Cherry Eye in Bernese Mountain Dogs

The third eyelid gland is not a spare part. It produces a large proportion of the watery component of the tear film, and the tear film is what keeps the cornea clear, lubricated and protected from infection. Remove the gland and you leave a young dog with permanently reduced tear production, which frequently develops into dry eye: a chronically sore, red, sticky eye needing lifelong medication several times daily and carrying a risk of ulceration and scarring.

Modern surgical repair therefore aims to reposition the gland and secure it in place, either by creating a pocket in the third eyelid to tuck it into or by anchoring it back to the surrounding tissue. These procedures are routine for a veterinary ophthalmologist and are widely performed in general practice too. A small proportion recur and need a second attempt, which is a better problem than a lifetime of dry eye.

Before surgery, the aim at home is to keep the exposed tissue moist and untouched. Your vet may prescribe lubricant drops and an anti-inflammatory preparation, and a cone stops the dog rubbing. This is a matter of days rather than weeks; the longer the gland sits exposed, the more it swells and dries.

The condition is most associated with certain young breeds and is not among the Bernese Mountain Dog's documented health issues, which centre on hips and elbows, bloat, degenerative myelopathy, progressive retinal atrophy, histiocytosis, bleeding disorder, allergies, arthritis and cancer. It occurs in this breed as it can in almost any dog, and where it does the management is identical.

If you think your Bernese has cherry eye, the plan is three steps: write down what you have seen and when it started, book a veterinary appointment rather than waiting for the next flare, and take video of the behaviour or symptom before you go — the thing you are worried about rarely happens in the consulting room. Screening in the parents covers hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, bloat (gdv).

What the vet visit should produce is a diagnosis and a written plan, not just reassurance: what is being ruled out, what the monitoring interval is, and which signs mean you come back sooner. Ask what the treatment costs across a year rather than per visit, because that is the number that decides whether you are managing this condition or reacting to it.

Between appointments, keep a short log — dates, what you saw, what changed. It is the single most useful thing an owner brings to a follow-up, and for cherry eye it is often what separates a clear pattern from a guess.