[Cotons mom]

My coton puppies have pink/red stained fur under their eyes. They don’t have eye infections. I have them on grain free fod and use only filtered water. My vet said that there is a product call Angel Eyes but that it has an antibiotic in it so I want to stay away from that. Can anyone suggest anything that could be causing this that I’m doing wrong or suggest a product/wipes that I could use to help with this staining?

Also can I use probiotics for humans as a supplement for my pups? Any suggestions on a good brand?

[theBCnut]

NectarMom recently reported elsewhere that her dog’s eye stains were going away after she took them off filtered water. One cause of eye stains is bacteria in the tear ducts, so trying Angel Eyes long enough to see if the staining goes away may give you an answer as to why it is happening, but I would try a water change first.

[USA]

Hi Cotons mom

Keeping the area that becomes wet with tears dry and clean can help to prevent tear stains. What can happen is that moisture from regular tearing can collect dirt and bacteria and cause what are usually rust colored stains. This is the same thing that causes a white dog’s feet or other area to stain from constant licking or chewing. Try wiping under the eyes with a damp cloth and then a dry cloth a couple of times a day. This will help to prevent moisture and dirt from causing stains under the eyes and keeping the area clean and dry will help with moisture stains anywhere else like feet and butts!

[JeffreyT]

Tear staining in puppies is usually from teething, and should clear up naturally.
If it doesn’t go away after adult teeth come in it could mean blocked tear ducts. One of my dogs has it but it’s not worth doing the corrective procedure since it works only 50% of the time. Angel eyes will not stop the staining if tear ducts are the problem.

I used a natural tear staining kit on mine as puppies, and did what USA Dog Treats advised and it helped a lot.
http://www.castlebaths.com/spa-products-for-your-pet/tear-stain-remover.html

A change from mineral water to distilled water can help some dogs, as well as good probiotics. I alternate between Mercola and Jarrow Pet Probiotics. Also a few times a week give a few dropper-fulls of plain organic kefir and yogurt. Giving by dropper helps keep their faces clean 🙂

[Dori]

Hi Coton’s Mom. I had an awful time with tear staining and rusty gunk coming out of all three of my dogs. Had all three to the vet who found nothing wrong with their eyes. The staining, etc. continued. I then took them to an animal opthamologist just to make sure my dogs vet hadn’t missed anything. Her diagnosis with the same. All healthy, no blockage, no bacteria. Both insisted that it had to be something they were ingesting (Food, Water?). My home has a whole house water filtration system. I followed someone’s suggestion (at this point I don’t remember who it was) and bought spring water using a reverse osmosis system. I then followed other suggestions of trying distilled water. I tried that. All to no avail. I was feeding my dogs a grain, rice, soy, corn, white potato, poultry free 5 star kibble. What turned everything around was when I was finally at my wits end and transitioned my dogs to commercial raw food. (Some day I’ll take on the task of following some of HDM’s recipes, too scared to do it wrong for now). That was approx. 3 months ago. All three dogs have stopped with the rusty colored eye debris. Of course there is some staining left (my dogs are all long haired breeds) but not near the eyes. Only on the hair that will need to grow out completely. If you’re a little concerned about a raw diet for your dogs as I was, once you get into it you realize how much healthier they have become and realize that WOW, the staining was the least of the problems on kibble. My 14 year old Maltese, Hannah, was listless, never played any more, just slept most of the time and I just attributed it to her age. Well low and behold, she is now running around, playing with toys, barking at anyone and anything that goes past our windows, playing with the other dogs, her coat is really really shinny and growing quickly (as are the other two dogs) and might I add their teeth are getting whiter and whiter. It’s truly miraculous and especially coming from a 65 year old mom of three precious dogs who was raised with the notion that you only fed kibble and if you found one that sort of worked ok you kept them on it, no and ifs or buts. So you see I’ve done a complete 180 on nutrition and health. I wouldn’t eat MacDonald’s day in day out (as tasty as they may be) everyday or I would be incredibly deficient in most all nutrient. My husband and I eat fairly well. Why I didn’t think that my dogs needed to eat that way is truly beyond me. Hope any of this helps.

[Becky]

I love this site! Every time I come here I find what I’m looking for. I have a pug with this staining issue, but it’s more a saliva problem than the tears. All around her mouth and chin is stained. Her tongue hangs out of her mouth so anywhere she lays she leaves stains, and she licks her feet so they’re stained, too. Her breath has a metallic smell to it.

She’s on Rx food for bladder/kidney problems so I can’t really change her food. I do give her filtered water, for the bladder problem. I use stainless steel bowls. She’s 12 and this staining thing just came up a few months ago. She’s been on the same food and water for years. I mentioned it to the vet tech when she was in for a nail trim and she said it was probably allergies.

I’ve been wiping her face already (she’s a pug….). Any other suggestions? I wish I could stop it inside her mouth before it comes out in the saliva all over my house!

[Author]

Posts