What is a good eye wash for dogs home remedy? Try these simple and safe options first!

Alright, let's talk about something I had to deal with recently – my dog, Buddy, got some gunk in his eye. Wasn't looking too serious, no crazy redness or swelling, just that typical morning crusty stuff, but a bit more than usual and it lingered through the day. Made his right eye look a bit weepy.

Now, normally, anything eye-related, I'm cautious. But this looked like simple irritation, maybe got some dust or pollen bothering him. I didn't want to immediately jump to medicated drops if a simple flush could sort it out. So, I decided to try a gentle home remedy first, something I've done carefully in the past for minor situations like this.

Here’s What I Did

First things first, I needed a sterile solution. Didn't want to introduce any new problems. I decided against using tap water straight up. My options were either buying some plain, sterile saline solution – the kind used for contact lenses is perfect, just make sure it has absolutely no cleaners or other funny stuff in it, just saline – or boiling some water.

This time, I just went with boiling water because I had none of the right saline on hand. It's pretty simple:

• I took a small, very clean saucepan.
• Filled it with about a cup of regular drinking water.
• Brought it to a rolling boil and let it bubble away for maybe 5 minutes. This is to kill off any little nasties in the water.
• Then, the most important part: I took it off the heat and let it cool down completely. Like, absolutely room temperature. Test it on your wrist first – it should feel neutral, not warm at all. You absolutely cannot use warm water on your dog's eye.

The Cleaning Process

Okay, water's cooled. Now for the actual eye cleaning. I got Buddy comfy, had some treats ready for being a good boy. You need:

• The cooled boiled water (or sterile saline).
• Clean cotton balls or pads. I prefer the flat cosmetic pads because they don't leave fuzzy bits behind as easily.
• Patience!

Here’s my method: I dipped a fresh cotton pad into the cooled water, squeezing out the excess so it wasn't dripping heavily. Then, very gently, I wiped Buddy's eye from the inner corner (near the nose) outwards towards the ear. This helps move the gunk away from the eye itself.

Crucial step: Use a fresh, clean pad for each wipe. Don't re-dip a used pad! And definitely use a separate, new pad if you need to wipe the other eye. You don't want to drag potential infection from one eye to the other, or back into the solution.

I did this a couple of times for the affected eye, just gentle wipes to clear away the discharge. Didn't rub hard, didn't force his eye open wide. Just a soft clean-up of the surrounding area and lids.

Did It Work?

Yeah, actually, it did the trick for Buddy this time. I did the gentle cleaning maybe twice a day – morning and evening – for two days. The extra weeping stopped, and the gunk cleared right up. His eye looked bright and normal again.

Now, please remember, this was for a very mild case of eye gunk. If your dog's eye is really red, looks painful, if they're squinting a lot, pawing at it, or if you see thick yellow or green discharge – that’s different. That needs a vet, pronto. Don't mess around with serious eye issues. But for a simple bit of dust or mild irritation? A careful clean with some sterile saline or cooled boiled water worked for me and Buddy.