Tear Stains - At Wit's End

[Hunter's Mom]

I think I might be of some help to you. It has taken us an entire year to get Hunter's tear staining to a minimum. This is what we have done.

First, get rid of all poultry in his diet. This will require you to be very careful about the treats you give him as many treats contain chicken flavoring in some capacity so read the ingrediants carefully. (we use natural balance venison and sweet potato)

Second, eliminate as many grains as possible - rice, wheat, etc from food and treats. Again, this requires you to be a lable reader for treats but it's well worth it. (we feed natural balance sweet potato and venison treats, dehydrated sweet potato by Simply, and buddy biscuits in sweet potato - these have a little bit of grain but Hunter seems to be ok with them, we also feed carrots, peas, and pieces of fruit as treats).

Third, clean the eye area once a day or every other day with Spa Lavash (this is the only product that I have found to work well).

Fourth, give your baby only bottled water (we don't do distilled, just regular bottled).

Fifth, clean your babies feet when he comes back in from outside - sometimes irritations from allergies can increase the tears.

Sixth, have your vet check the shape of your babies inner eye to nose slope. Hunter's is not a ledge (45 degree slope) but almost a right angle (90 degree cliff) so he is more prone to tear staining as the tears don't naturally weep from his eye but pool inside this cliff so we have learned to be more diligant.

Seven, keep the hair out of your dog's eyes and away from their mouth - for Hunter this means puppy cut and shorter beard.

Please know that you will not get results immediatly. This is a natural process and as I said before it has taken us an entire year to get to where we are today. Hunter's face is still wet in the eye area a lot but there is much less staining. This is what works for him. You need to attempt anything like this for 3 months or so before you decide what is and is not working (said my vet) because you need to allow your dog's body to process out all the bad stuff and be filled with only the good stuff.

I hope this helps.

[allheart]

A couple of very kind breeders recently reccommended to me "A Taste of the Wild - Pacific Stream" Kibble Food.

I have had Mia and Leo on it for about a month now....no tear stains at all from Mia....and Leo stained very rarely anyway. Mia was my stainer...not very bad...but noticeable....now no staining from either....Mia is now 9 months and Leo 8...so that also could have something to do with it now that they are done cutting their adult teeth.

They say this food is very good for them and is for all life stages which I love.

They only down side is it does not come in small kibble....so I use a food chopper to make the kibble smaller, which works perfectly.

Here is the A taste of the Wild link

http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/produ...canine_formula/

Hopefully, if you decide on this food or even if you don't, all the wonderful advice above, hopefully you will see an improvement.

[Sugarbaby]

Yes i also used Angle eyes on my sugar and it took awhile but she don't have much tearing at all now..When i take her to the groomers i have her to cut just alittle around the eyes. till the Malt face look but that helps some as well... hope this helps..

[inchiapas]

[QUOTE]
Yes i also used Angle eyes on my sugar and it took awhile but she don't have much tearing at all now..When i take her to the groomers i have her to cut just alittle around the eyes. till the Malt face look but that helps some as well... hope this helps..

Thanks to all of you kind people who took the time to help. Unfortunately, none of the food or snack products you mentioned exist in my part of the world, southern Mexico almost to the Guatemalan border. As far as washes, I'll see if the company ships here. One can't insure packages coming to Mexico in the mail, probably because so many never arrive. DHL charges over $35 US just to send a one page document to the States. I don't travel outside of this area. My babes and I all drink bottled water.

Everyone's grooming and cleansing tips are appreciated and I'll try them each of them. If all fails and they still resemble "Ricky Raccoon," I'll still adore them.

[Kutsmail1]

Zippy is 2 yrs old now. She still has tear staining. I have gone through the commercial products, i.e. AE's etc. I have changed her diet to the NB salmon and sweet potatoes, and changed treats. I am washing her face with spa lavish as well.
I am going to give the bottled water a try on her. Thanks for the advice.

[Nissa Fiona]

After trying everything you can think of myself (including Angel Eyes), I followed the advice of a post on here and started putting a bit of dried buttermilk in Nissa's food EVERY day and can't tell you how happy I am with the results! NO STAINING! You can find it in the baking section of the grocery store. I keep it in the refridge even though you don't have to but feel it keeps it fresher. I've also heard that yogurt mixed in the food helps. I gave these ideas to Nissa's groomer and she also tried it and was truly amazed at the results, now it's what she recommends to all her clients and she said they come back very grateful for the great idea. Good luck!

