tear stains

[carol]

Hi everyone,

Flynn has recently started to get brown tear stains under his eyes, his eyes seem to water quite a bit.  I wondered if there was a way to clean the stains off.  I have tried cotten wool and warm water and some wipes, but it doesn't seem to shift, he's a blue roan, so they show up quite a bit.

Thanks for your help.

Carol                    

[Pammy]

Carol

Tear stains are quite common among all breeds of dog - they just show up on those with light coloured faces :- Buddy used to get them quite bad but I find adding some tomato puree to his food and wiping his eyes whenever I see them wet works well. Tear stain removers take forever to work, and I think it's that you dilute the tear with the solution and that over the period if time the hair regrows that actually get's rid of the stain rather than the solution. Water works just as well for me.

The idea behind the tomato is that it alters very slightly the ph of the tear so that it doesn't stain. It took a few months to get rid of it all from Buddy, but nowe he has none

hth                    

[carol]

Gosh Pammy!  I thought I'd just be recommended some lotion or other, but it seems a bit more complex than I thought!  The thought of trying to catch a tear from Flynn when I can barely catch him at times    think I might try the tomato puree one, and wipe his eyes more regularly.

Thanks for that

Carol                    

[Jane S]

I've had good results removing tear stains using a product called Kleen Face made by Dog's Stuff. It needs to be used regularly but is safe enough to be used actually in the eye to help flush out the tear ducts (blocked tear ducts being a common cause of tear staining) as well as on the face. Never tried the tomato puree trick but it probably works out cheaper than my Kleen Face                    

[Pammy]

What I also meant to sat was how I wipe. I don't wipe down away from the eye I wipe up towards the eye - this has the effect od shrinking the stain.