Cherry Eye in French Bulldogs
What It Is
French Bulldog Cherry Eye
Cherry eye in french bulldogs (or any dog) is referred to medically as the prolapse or eversion of the gland of the nictitating membrane. Put simply, a fibrous membrane located in the lower inside corner of a dog’s eye becomes disconnected or the connecting material loses strength and allows the membrane to protrude from your dog’s eyelid. The protruding mass will remain in place until the condition is treated, giving the appearance of a cherry sticking out of the corner of your dog’s eye, hence the common referential name. What causes the connective tissue of the nictitating membrane to weaken or separate entirely is not well-known, although the condition is highly treatable by nearly any veterinarian. Many veterinarians speculate that genetics plays a sizable role in how cherry eye develops in various breeds.
Why Cherry Eye is a Serious Concern for French Bulldogs
Cherry eye is not lethal or fatal in French Bulldogs but it can cause an extreme amount of discomfort for your Frenchie. Often, dogs will claw at their eye with their dew claw, leading to corneal ulcers. Cherry eye almost always causes dry eyes and can be very itchy, causing inflammation and discomfort, and even severe pain for your dog. This is especially true in brachycephalic breeds like French Bulldogs, pugs, and Boston Terriers. The protruding eyes and shortened muzzles of these breeds naturally exposure them to more eye problems than other breeds. Like any French Bulldog eye problem, it is critical that you get your dog to a veterinarian as quickly as possible. Your vet will likely prescribe a round of ocular antibiotics, regular twice-daily under-eye massages, ophthalmic ointments, an eye lubricant specifically for canines, and some NSAIDs to help with pain.
French Bulldog cherry eye symptoms are very obvious. Your Frenchie will paw and scratch at their eye. Their eye will appear dry, red, and irritated, too. Cherry can occur in one eye or in both eyes. Here are some very common cherry eye symptoms in French Bulldogs:
- Eye redness (conjunctivitis)
- Swelling around the eyes
- Excessive tear production – signs of eye drainage
- Abnormally dry eyes – insufficient tear production (yes, both too dry or too moist)
- Rubbing/pawing at the eyes
- Squinting
- Vision impairment
French Bulldog Cherry Eye Causes
Cherry eye is most prevalent in younger French Bulldogs. Normally, cherry eye will occur in dogs under two years of age. Some veterinarians speculate that cherry eye is genetic but no proof of that claim exists. Veterinarians do not agree entirely on what causes cherry eye in French Bulldogs. The condition is not fully understand, particularly the role of the nictitating membrane. That said, the condition is wholly treatable.
French Bulldog Cherry Eye Solutions
Cherry eye can be corrected using both surgical and non-surgical methods. Simple massage techniques can relieve the protrusion but will require constant veterinary monitoring. Surgical solutions include an attachment procedure in which the fleshly membrane of the everted tissue is anchored back to more hardy tissues in the lower corner of the eye socket. We recommend keeping a bottle of canine-only eye lubricant in your dog’s medicine cabinet to help with dry eyes. Remember, always take your French Bulldog to a veterinarian if you see any sign of eye problems. Many eye problems in french bulldogs can cause blindness.
Vetericyn Animal Ophthalmic Gel – 3 fl oz
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Thank you for your posts! We are pet sitters in Palm Springs/Palm Desert, Ca areas and just had the privilege of caring for the most adorable French Bulldog! She is in excellent health but always want to know all about the different breeds we care for. The owner told us she cannot swim so we stayed by her side while out by their pool as her ball constantly would roll into the water. I found your post while looking for a life-vest for dogs. Thank you again! Victor & Terrie Harry Harry’s Holiday House Sitting, Loving Pet Care 760-492-4412
Hey Victor! So glad to hear you’re getting to spend some time with a french bulldog. Aren’t they amazing? Good on you for being diligent and checking up on all the breeds you see come through your pet-sitting service. That’s top-notch work you’re doing. Here’s to a very successful future for you, yours, and your enterprise!
HI, I LIKE YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF FRECH BULLDOGS, MINE IS 8 MONTHS OLD FEMALE, BRINDLE. LOTS OF ENERGY AND FUN. THANK YOY FOR SHARING YOUR EXPERIENCE AND KEEP POSTING.
Thank you for reading, Joanna! Best of luck to you and your folk.
Hi Jordan.Thanks for all your sharing experience. My 8 months female puppy got the cherry eye condition and I was able to corrected the way you demonstrated. I panicked at first , but all went well. I’m very happy that I was able to find your website, reading on daily basis just to check what’s new . I was afraid to clean her ears for the first time , but is ok know, Stella is in a very good health overall . Question for you, how often do you bathe your dog? My vet told me not to overdue it , some of my friends gave baths to their dogs once a month. So far her coat looks nice and shiny , since we got her when she was 3 months old I gave one bath so far. Thank you. Joanna S.
hello,
what a wonderful site! I’ve been watching lots of your videos and they are super helpful. My husband and our two boys just brought home a frenchie puppy last weekend and we are so in love!! He is only 8 and half weeks but i was wondering if you have any advice on potty training. It’s not going so well unfortunately! Any advice greatly appreciated. thank you so much!
