[swimkin]

I have a year old cream colored toy poodle and have been having trouble keeping up with his tear stains. Due to his light coloring the dark brown stain under each eye ruins his great looks. Do any of you have suggestions on how I can remove these stains safely and/or could you recommend a product that actually works that you have used that is safe? My vet just suggested using baby wipes which help if I do it daily to clean them up, but the stains are still there. What do you do for your dog? Thanks in advance.

[NewfCrazy]

I don't have a dog that gets tear stains - but they make products that show dog people use to clean the area. I've also read that if you spread a bit of vaseline on the area, then dust the vaseline with flour - the vaseline keeps the tears from staining and the flour keeps the vaseline on the dog.

You can check pretty much any online pet store, and should be able to find the cleaning products for tear stains.

[imjennwhoareyou]

They do sell wiper pads and such to clean dogs eyes, but most of the products arent going to do much if your dog already has stains. I am a groomer and have an off white dog myself and I just try to clean them as much as possible. I've heard in show grooming they use bleaching creams and chalks and such, but most of your regular pet store products won't do much for it.

[groomertabby]

Hi jenny I am Tabby I get this question at work so much from pet owners . I tell them the same thing about cleaning the hair around the dogs eyes out offten . I heard not to long ago about using vasoline so the tears run off . Have you ever heard of this ?

[imjennwhoareyou]

Groomertabby- I have heard that before. I have never actually tried it myself although maybe I should to see how it works. I bet my little guy would hate it though... lol... I'm perfectly fine with keeping them clean. The discoloration doesnt really bother me. Do you do mostly pet grooming or show grooming?

[fuzziepeanut]

Tear stains are just that, stains. Almost nothing you can buy is going to remove them. They are caused by any number of things but most often by the iron that is in the water we and our dogs drink. The eyes water and the tears contain the iron, if the tears are not wiped away then as they dry on the dog the red from the iron is left behind. By doing as your vet said and wiping the dogs eye area at least once a day you are preventing new stains from forming and your groomer can clipper away the stained hair the next time your dog gets a haircut.

[Havs4me]

The problem with tearstaining is that you have to launch a two-tiered attack against it, first by eliminating the cause of the staining and then removing the stain. If you just bleach or clean the stained area, it is going to come back because you have not eliminated the reason why the stains are there in the first place. In general, staining is caused by excessive tearing...the constant moist area under the eyes is a terrific breeding ground for yeast and bacteria. That is where the brown/red color is coming from. A few things to try:

1. Switch to filtered water
2. Wash daily and use cornstarch to absorb any excess moisture
3. First aid hydrogen peroxide on the area...the peroxide is not strong enough to bleach the stain, but it will take care of any yeast/bacteria in the area and eventually will lighten the stain
4. MOM mixture....1/2 part plain milk of magnesia, 1/2 part 20 volume peroxide...and then enough cornstarch to make a paste. Leave on overnight and then rinse thoroughly and apply conditioner. Be very careful because this can be drying to the hair. I do this every other day for a week until the stain is lightened, but make sure to CONDITION!

Personally, I use the MOM mixture and have great results with it. There are other causes of tear staining, low grade eye or ear infections, food content, mineral content in water, allergies, etc. If i have an important show coming up, sometimes I will start the dogs on a low dose of tetracycline from my vet or use Tylan in combination with the hydrogen peroxide or MOM. I have also heard (but never tried this!) that giving 1/2 a TUMS twice a day will change the PH of the tears and control the tearstains.

Good luck, I hope this helps!

[slobberchops]

I had a white Boxer who had very bad stains, I was told to wet a tea bag to clean the brown off and it did help alot.

I clean my dogs eyes and fold everyday now with fragrance free baby wipes and in the winter my Boxers eyes water alot so I put vaseline down the folds