Tear Stains

3406 Views 6 Replies 6 Participants Last post by luvntzus, Jul 20, 2009

lis

Discussion Starter · Jul 18, 2009

I have a shih-tzu/maltese, and as you can imagine... she has tear stains. I bought some wipes from the store that were supposed to work... however... they don't work. They are redish brownish markings. They lift a very little bit (with wiping everyday).... but this stuff most definitely remove them. Does anyone have any ideas or tips for this?!

Thanks!

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0hmyd0g

· #2 · Jul 18, 2009

My shih tzu was bad for that. I changed her food to a higher quality food, and I wash her face every week really well when I bathe her. I also wipe her face every day with regular old toilet paper. Changing the PH balance of your dog helps too. Some people use apple cider vinegar or tums in the water. I haven't tried that though. I tried something called Angel Eyes, but I wouldn't be bothered with the daily facial bleaching.

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agility collie mom

· #3 · Jul 18, 2009 (Edited)

I use Angel eyes for Squeak....
Here she is before....

And now...

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briteday

· #4 · Jul 18, 2009

Angel Eyes almost always works because it treats the cause of the reddish-brown staining, usually a red yeast. The active ingredient in Angel Eyes is Tylosin (antibiotic) and you can buy straight Tylosin at farm / ranch supply stores as it is also used for respiratory infections in chickens.

Also, it is also seemingly impossible for some dogs to keep the stains away once you stop giving the med. Small breeds, especially those with "smooshed" faces have really tiny tear ducts. They tend to clog up easily or just not drain properly in the first place, so the excess tears ends up in the fur under the eyes...a perfect breeding ground for yeast...and so the cycle goes.

I have used Tylosin successfully in our dogs. And once I stopped the stains returned. Since I don't want to keep them on constant antibiotics I choose to live with a bit of staining that seems to plague one dog. For her I wipe around the eyes 2-3 times per day whenever I think about it) with either regular water or saline eye drops (buy the store brand at walmart) on a good sturdy wash cloth. Then I make sure that those cloths get thrown in with our bath towels so they get bleached before being reused. It's important to do the wiping regularly so the dried debris doesn't build up. If it does I just soak a wash cloth with warm water and keep wiping until it loosens up and I can remove it. Then, for maintenance, be sure to clean around the eye well and then gently massage the inner corner of the eyes where the tear ducts are located. Clean up any "stuff" that has run down under the eye. If you do that at least daily it keeps things down to a reasonable level.

However, if I had a completely white dog that had lots of staining on the eyes as well as around the mouth I would definitely use a product (like Angel Eyes or Tylosin) to get it under control.

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agility collie mom

· #5 · Jul 18, 2009

Yeah before I started her on the Angel Eyes I spoke to the vet I work for. He told me that the class of antibiotics that tylosin is in is not used very often in dogs. In fact he has never used it in any practice that he has worked for and that none of the practices ever carried it. You are right Brite Eyes it is a poultry antibiotic. Squeak has been on it for 3 months (which was an everyday dose) we are now at the next level which is 4 days a week for another 3 months, than we will go to the maintenance dose of twice a week (I will probably try to reduce it even more to see what the lowest dose is that I give her for maintenance.)

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rosemaryninja

· #6 · Jul 20, 2009

Adding apple cider vinegar to her water is supposed to help.

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luvntzus

· #7 · Jul 20, 2009

The only thing that ever worked for my Shih Tzu is Angel's Eyes. I've always fed him a high quality food and I tried apple cider vinegar and topical stain removers like Eye Envy. I only had to give Angel's Eyes for a month or two and the stains have stayed gone for over a year!

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