Hey Alison, the best advice I can give is to be incredibly patient…remember that your dog doesn’t speak English and so his only real cues as to how to react is your body language. It takes about 3-4 weeks, but aside from being patient, the best course of action is take your french bulldog outside to potty several times a day. With puppies, we take them out every couple of hours or even more frequently. The idea is to condition their behavior to accept that poos and pees take place outside. Also, immediately clean up any indoor accidents with an antibacterial scented wipe or other cleaner to remove your dog’s scent from that particular area of your home. This will discourage your frenchie from returning to the same place (because it smells of their scent) to do their business.
Frenchie owner from UK.. 15 month old male called Boss who started to show cherry eye signs. I panicked and read all the wrong explanations and advice online… until i found your site! Watched the video of the simple gentle massage, gave it ago and hey presto no more bulge!
Absolutley the best French bulldog advice site i have visited.
Thank you so much for sharing all your knowledge!
Gemma, so glad to hear from you! Sorry to hear about your cherry eye problems. We have a french bulldog who gets cherry eye as well. It isn’t really dangerous or harmful, unless it’s incredibly drastic, so the massaging works well as a sort of quick-fix. Surgery is possible to permanently correct the issue, but lots of brachycephalic breeds live long, healthy lives with minor cases of cherry eye. I am so honored to have been helpful and I hope you and Boss have many, many great years together!
Hi there! Our Frenchie has been with us for 8 days, we are first time doggy owners. He had an upset stomach with internal parasites from the breeder (which is treated now), but he has a recurring cherry eye. We are a bit skeptical as to what age is best to have surgery for the cherry eye. He is four months, twelve days old. Any advice would be appreciated! We are currently living in Italy for a year, originally from South Africa.
Hey Zelda. I love your name and congratulations on your frenchie! Cherry eye can be somewhat painful. More importantly, the nictacting membrane is responsible for a large portion of tear production, so it’s important in keeping their eyes lubricated. The surgery isn’t complicated, unless the cherry eye is already severely infected. In that case, preoperative antibiotics are usually necessary. French bulldogs require a specific type of anesthesia, so you want to talk to your vet and see if they are comfortable doing the surgery–they may refer you to a specialist nearby. I would wait until your frenchie is a little older, somewhere around 9-12 months, so that they’re a little more robust. Surgery is hard on french bulldogs, particularly the anesthesia. To start helping your frenchie now, watch the quick massage video above and do that any time you see the nictating member exposed. Hope this helps!
My daughter purchased her first Frenchie from a private owner in NY. , His name is Louie. He’s a bungle of joy and energy. So fun to be with. She flew back home to NY with him after attending our wedding in Carmel, CA.. Since then both of Louie’s little eyes have Cherry eye. It’s quite concerning to us all. She’s been doing the eye massages on both eyes daily but his Cherry eye has not gone away. Makes me want to cry for him. He’s about 3 months old now. What should she do to help him? Concerned Mom in California.
Hey Rosie, thanks so much for reading. Sorry to hear about Louie’s eyes. One of our frenchies also has cherry eye. Note that the eye massage is just a temporary fix. There are a couple of procedures that can be done to fix cherry eye in canines. One simply involves reattaching the tender portion flesh back to the tear duct with some permanent closures. That is the most common. Have her take him to a veterinarian and see if they have any suggestions and discuss her options!
Hello. I am very happy to have found such a complete website about all my doubts. I am in Switzerland but as I have Scooby a short time and he has all the vaccinations in day I still had not gone to the vet a second time. When I was in Portugal on vacation the veterinarian told me that this was normal and that I went back to the place alone, did not alert me to the surgery or the problems that this could have. Thank you very much for the explanations. I’ll go to the vet here as soon as possible.
Thanks for reading, Joana! I hope Scooby is doing okay. Cherry eye is only serious when left untreated. It’s best to let a veterinarian give you their prognosis. If your veterinarian says that Scooby’s case of cherry eye isn’t bad enough to warrant surgery, then you just have to keep an eye on it!
Hi we had our frenchie Eric a week tomorrow he’s 7 weeks old noticed yesterday he has a red eye any thoughts on what it could be?
Hi guys. I have a French bull dog arlo he is 5 nearly 6 months old. We have awful trouble first of all we have really bad skin conditions we have now gone to a grain free diet ( which seems to be helping) we also are having so much trouble with cherry eyes ( yes eyes in both eyes 🙁 ) we have had surgery which was unsuccessful and the vet didn’t know why and we repeated the surgery and we were so happy seemed to have worked and then we are a month since surgery and it looks like it is starting to petrude out again. I am so confused on what path to go down now. Any help or advice would be greatly appreacited it.