[inchiapas]

QUOTE (Nissa Fiona @ May 11 2009, 06:11 PM)

After trying everything you can think of myself (including Angel Eyes), I followed the advice of a post on here and started putting a bit of dried buttermilk in Nissa's food EVERY day and can't tell you how happy I am with the results! NO STAINING! You can find it in the baking section of the grocery store. I keep it in the refridge even though you don't have to but feel it keeps it fresher. I've also heard that yogurt mixed in the food helps. I gave these ideas to Nissa's groomer and she also tried it and was truly amazed at the results, now it's what she recommends to all her clients and she said they come back very grateful for the great idea. Good luck![/B]

Thanks so much. Believe it or not, no buttermilk exisits where I live! I'll try natural yogurt. The "secret" ingredient could be active bacillus, since it is in both products.

[Nissa Fiona]

QUOTE (Inchiapas @ May 12 2009, 10:57 AM)

QUOTE (Nissa Fiona @ May 11 2009, 06:11 PM)

After trying everything you can think of myself (including Angel Eyes), I followed the advice of a post on here and started putting a bit of dried buttermilk in Nissa's food EVERY day and can't tell you how happy I am with the results! NO STAINING! You can find it in the baking section of the grocery store. I keep it in the refridge even though you don't have to but feel it keeps it fresher. I've also heard that yogurt mixed in the food helps. I gave these ideas to Nissa's groomer and she also tried it and was truly amazed at the results, now it's what she recommends to all her clients and she said they come back very grateful for the great idea. Good luck![/B]

Thanks so much. Believe it or not, no buttermilk exisits where I live! I'll try natural yogurt. The "secret" ingredient could be active bacillus, since it is in both products.
[/B][/QUOTE]

That's exactly it and it truly does work. Remember, this will only work on what grows out and not on the existing hair. Good luck.

[Snuggle's Mom]

Unfortunately, and much to my dismay, we no longer can purchase the bottled water that made a big difference in Chrissy's tear staining. Our local grocery store and all of the other ones in our area no longer carry Crystal Springs. Are there any of the other quality brands of bottled water that are good to help eliminate tear stains??

Also, I also noticed that Rice was not a recommended ingredient in dog food. Chrissy eats NB Lamb and Brown Rice is does very well on it.

Linda

[EmmasMommy]

QUOTE (Inchiapas @ May 12 2009, 10:57 AM)
QUOTE (Nissa Fiona @ May 11 2009, 06:11 PM)
After trying everything you can think of myself (including Angel Eyes), I followed the advice of a post on here and started putting a bit of dried buttermilk in Nissa's food EVERY day and can't tell you how happy I am with the results! NO STAINING! You can find it in the baking section of the grocery store. I keep it in the refridge even though you don't have to but feel it keeps it fresher. I've also heard that yogurt mixed in the food helps. I gave these ideas to Nissa's groomer and she also tried it and was truly amazed at the results, now it's what she recommends to all her clients and she said they come back very grateful for the great idea. Good luck!

Thanks so much. Believe it or not, no buttermilk exisits where I live! I'll try natural yogurt. The "secret" ingredient could be active bacillus, since it is in both products.
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Have tried many suggestions with varieties of results NONE thorough enough for me. We use Angel Eyes, bottled water, no foods with red dye, etc. I am willing to try the ButterMilk and can the Angel Eye's completely ( as it tastes Horrible & is expensive). I found a place on-line that sells the Buttermilk powder and the price is sure good for the quanity. I don't think we will use the whole 16 oz bag before the expiration date ( 9 months) I am wondering if refrigeration or sealing in a glass or plastic container is needed? I will try to find this in the supermarket. I know Publix will order it for me if I ask. I am sure it has to taste pleasant too. Thanks! I will let you know how we make out and I will take before and after photos.

Maybe we ( members of SM) should do a real test........... an organized test with groups ? It seems to me it would be worthwhile instead of paying money for all these theoretical cures we should find out what really works the best. Then once and for all we would give sound tested advice. We would just have a sheet where data is collected and submitted.


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