in progressive small animal medicine and surgery

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Pet's Sex: Male
Pet's Age: 4

Already Tried:
So far during an episode I just try to keep him calm. I offer water or an icecube. Usually before the combination of comforting him and letting him eat ice would work but this last time it really didn't help.

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Reply

Answer

Reply

If something is irritating his eyes could it cause the third eye to stick there? It almost seems like at times he is trying to make them normal and the third eyelids stay half way up. Where you can see half his eye and half his third eye lid.

Accepted Answer

If they are sticking there because the eye is dry, some artificial tears- you can buy them in a drugstore, it is the same product people use. you can try putting a couple drops of that in the eye. See if moistening helps. Other than that try to get in to see an ophthalmologist soon.

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Pet's Sex: MalePet's Age: 4 Already Tried: So far during an episode I just try to keep him calm. I offer water or an icecube. Usually before the combination of comforting him and letting him eat ice would work but this last time it really didn't help.

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Reply

Answer

Reply

If something is irritating his eyes could it cause the third eye to stick there? It almost seems like at times he is trying to make them normal and the third eyelids stay half way up. Where you can see half his eye and half his third eye lid.

Accepted Answer

If they are sticking there because the eye is dry, some artificial tears- you can buy them in a drugstore, it is the same product people use. you can try putting a couple drops of that in the eye. See if moistening helps. Other than that try to get in to see an ophthalmologist soon.

Related Dog Questions

Pet's Sex: Male
Pet's Age: 4

Already Tried:
So far during an episode I just try to keep him calm. I offer water or an icecube. Usually before the combination of comforting him and letting him eat ice would work but this last time it really didn't help.