Snake Bitten

[NanLaew]

We are away from the family home and last week, the sister-in-law mentioned that something was wrong with our shi-tzu's eyes. My wife reckoned it may have been irritation due to the hair being clipped too short around the eyes by the groomer which had happened before. However, when she got home a few days later, the poor bugger is almost blind with one eye all mattered, swollen shut and very painful whilst the other has a opaqueness that he can hardly see through. This happened in less than 5-6 days and she has taken to the vet who is administering some regular medication which doesn't seem ti be making any difference. The vet is at a loss to explain what it is too. My wife asked the family and they don't recall anything like getting in a fight and nobody beat him. He is a yard dog in that there's no nasty plants or stuff in the garden and he doesn't get out on the street either.

My wife wonders if maybe he was either bitten by a snake or got venom in his eyes as there's the odd snake that passed through the yard. Last year a green tree snake had a go at the minah bird in it's cage but sis-in-law caught it and killed it.

Are there any other bugs that can do for a dogs eyes like this? We live in the suburbs of Udon, not out in the sticks.

Anyone with any opinions and clues about this? He's the family dog, about 5 years old and isn't out and about in the soi at all. It's pretty painful and doesn't seem to be improving.

Thanks,

[ThaiLife]

Hi, I'm sorry to hear about your shi-tzu , I can only comment on my experience . Ive had a dog blinded by a spitting Cobra and ive had a shi-tzu that's had an opaque eye, the dog that got blinded by the Cobra , ( both eyes ) the eyes were not swollen but just very red looking and had a tendency to stay closed , I washed the eyes out with water using a syringe and after a week the eye's went back to normal , if your shi-tzu had come into contact with a Cobra I am sure some one would have heard some thing , as my shi-tzu constantly barks if she see just a small frog, as for the opaqueness of the eye , if its any thing like the photo, this was in our case due to an eye infection , and was cleared up with eye drops. The other possibility could be a cataract which is common in that breed .sorry I can be more helpful, and please let me know how things turn out

TL :jap:

[bina]

my foofoo the lhasa apso had to have one eye removed after coming home two days after disappearing (bitchs in heat and he was intact at the time)... someone or something bashed him/clawed him in the eye... matted hair, pain, etc... i went straight on the route of removal (removing balls at same time)..

does sound like he might have had a fight with a cat (causing scratches on cornea leading to infection and possible infection and bacteria moving to second eye)... or having been hit in eyes and the cornea ripped (like with foofoo).. shitzus have large and 'outward' eyes tending to get injured ...also, the are the height and size that they come face to face with lots of cats, dogs, feet (possibly being kicked in eye)...

most likely, the eye was scratched and not taken care of (usually people dont notice eye problems with dogs until it really infected or messed, including me!).... then the eye got secondary infection which spread... drops are not the treatmetn, usually several types of drops including also atropine to keep the eye from moving, ointments and drops with cortisones and antibiotics and sometimes systamatic antibiotics....since eyes are close to the brain.

need a good vet, preferably one iwth opthamalic experience , dogs get around ok with one eye... foofoo is a prime example... he shows no problems whatsoever withhavving one eye (other eye sewn up for asthetic reasons, i clip his fur as if he has two eyes so his face doesnt look lopsided... sorry no photos recently).... two eyes not horrible either for house dog, might be the cheaper and easier solution in long run... dogs adjust quickly,

bina

israel

[hoop]

my foofoo the lhasa apso had to have one eye removed after coming home two days after disappearing (bitchs in heat and he was intact at the time)... someone or something bashed him/clawed him in the eye... matted hair, pain, etc... i went straight on the route of removal (removing balls at same time)..

does sound like he might have had a fight with a cat (causing scratches on cornea leading to infection and possible infection and bacteria moving to second eye)... or having been hit in eyes and the cornea ripped (like with foofoo).. shitzus have large and 'outward' eyes tending to get injured ...also, the are the height and size that they come face to face with lots of cats, dogs, feet (possibly being kicked in eye)...

most likely, the eye was scratched and not taken care of (usually people dont notice eye problems with dogs until it really infected or messed, including me!).... then the eye got secondary infection which spread... drops are not the treatmetn, usually several types of drops including also atropine to keep the eye from moving, ointments and drops with cortisones and antibiotics and sometimes systamatic antibiotics....since eyes are close to the brain.

need a good vet, preferably one iwth opthamalic experience , dogs get around ok with one eye... foofoo is a prime example... he shows no problems whatsoever withhavving one eye (other eye sewn up for asthetic reasons, i clip his fur as if he has two eyes so his face doesnt look lopsided... sorry no photos recently).... two eyes not horrible either for house dog, might be the cheaper and easier solution in long run... dogs adjust quickly,

bina

israel

I,VE HAD MY THAI RIDGEBACK SPAT AT TWICE.SHE KILLED THE SNAKE BUT GOT VENOM IN THE EYE.I RINSE HER EYE WITH BEER IT SEEMS TO DO THE TRICK BUT YOU HAVE TO IT STRAIGHT AWAY.EYES ARE RED FOR A FEW DAYS BUT ALWAYS RECOVERED.HOPE THIS TIP HELPS .THE BEER MUST HAVE SOME AFFECT ON DILUTING THE VENOM

[NanLaew]

Thanks for the posts. Since we were traveling, we left our dog with the local vet so that twice-daily treatments would be done. He's back home now now mum is back and one eye is back to normal but the vet reckons the other will take another couple of weeks. It looks a bit like the pic posted by TL but not so inflamed; just looks like the inner skin of the eyelids are swollen.

Just like to add that we do have snakes up the ying yang on the land and also the neighbours were chasing one at the house across the street. Must be all the Udon flooding that's driving these snakes into places they never usually go.

Edited September 24, 2010 by NanLaew