A healthy dog’s eyes should be clear, bright and free from dirt, discharge and inflammation. To effectively maintain healthy vision in your dog, you should be aware of common eye problems.

The most common symptoms of onset eye problems are discharge, squinting, redness, and cloudiness. And if your dog seems disoriented with his surroundings by bumping into objects, this may be an indication of vision loss. Preventative care is important to protecting your dog’s eyes from numerous ailments.

Like the human eye, a dog’s eye tears to lubricate and washout the eye. Sometimes dust, smoke, and debris can find its way into your pet’s eye causing an increase in tear production. When this happens in excess it can cause an unattractive stain or discharge to form around the eye.

If you notice debris or other foreign object in your pet’s eye, carefully flush with water to washout the object and follow up with your vet to make sure scratching or abrasion did not occur. For certain diseases and injuries, medications will be prescribed.

Hair around the eyes is not only a visual obstruction to your dog, but makes your dog prone to scratches or abrasion on the eye as well as other eye infections.

Medi-vet.com has a great article about dog eye care.