When a dog's eyes turn goopy or start running with yellow or green gunk, the question that matters is "is this ordinary morning crust, or an infection that needs seeing - and which eye, and is it getting worse?" PetHealthLog lets you log the colour and amount with a time stamp, note redness, squinting and pawing, mark which eye, and watch the trend - so you can tell a passing irritation from a real change. Free, no account, works offline.
Start tracking - it's freeVeterinary sources warn that eye infections can harm the cornea quickly. If your dog has a yellow, green or bloody discharge, a cloudy or bulging eye, an eye held closed or clearly painful, sudden heavy tearing, obvious swelling, or seems to have lost vision, this is not a watch-and-wait situation - contact your vet or an emergency clinic now. This tracker is for keeping a record, not for delaying care when an eye looks wrong.
Veterinary sources describe a small amount of clear or grey-brown crust in the corners of the eyes, especially first thing in the morning, as usually nothing to worry about - as long as the amount stays the same. What changes the picture is a change: suddenly more than usual, or a colour like yellow, green or thick grey, which often points to an infection of the eye, eyelid or tear glands. Allergies, irritants, blocked tear ducts, a scratch or foreign body, dry eye, and breed-related tear staining can all play a part too.
The trouble is that goopy eyes are easy to half-notice and hard to judge from memory. Was it both eyes or just the left? Has it gone from clear and watery to yellow and thick? Is your dog rubbing at it more this week? A vague "his eye has been a bit gunky" is hard to act on, and it is exactly the kind of detail a vet asks about.
PetHealthLog is free, asks for no account and works offline, so each time you notice it you can log the colour, the eye and what else you see. The trend is right there, the change is visible, and you have a real record instead of a guess when you call.
An eye log only helps if it is quick to fill in the moment you notice and turns scattered impressions into something you can read. Here is how PetHealthLog handles both.
Note whether the discharge is clear and watery, crusty, yellow, green or thick grey, and roughly how much - each entry lands on the timeline with the date. Over days you can see whether it is steady, clearing up, or building and changing colour.
Mark the left eye, the right, or both. A problem in one eye reads differently from both, and "it started in the left and spread" is the kind of detail that is easy to forget but useful to a vet.
Discharge rarely travels alone. Add a quick note on redness, a cloudy look, squinting, rubbing or pawing at the eye, or swelling of the lid. These details fade fast and help a vet judge how urgent the eye is.
Record a recent groom, a new environment, allergy season, or anything that splashed near the face, so a pattern is easy to spot - watery eyes that flare with pollen, or gunk that started after a day at the park.
Export a clean PDF of the entries, their dates, the colour notes and the symptoms. If you do end up at the clinic, the conversation starts from a real timeline instead of "his eye has been gunky for a bit, I think."
General guidance from veterinary sources - when in doubt, call. The tracker helps you spot these, it does not decide them.
When a vet has looked at the cause, owners often keep a few gentle basics on hand for routine care around the eyes: a vet-formulated dog eye-cleaning solution or wipes for the tear stains and crust, and soft, lint-free pads. None of these treat an eye infection, a scratch or dry eye, and none replace a vet exam or any prescribed eye drops - they just help with everyday cleaning around the eye while the vet handles the cause. Never put human eye drops or leftover medication in a dog's eye unless a vet tells you to.
These search links show popular options on Amazon. They are everyday cleaning extras - whether your dog's eye needs treatment is a question for your vet.
Dog eye wipes → Tear stain cleaners → Eye rinse solutions →#ad - affiliate links: as an Amazon Associate, PetHealthLog may earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Informational only, not veterinary advice.
You spot a gunky eye at odd moments - a morning cuddle, a glance across the room, while you are wiping a muddy face after a walk. The last thing that should stand between you and noting it down is a login screen or a spinning loader.
PetHealthLog stores everything locally on your device. There is no account to create, nothing is uploaded to a server, and there is no tracking. It opens instantly, lets you log the colour or check the trend whether or not you are online, and keeps the data yours. You can export a backup any time and restore it on another phone.
Free, offline, and ready the moment you open it.
Start with PetHealthLogIf a vet has diagnosed dry eye, switch from spotting discharge to tracking eye drops and the daily routine.
For a dog on glaucoma drops, log each dose on time and keep an adherence record between vet checks.
Allergies can make eyes water and run. Track flares and triggers to see what is setting off the watering.
After cataract surgery, log eye drops, healing notes and recheck dates so nothing slips during recovery.