Why my dog ​​has so many legañas

Dogs, like humans, produce legumes as a natural way to cleanse their eyes. Although some breeds are more predisposed than others to generate these ocular secretions, the reality is that the excessive production of legañas may indicate the presence of a disorder in the animal.

If you wonder why your dog has so many legañas you will find the answer in this article and, well, you will know if you should not worry or if the time has come for the veterinarian to check the health of your pet.

Importance of good eye hygiene in dogs

Before knowing the answer to: why my dog ​​has so many legañas ?, the first thing you should do is confirm if your dog is indeed producing many legañas or if you are simply not taking the appropriate hygienic measures . To do this, check your pet's eyes as soon as he awakens and clean the legañas with a sterile gauze soaked in saline for each eye.

The normal thing is that they do not accumulate again during the rest of the day or that only a few are seen at the end of the day, so if you observe more amount of legañas in the eyes of your dog, it would indicate the presence of an eye disorder. It is really important that good eye hygiene is maintained on the dogs since, thus, we will avoid many possible problems in the health of our pet.

Causes why your dog has so many legañas

Once you have clarified the aforementioned, below you will find some of the main reasons why your dog has so many legañas :

Age and race

Over the years, the eyes of the dogs become drier, generating inflammation and irritation, which causes the secretion of yellow legumes . On the other hand, the races pug, golden, labrador retriever, san bernardo, shar pei and chow chow have a genetic predisposition to produce many legañas, so we must rule out both factors before being alarmed, except that the legañas are generating more serious problems such as difficulty closing the eyes or sensitivity to light.

Infectious diseases

Some infectious diseases such as viral hepatitis, which affects the liver, or viral laryngotracheitis, which affects the respiratory tract, have among their symptoms the secretion of excessive legañas. In these cases, when treating the disease in time the symptoms, including the legañas, will disappear.

Viral diseases

Another reason why your dog has so many legumes could be that he has a viral disease such as, for example, canine distemper or distemper . Distemper is one of the most common diseases in dogs, but also one of the most lethal if not detected in time. One of its characteristic symptoms are watery and purulent eye secretions, so you should pay attention not only to the legañas of the dog, but also to other associated symptoms such as fatigue, cough, vomiting, fever or runny nose to take appropriate measures together with the veterinarian.

These are some reasons why your dog can present many legañas on a regular basis, but it is also possible that you have a wound in the eye or other conditions and, for this reason, it is best to go to the veterinarian at the first symptoms .

Attention to the color of the legañas

Once you confirm that your dog produces excessive legañas, pay attention to the coloration of them. The legañas can be of different colors depending on the problem that is causing them, so it is very important to look at this:

Transparent or white

In this case they could be secretions generated as a reaction to any allergy or irritation, either by the action of dust or by the intrusion of a foreign body in the eyes of the animal, such as an eyelash or leftover remains that were not cleaned properly. In this case, it is enough to increase the hygiene measures both in the eyes of the dog and in the home to eliminate the factors that generate the reaction.

Yellowish and greenish

If the legañas are of this color and purulent appearance could indicate the presence of eye diseases such as conjunctivitis, which in turn can be generated by multiple factors such as viruses, bacterial infections, eye traumas or birth conditions.

Find out in this other article why my dog ​​has green legañas and also discover what to do and how to prevent them.

When to go to the vet

If you have taken the necessary hygienic measures and the dog does not improve in the following 48 hours, or if you notice that it scratches its eyes continuously, that its eyelids are swollen, that the blood vessels of the eyes are marked, that is to say that your dog You have red eyes, or you might have difficulty seeing, you should take it to the vet immediately . The treatment will depend on your condition, but beyond its eventual improvement you should follow the state of your eyes to rule out that the excessive legañas have returned.

Prevent excessive legañas

To prevent the accumulation of legumes in your dog, you can clean your eyes two or three times a week by applying saline with sterile gauze. You can also prepare a homemade serum by dissolving one teaspoon of fine salt in 1/4 liter of boiled water. Yes, it is important that the salt is fine because if it is thick you could hurt the eyes of your pet.

Now that you know the answer to why my dog ​​has so many legañas, you may want to know in detail how to clean the eyes of my dog ​​to ensure you offer good hygiene that will prevent multiple eye problems.