I am sure this question has come up before...

[Punkygirl0101]

but I need help getting rid of tear stains! I have tried the wipes,the cleansers,baking soda/water...I cannot get rid of Peanut's tear stains.

Here is a picture of his raccoon eyes so you can see what I mean:


Anything you swear by to remove tear stains?

[calgal]

I have friends with Maltese and they have tried everything on the market and nothing has worked, not even those expensive treatments, angel eyes and another one I forget the name. It's something their body produces naturally that causes this. Maybe someone else here has found something that actually works. It seems the Vets. just say to wash under the eyes two to three times a day to stop the stain before it just gets worse. Maybe just carry doggie wips?

[calgal]

doggie "wipes"........sorry.

[dogs4life]

I've never tried any treatments, just prevention.

Hank gets those same stains while he is having an allergy problem. It's mainly grains from the "food dropping" from my toddler. I also noticed if he got raw egg his eyes would be weepy and get stains.

HTH

[TinyAlbinoDancer]

I'm with Dogs4life. My little ones eyes only run when their diet is wrong (and not even necessarily wrong as in a bad quality food, but even if it just doesn't work for them as an individual) or if it's windy outside. Trixie had racoon eyes when she came to me on Science Diet kibble. I never did anything to them but just changed her food and they went away. I have no idea if a connection between diet and weepy eyes can be scientifically made, but the more I think about it the more I come to the conclusion that diet plays a huge part.

[Punkygirl0101]

His diet changed from beneful to Kirkland Signature, and they are still bad. I do notice they are only slightly noticeable during the summer time, so do you think it could be weather related?

[TinyAlbinoDancer]

I think it could be. It may also be that the sun bleaches out some of the staining too, though? Have his eyes been examined by a vet to make sure it's not a medical issue? After a vet exam I would try a different food, probably a diet formulated for allergies, with completely different ingredients.

I've been kind of concerned that Kirkland has changed their formula recently, too. Several Greyhound owners noticed a change in their Grey's coat and such lately (others noticed no change), and none of my dogs seem to be doing quite as well on it all the sudden (after nearly a year on it). I plan to try other brands as soon as Ollie and Trixie go home (it isn't cost-effective to switch right now unfortunately).

[calgal]

I think you two have hit upon it. One of the girls who has two Maltese did say the stains are worse in the winter. Another gal mentioned how the diet plays a major roll also. Maybe too much acid in the system?

[ewarp]

I add apple cider vinegar to the water bowl. Schmutz (bulldog) no longer has tear stains.

I've also heard that it will keep the dogs' urine from killing the grass, but I think my grass might have been beyond help...

I take ACV every day as well. All sorts of health benefits and the dogs don't mind it.

[dogs4life]

One major thing about allergies most people do not understand or misunderstand is that that allergies are a symptom and not the real issue. The real issues are poor digestion, poor diet, low beneficial bacteria in the gut, yeast overgrowth in the gut and an overly active immune system. If you suspect any of these problems, then it will take a while to clear up the issues and will require a bit of experimenting. If you are not comfortable making these changes without the help of a vet, then you can find a vet well versed in nutrition, immune support and allergies. Personally I go to a holistic vet for such information and I have learned a lot about nutrition and how it affects my dogs. I have come to trust my holistic vet completely when it comes to diet and nutrition, she has not steered me wrong yet and Hank's eyes are great and his allergies used to require steroids before I tinkered with his diet.

If you say it's weather related then I'd suspect you have a mold issue or something in your heating system in the house causing the eye weeping/staining.

From Punkygirl
His diet changed from beneful to Kirkland Signature, and they are still bad. I do notice they are only slightly noticeable during the summer time, so do you think it could be weather related?

For diet, I would switch food. I would feed a food without common allergens until his eyes clear up and then reintroduce 1 allergen at a time. That way you know what the food allergy is or what is feeding bad gut bugs causing an allergy. It's called an elimination diet if you want to search for more info on the internet. I highly recommend it.

From ewarp
I add apple cider vinegar to the water bowl. Schmutz (bulldog) no longer has tear stains.

ACV is a common anti-fungal and most widely used for yeast overgrowth issues in the intestinal system. Like ewarp said it's great for your body and many people use it as a supplement.

I'd say it's worth a try if you suspect yeast. Make sure it's not a metal bowl though, use a glass or non-toxic ceramic bowl. The acid in the vinegar will dissolve some of the metal and your dog will be getting an unhealthy dose of metal.

[mainesheltie]

A lady I know who breeds and shows Skye terriers feeds Pinnacle, with a teaspoon or so of plain yogurt. Her dogs are allergic to so many foods, but this has turned out to be a good solution for her.

So, if allergies haven't been ruled out yet, you might just give this a try.

[calgal]

What's the vinegar and water ratio?

[dogs4life]

Originally Posted by calgal

What's the vinegar and water ratio?

I just googled "apple cider vinegar dog" and lots of sites popped up. Here's one.

They say 1 teaspoon organic, unfiltered, non-pasteurized ASV for every 5 cups of water. I'd search around and look for more dose information. Also they say dogs may not like the taste so work your way up to the concentration you need slowly so they get used to it.