Sophia's Mommy

Just a quick question......I will be getting a bassett puppy in a month or so and in some of the pics i've seen the grown dos seem to have alot of redness in their eyes and on teh bottom eyelid.....why is this nd is there anything that can be done to et rid of the redness if my baby develops it???

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Much Love from Sophia and her adoring mommy

HOMER

To my knowledge, this is just a Basset trait. It doesn't bother them, it's just the way they look - like their long ears and short legs!!

Sophia's Mommy

Thanks....you probably just saved me hours of frustration trying to get Sophie to let me put drops in her eyes...lol

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Much Love from Sophia and her adoring mommy

sadeyes2

As Toby is a rescue and therefore I presume came from an unscrupulous breeder who wouldn't have bothered to test for the various health problems common to bassets, I pay close attention to his eyes as I know he could be more prone to develope glaucoma amongst other things.

He too has the red on his bottom eyelids but several weeks ago, one eye looked slightly redder than usual and it turned out he had conjunctivitis . I think it is something you have to keep a careful eye on. (excuse the pun)

Mikey T

From the AKC breed Standard
"The eyes are soft, sad, and slightly sunken, showing a prominent haw, and in color are brown, dark brown preferred. A somewhat lighter-colored eye conforming to the general coloring of the dog is acceptable but not desirable. Very light or protruding eyes are faults. "

The haw is the third eye lips AKA nictitating membrane or membrana nictitans. It is fleshy and red and color, hence the redness you see at the bottom of the breeds eye. As the dog ages the lids get droppier and the hae even more prominent. The redness is normal and not painful or harmfull in anyway. You need not worry about it.

There is a condition that can occur that to the novice can be confused with a prominent haw
Cherry Eye

Cherry eye or eversion or inversion of third eyelid cartilage, prolapse of nictitating membrane
is a condition requiring surgery to repair. Repair is preferred to removal because the gland is responsible for 30% of tear production. Removal may lead to a painful condition known as dry eye.

Note in cherry Eye the gland in the corner of the eye by the nose becomes very prominent. In dogs with normal prominent haws the haw in younger dogs is fairly evenly visiable all along the bottom of the eye as the dog ages the outside corners of the eyes (away from the nose) tend to droop more making the haw more prominent at the outer corners of older dogs

Macy 2 year old

Sophia's Mommy

Thanks so much Mikey T........Great information...I know what is normal and what is not now

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Much Love from Sophia and her adoring mommy

Starr~n~Tootie

Tootie's eyes don't droop very much yet....



but I told her eventually they will droop like her Aunt Pepper's

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Tootie is going to be a big sister!
"Baby J" is due September 3, 2007.

Scully

What an adorable face.....I just love Pepper!! (Of course Tootie's adorable too!)

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Mom to Larsen, Ninja, and Scully (ATB ~ forever in my heart)
www.countercruiser.com

Kerrio

My dad was chatting to his vet about Basset eyes - apparently "diamond eyes" are less prone to problems (!) and gathering grass seed etc, probably just as well since they are so low to the ground

Maggie's Mommy

I love my Rusty's eyes!!