Can dogs eat their eye boogers?

In this article, we will answer the question, “Can dogs eat their eye boogers?” along with some other questions like why do dogs eat their eye boogers?  And what are the types of eye boogers? 

Can dogs eat their eye boogers?

Yes, dogs can eat their eye boogers. It is safe for your dog to eat eye boogers. There are a number of reasons why your dog eats eye boogers. It may be because they want to relive the scent or maybe because they love to taste it.

Why do dogs eat their eye boogers?

There are a number of reasons why your dog eats his eye boogers. Following are the reasons why your dog eats eye boogers:

Natural scavengers

Dogs are natural scavengers. They love to eat what is dead and decayed material. They have this instinct of finding those things that we humans cannot find. They love to eat dead birds, wrappers, and other things. They are not healthy for your dog to consume. They have a strong sense of taste and smell so by using this they can find anything.

Strong sense of smell

As we have discussed above, dogs have a strong sense of smell. They have numerous olfactory receptors. Moreover, dogs have a certain kind of disorder which is called neophilia. It means they love to lick and smell new things.

This is the reason why dogs eat eye boogers. It is very natural for dogs to eat eye boogers. To humans, it seems gross but to dogs it’s natural. 

Dogs eat eye boogers to relive the scent of it. You might have seen your dog licking you in the morning, they want to lick the eye boogers to relive the scent of eye boogers.

Self-grooming

It is seen in many animals like cats. Cats love to groom themselves. Like cats, dogs also love to groom themselves to keep themselves clean. 

Dogs ear nose and eye boogers to keep their eyes and noses clean. They also wipe their eyes and noses with their paws which is a natural instinct of dogs.

To get the owner’s attention

Dogs love to play with their owners and want to have their attention. Dogs want to have their owner’s attention, which is why they lick their owners ‘ faces. 

Moreover, if your face has food, sweat, or any other thing that is new for your dog, your dog will try to lick it to remove it from your face. 

This instinct comes from puppyhood. In puppyhood, dogs lick their mom’s face to get the food that is regurgitated by their moms. In this way, they get the food from their moms to eat.

Pica

Pica is a condition in which dogs eat unusual things which are not meant to eat. These things may be towels, wrappers, hockey sticks, and several other things. Pica could be because of nutritional deficiency, hormonal imbalance, and genetics. 

Dogs love to eat eye boogers in this condition. You should take your dog to the vet if you suspect such a condition in your dog.

So far we have discussed why dogs eat eye boogers? Now let’s dive into the details of what are the types of eye boogers?

What are the types of eye boogers?

Following are the types of eye boogers:

Clear and watery eye boogers

These eye boogers are due to irritation, allergy, and ulcers. In this type of eye boogers, the discharge from the eye is clear and watery in nature.

Green and yellow eye boogers

Yellow and green discharge from the eyes is due to corneal infection. It could be because of a chronic dry eye condition. It is a condition in which there is a reduction in the tear formation in the eyes. It is because of the destruction of tear glands due to any reason. 

Sometimes your dog’s immune system causes the destruction of tear glands. It is a painful condition and can cause blindness in your dogs.

White or cloudy eye boogers

It is not because of any eye infection but eye inflammation due to allergic reactions. Allergic reactions are due to chronic irritation, corneal ulcers, or any foreign object that is irritating the eye.

Red bloody eye boogers

It is important that you should seek vet help if there is a red discharge from your dog’s eye. It is due to trauma or a tumor.

Excessive eye boogers

This is the last type of eye boogers. In this type of eye boogers, there is excessive eye discharge trickling down the face. 

It could be because of many reasons like blockage of nasolacrimal ducts, an inward rolling of eyelids, excessive eyelashes, and several other reasons.

Conclusion

In this article, we answered the query, “Can dogs eat their eye boogers?” We also discussed other questions like why dogs eat their eye boogers? And what are the types of eye boogers in dogs?

References

https://www.petmd.com/dog/general-health/what-causes-pica-dogs

https://www.greatpetcare.com/dog-health/dog-eye-boogers-why-they-happen/

https://www.dailypaws.com/dogs-puppies/health-care/dog-conditions/dog-eye-discharge

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