Does my shaggy terrier mix need hair trimmed for eye health?

The staining under the eye indicates either that there is a mild eye condition (i.e. infection), or that the tears are not draining properly. In order to find out what it is and correct it, a vet would need to evaluate Shiva and see what the problem is. It's definitely possible that this can be cleared-up once the proper diagnosis is made. The hair coat does not appear especially scraggly to me, but if it is rough or sparse appearing, then it could indicate a nutritional deficiency or possibly some other condition affecting another organ system. As long as you are feeding formulated puppy food, the nutrition should be adequate. Otherwise, you would need to take her to the vet for an exam, so they can help identify the problem. I hope that helps and Shiva gets better soon.

That is a common place for an infection since it is hard to clean and the moisture or eye drainage can get stuck in the fine hairs and trap bacteria. The best thing to do it keep it clean so it dry out. If it spreads or seems to bother him, then he will need to be seen by a vet. I would not put any medicine on it because if it gets in his eye it can cause an ulcer and be painful

I agree with Dr. Melanie. I would not be worried. You can use this eye wash daily or when you notice the hairs if you want to. It won't hurt and it may help! https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/vetericyn-plus-eye-wash-for-dogs

Please don’t use scissors to trim the fur since it’s easy to cut the ear flap by mistake. I recommend taking him to PetCo where the groomer can take clippers and go down the ear from top to bottom and shave off the fur. Once it’s short and growing in if you comb or brush the fur it should not get tangled into these pads of fur. I’ve found that once they get like you describe the only way to get rid of the pads is to shave them off. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Shadow.

Depending on the breed and eye conformation, some dogs will have tears that spill over the inside corner of the eye instead of draining down the tear ducts as they should. If this has been a life-long problem for Ziggy, then it may be due to his body conformation. However, there are some skin complications that can come from the crusting on the fur and some treatments that can either improve the eye draining or help prevent skin problems from the fur crusting, so I do think it would be worth having your vet examine Ziggy Stardust to see if there is anything you can do about this situation. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Some dogs can normally have a moderate amount of clear discharge from both eyes that can discolor the hair under the eyes a reddish-brown color. Keep Poppins' hair trimmed under her eyes and use a warm water washcloth to clean the discharge daily. However, if Poppins' eye discharge becomes yellow or green, causes squinting or redness to the eye, she will need to be examined by her vet.

Yes definitely take Chaya into the vet. The groomer is not trained or licensed to make medical diagnosis such as if a dog has allergies or not, and the only one who can determine what is causing this hair loss is a vet.