Dog Cherry Eye: What It Is, Why It Happens, and How It's Treated

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You look at your dog and notice a red, fleshy bulge in the inner corner of one or both eyes. This is almost certainly cherry eye — and while it looks alarming, it's a well-understood, treatable condition.

What Is Cherry Eye?

Dogs have a third eyelid in the inner corner of each eye. Attached to this membrane is a tear-producing gland that produces a significant portion of your dog's tears. In some dogs, the connective tissue holding this gland in place is weak, causing the gland to prolapse and become visible as a reddish, rounded mass.

Which Dogs Are Most Affected?

Cherry eye most commonly affects breeds with shallow eye sockets:

• Bulldogs and French Bulldogs
• Beagles, Cocker Spaniels, Basset Hounds, Lhasa Apsos, Shih Tzus, Boston Terriers (AAHA Canine Life Stage Guidelines, 2019).

It often appears in young dogs under 2 years old. If one side prolapses, the other often follows within weeks or months.

Why It Matters

Left untreated, the prolapsed gland can:

• Dry out and become damaged (it contributes 30–50% of tear production)
• Lead to dry eye (KCS) — a painful, chronic condition requiring lifelong treatment
• Become chronically inflamed and infected

Symptoms

• A pink or red, smooth, rounded mass in the inner eye corner
• Increased eye discharge or tearing
• Your dog pawing at the eye
• Eye appears red or irritated

Treatment: Surgery Is Usually Recommended

The standard of care is surgical repositioning of the gland — a vet tucks the gland back into normal position and sutures it in place. This is far preferable to removing the gland, which significantly increases dry eye risk. Success rates are high, though a small percentage require a second procedure.

What to Do at Home

Contact your vet as soon as you notice it. Keep the eye area clean and prevent the dog from rubbing it — an e-collar can help. There is no reliable home treatment for cherry eye.

Still Not Sure if Your Dog Needs a Vet?

When you're not sure if this is wait-and-see or call-tonight, Voyage AI Vet triages in under 2 minutes. Describe what you're seeing in chat, share photos of your dog's eye — pupil size, discharge color, and the surrounding fur, or hop on a live video call if you want a second pair of eyes. Every answer comes with citations to the actual veterinary literature it's pulling from — so you see exactly where the guidance comes from, not just a chatbot's word.

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