Can dogs cry?

Owners see dogs as family members, often animals are compared with children, only four-legged. And, of course, most dog owners are sure that their pets can cry from pain, from injustice, from resentment, or even from joy. However, is this true?

Of course, dogs have lacrimal glands that provide moisture and hygiene to the eyes. Purely theoretically, perhaps dogs could cry. However, they practically do not. This does not mean at all that dogs do not get sad or that they are not able to sympathize with the grief of their owners. Of course it does. Dogs are upset by the loss of a toy, and a crushed paw, and the fact that they were guilty and scolded by their adored owner. Pets are also able to sympathize and empathize. A very wide range of emotions is available to them, but dogs are accustomed to expressing them not with tears, but with body language: wagging their tail, pressing their ears, grinning or looking tenderly into their eyes. But dogs cannot cry like people.

However, very often, owners, diligently endowing their fluffy or short-haired pets with human features, mistake serious health problems in dogs for tears of joy or grief. The discharge continuously pouring from the pet’s eyes should alert the owners, and not lead them to tenderness at how subtly the dog is able to feel. Sometimes tears in animals — this is a signal: there are very serious problems that require immediate veterinary attention and long-term treatment. 

So, abundant discharge of fluid from the dog’s eyes may indicate the ingress of foreign objects (for example, grains of sand) or damage to the eye, including hard blades of grass during a game or hunt. Thus, the dog’s body tries to get rid of the discomfort. 

Also tears in dogs — one of the signs of an allergic reaction. Tears on the face of an animal can occur due to malnutrition (sweets, starchy foods, chocolate, improperly selected dry food), chemicals that are used for cleaning and washing, and as a reaction to pollen from flowers. When the allergen is eliminated, the eyes usually stop watering. However, prolonged contact with the allergen or errors in the diet can lead to the fact that the pet will need long-term treatment and tears will be the dog’s companion for a long time.

There are breeds that have a predisposition to profuse discharge from the eyes and their injury, — e.g. pugs, pekingese. Their owners should pay closer attention to the eyes of the pet and contact the veterinarians if increased lacrimation appears in order to exclude serious consequences for the dog’s health.

Tears in dogs can also indicate inflammation, especially if accompanied by purulent discharge, lethargy of the dog, inability for her to open her eyes. Tears, along with other symptoms, can be accompanied by extremely dangerous infectious diseases. 

A doctor will help determine exactly what is happening with the eyes of a pet. An in-person visit to the clinic may not be required – in the Petstory application, you can describe the problem and get qualified assistance (the cost of the first consultation is only 199 rubles!). By asking questions to the doctor, you can rule out the disease and calm your nerves, as well as get recommendations on how to take care of your pet. You can download the application from the link.