Tear Staining-What to do? Advice from A Touch of Love® and Dr. Danny

Tear Staining problem? Visit our Pet Blog for advice from A Touch of Love®-Pawzzz for Health Tips!
Please also see what Dr. Danny has to say on this topic.

Monica writes: to A Touch of Love®-Pawzzz for Health Tips!

What can I do about all this tear staining on my little guy Bichon Angus?

Thank you for writing to us Monica.

This is a common problem with some breeds such as Angus and others like Maltese, cockerspaniels, shih-tzu’s etc…
Sometimes it’s from the dye within a pets diet, or not being consistent with regular cleaning of the eye area.
Dr. Danny has some comments on this issue that you may want to read on our Pet Blog as well.

At A Touch of Love® we do promote some home remedies such as using baby wipes which are hypo-allergenic and are safe to use around the eye area.
You would be required to rub the eye area each morning and evening with a baby wet wipe.
Please be cautious of using some products on the retailers shelves with promoting the removal of tear stain.
The eye ball is classified as being an organ of the body, and you must be careful with using liquids that have not been approved by Health Canada. You may in actual fact cause damage to the eyes if your not careful with the product that you are using.
Using Saline solution to rinse the eye may be another alternative prior to wiping the eye with a baby wet wipe.

In most cases it’s not as bad as what Angus has on his face.
If the tear stain is not removed regularly you may also find the skin under the eye where the staining is located will become irritated and raw.

The attached picture of Angus is an extreme example of tear staining.

The benefit of using the baby wet wipes as well is that it’s easier to rap around your finger, and it’s only moist.
You don’t want to have the area saturated. If you use a cotton ball, you may find the fine fibers from the cotton ball left near the eye, which can contaminate the eye with the fibers and cause eye irritation.

We hope that this has been a little bit of help, now we would like to gather Dr. Danny’s advice and you decide for the best care of your pet.
Either it be from A Touch of Love® or Dr. Danny or both types of advice you may find us helpful.

Dr. Danny DeRose suggests:

Tear Staining:

A very common problem encountered by both groomers and veterinarians. 
This may be due to blocked tear ducts which just need flushing, or the signs can be alleviated with over the counter products which simply change the colour of the stain, making it clear so you don’t have that brown staining on the face. 
Your veterinarian or groomer will be able to recommend a product that can change the colour of the stain so it is not so noticeable. We usually place 1/8 of a teaspoon of Tylosin powder in the food every 24hours. It works wonderfully.
Many board certified ophthalmologists advocate using this Tylosin powder which is a very low dose antibiotic with very little chance of long-term adverse side effects such as antibiotic resistance because the dosage is so small. 
But always speak with your veterinarian before starting such products.

Please give us your feedback on this topic by visiting our Pet Blog.

We look forward to others suggestions on this topic as well.