Chow diagnosed with Entropion

magnadudl · Post by **magnadudl** » Tue Aug 28, 2012 6:26 pm

My two year old Chow Chow was playing with a neighbors dog two days ago and when she came home, I noticed that one of her eyes was watery and seeping. The next day, both of her eyes were watery and seeping a yellowish "gook" and swollen. I took her to the vet and he said that she has entropion and needs to have surgery to correct it. I looked at her eyes and I don't see where her eyelashes are growing inward. I am going to get a second opinion, but I want to know if anyone has had any experience with this condition and/or the surgery. Any information would be helpful. Thanks!

Tracie2114 · Post by **Tracie2114** » Sat Sep 01, 2012 4:48 am

My puppy has Entropion in his one eye... The specialist won't operate yet because they want to wait for him to grow a little more. She said if they fix it now and he grows a lot then it will turn outward and be more difficult to fix since you can remove skin but can't put it back. We have our first consult appoint at NC State in three weeks (he will be 6 months then) I was told its ideal to perform the procedure is at 7-9months of age. My pup's is pretty extreme and really bothers him. I have to use artificial tear ointment several times today to provide some relief. Hopefully your guy won't be bothered as much. Artificial tears help add lubrication to prevent the hairs from rubbing the eye and causing corneal ulcers..Good luck...

Sarahloo · Post by **Sarahloo** » Sat Sep 01, 2012 9:38 am

She probably brought home a rather severe eye-infection from her play date!

Dogs don't just get entropion from one second to the next. You should find a capable vet to treat the infection, it does not look good!

It is however possible that she also has entropion on top of the eye-infection!

Rio · Post by **Rio** » Sat Sep 01, 2012 12:11 pm

I would get a second opinion, the first vet we went to told us Rio had entropia and wanted to operate. We went to another vet (not because of the entropia diagnosis, the vet was an @ss) anyway, the new vet inspected Rios eyes at great length and said she could not see any sign of entropia and instead gave us steroid eye drops which cleared up the watery eye. Rios face has since grown and filled out and his eyes are fine.

Cam Atis · Post by **Cam Atis** » Sat Sep 01, 2012 7:54 pm

Get a second opinion. From a vet who is willing to listen to how it happened. Busy as they may be, they must allot some time to listen rather than give a verdict after glancing down.

Arthur · Post by **Arthur** » Mon Sep 03, 2012 1:37 am

Whisky, my 10.5 month old Chow, had a similar problem. the vet told me he needed surgury right away a month ago. I had no help and not sure the vet was correct. Whisky's situation, to me, seemed not too bad. I asked the pet shop owner where I had adopted Whisky. The owner said he had a lot of experience about this. He told me that I could use an eyelash curler (I borrowed from my wife) to turn the eyelash outward and wipe the eyelash upward and outward everytime, 2 times a day, when I clean his eyes. I did both his suggestions and he is now seem ok. I am still observing him if there is anything unusal. Will let you guys informed.

steph131 · Post by **steph131** » Tue Sep 11, 2012 5:54 am

I had my Chow puppy Barney at 13 weeks and the breeder told me he had a slight entropion. She said it could go one of two ways, self correct or need surgery. It got progressively worse as the weeks went by and my first vet did a tacking procedure (sticthes to pull the eyelid out) at around 4 1/2 months. This last all of a week before the lower eyelids were turning in again. The vet suggested we do this again as he was reluctant to do the whole entropion procedure before he was 7 months. I took him for a second opinion with another vet and he said the case is quite severe. There's a fine balance of leaving them until they're older when they're faces have grown more, but if you leave it too long, you run the risk of corneal ulcers, and worst case scenario, the poor dog can lose their eyes. The second vet was very confident in doing the procedure at 6 months, and said further tacking would be a waste of time. He has done dogs at younger ages and not had any problems. There are also a variety of ways they can do surgery depending on the age and severity. Luckily, as chow fur is soft, the effects aren't as dramatic as shorter, coarser haired dogs. Until we have the operation done, they have recomended lubricating eye drops to prevent any damage to the eyes.

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