Stay on top of it. generally you have to use antibiotic ointment several times a day for a couple of weeks. they will heal, but sometimes need more aggressive treatment.

one of the things you need to do is keep the eye well lubricated with the ointment so use that one several times a day as stated. If it doesnt start improving soon then I would recommend you ask your vet to refer you to a canine opthalmologist. My shih tzu developed a small eye ulcer which the vet said would heal quickly, after several vet appts and months later it still hadn't improved and I pushed him to refer my dog.

After looking at her eyes under magnification the opthamologist told me that my dog had medial entropion (many short nosed dogs can have this) and it was the reason the ulcer wouldn't heal and she would likely have future problems with ulcers unless it was fixed. I would be very concerned if the ulcer is getting worse despite treatment since they can rupture and cause blindness if they go deep enough.

I was glad to finally find out what was stopping my dogs ulcer from healing and the opthamologist was much more knowledgable than my regular vet about the whole thing and really was able to see where the problem was that my vet missed (but the opthamologist also had much better equipment).

Linda, she fights me hard to put ointment in but I managed to get it in several times yesterday. The vet said 3 or 4 times a day. It does look better today and her eye is open.

trancegemi_wa I hope it heals and we don't need to see a ophthalmologist...we are on fixed income/retired. Maybe this stronger antibiotic is starting to work. Thank you for the information. Praying for healing.

It may help to kneel on the floor and have the dog sit so their butt is between your legs, and you can put your arm across their chest, so if they try to scoot backwards, they have nowhere to go. Smear some peanut butter on your inner arm. Then use your thumb to pull down the lower eyelid, and squeeze the ointment in a line along inside of lower eyelid.

The peanut butter will distract them, and they can lick it while you are doing the eye. By putting it into the lower eyelid, they are less likely to move. You brace your heel of your hand against the side of their head while putting in the ointment so if they move, you can't poke their eye.

Once they figure out that they get peanut butter (or you can do cream cheese, or cheese whiz, if they like that better), they tend to sit still for it.

Works good for nail clipping as well.

Sophie's eye looks a lot better! I've been putting the ointment in 4 times daily. She has accepted the routine...I talk softly to her and she isn't fighting me, thankfully! Thank you all so much for the advice and info!!

My little dog had the same thing. He went through two rounds of ointment, 4 different medications each round. The next option was surgery with an eye specialist, which may or may not have helped, or letting the ulcer rupture. He was also losing sight in this eye due to cataract development -- he was 13 years old. The vet recommended at his age, to let the ulcer rupture -- this would not cause pain -- and take him into Vet immediately upon rupture. Upon rupture, the vet removed the eye and stitched the lid shut. He had a good quality of life before he finally passed two years later and the loss of the eye did not seem to bother him after a few days! He still chased the squirrels and chipmunks. With a younger dog I would have opted for the eye specialist and surgery.

Aw, sorry and thanks for sharing your story. Did you get another shihtzu?

As a matter of fact, we just got another puppy after almost a year without a pet. It is not a Shihtzu, but a mix... mother Maltese/Chihuahua and father a toy poodle. Looks a lot like a Maltipoo.

I emailed pic of Sophie's eye and dr thought it was looking much better. The pills are almost done and we don't need to get more!! I get to start decreasing her ointment down gradually. So in 3 weeks if no other symptoms develop she will be off all meds! Will let you all know how it goes and thank you so much for your input!