Getting rid of tear-stains in white dogs?

[Kfamr]

1/31/2007- This thread is from 2005! My grandma has since then discovered "Angels' Eyes" and it is wonderful!



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One of my Memaw's Malteses has really bad tear stains. Out of all 3, she is the only one who has them. Her vet gave her some sort of stuff that was supposed to get rid of them but didn't. She was thinking of trying this:


Does anyone know of anything that works, or if the previous gel works?

[wolfsoul]

Try Tums -- they work very well. We get lots of dogs in the shop that have tear stains and we always recommend Tums. One tum a day is good or a maltese, 1/2 fed in the morning and 1/2 fed at night.

[Kfamr]

Yep, she already did the tums thing, didn't work! Thanks anyways.

[dab_20]

i have a toy poodle mix that has tear stains also! i would also like to know what we can use.

[mruffruff]

Try peroxide on a Q-tip and clean it every day until the dark stain is gone.

[Shelteez2]

I belong to another board and this question comes up fairly often. There is a member on that board who has maltese and has shown them. Here is her reply to the question...

1. See a veterinary ophthalmologist to rule out an eye condition causing excessive tearing. Your regular vet cannot see all of the subtle eye lid issues that can cause excessive staining. Solving the problem is the best way to end staining.

2. Rule out other causes of excessive staining such as inhalent allergies.

3. If it is determined to be due to the structure of the face rather than a problem:

a. Try topical treatment. I like to clean the hair daily with Collyrium eye flush on a cotton ball. Another good cleaner is Absolutely Natural's Groom Aid sprayed on a cotton ball.

b. Bleach the hair. Don't forget to condition well (not so much an issue with the shaved face).

c. Try a short course of antibiotics under veterinary supervision. In an adult dog, 7-14 days of Tetracycline can be tried. A couple weeks of Tylan is also an option. Long term antibiotics are not a sound treatment option, but if there is an underlying infection, a single round of antibiotics should do the trick.

link to tear stain thread

another link to posts on tear stains

[Kfamr]

If you read the original post, it is from 2005 - and the problem has been fixed since then.

My grandmother proudly uses Angels' Eyes on her Maltese & it works like a charm. My aunt, who own a grooming salon, recommended it to us years ago.

[kimlovescats]

WOW, I was actually doing a google search on this subject, and this thread came up! LOL! I should have come to PT first!

AnnaBelle has always had tears stains, but since her groom a couple of weeks ago, they seem worse than ever! She was all nice and clean and her tear stains ruined it! *sigh* I'm going to try some of the things listed here! I will post if I have particularly good results with something!

[Kfamr]

Seriously - try Angels' Eyes. It's amazing. It's a tad bit expensive, however, works wonders. I bought some for my neighbor's Westie a week or so ago, so far so good!

[kimlovescats]

Ok, thanks! My groomer told me a while back about using some sort of contac soaking solution or something, but I couldn't remember exactly what it was, so I haven't tried it. I didn't want to buy the wrong thing!!!

[Catlady711]

I can't say much for dogs, however Dusty has had a tear stained eye for years. I was told by the vet to use plain Saline Solution to rinse the eye out, and to use peroxide on a Q-tip to clean the stains. She doesn't have an eye infection (although if I don't keep it cleaned it can become one), the vet said it was a partially blocked tear duct. Being that she's a cat and the surgery is difficult for them being small, and her age, we've opted to not do surgery.

However you do need to be careful with those commercial 'eye cleansers/wipes'. We got some once that had been recommended by a friend, and Dusty got a bad eye infection from using them, and no I didn't get them in her eye. Ended up that I wasted money on the fancy cleanser, and then had to spend extra $$ on eye meds! So now I'm leary of those type of products and don't use them. The peroxide and saline solution seem to work fine.

Good luck

[dawgplanet]

i have a pit half his face is white and he gets the tear stains every now and then through out the summer but goes away when its gets a little colder, could it be hes allergic to something that makes his eye watery. i will try angeleyes this coming year.

[mejane]

I've read the posts above and there's some great advice that I'm going to try. I'm wondering, for those who have used Angel Eyes...How long does it take to work? My dog has been using it for over a month and he's shown no signs of improvement. I know the stains will have to grow out and be trimmed, but it seems the new tears are still red as well.

@PoodleEmpire, I'd like to try the Leo Eye Lotion. The improvement in your dog's eyes is amazing. Did you put it INSIDE your dog's eyes as well as around and on the stain?

Thanks for any help of suggestions anyone can offer.

[swfloridagal]

OK... so what I've read includes.....

Use peroxide to bleach it out
Use angel eyes to clean it up
Forget both these things and treat the problem with "raw food" .. I don't know what that means.
Don't feed the dog with fillers in her food like grains.
Forget all that and take the dog to the vet for antibiotics

Did anybody find anything that works for sure? My head is spinning....I want to know what works.

I don't feed my dog anything except natural balance duck and potato for small breeds..... and dried liver treats. thats it... and still... tear stains!

[Freedom]

Liver treats, dark colored foods, may be the culprit. For some (but not all) bichons, they can't have liver treats, even though there are no artificial colors involved.

If it were easy and clear cut, you wouldn't even have to ask us, you could quickly find an answer on line, lol! For some dogs, it is an allergy, for some dogs, it is environmental. Lots of trial and error involved.