# Tear Stains related to pedigree



## fran (Dec 22, 2011)

I have 2 rescues from puppymills. Roux is 3. He is 12 lbs. Skylar is 2. He is 7 lbs. Ellie is 1 and is also 7 lbs. She came from a byb. All three of mine have tear staining. Ellie is the worst. Roux not so much any more. Skylar had terrible stains when I first got him, but has improved since he gets better food now. I notice most of your babies that have come from reputable breeders don't have the staining. Is breeding a factor with tear staining. Some day I would love to get a puppy from a good breeder. But for now I love my rescues to pieces. Skyler and Ellie both have wavey hair; as for Roux his is straight. Do you think Skyler and Ellie are a mix?
Skyler is AKC registered. When I rescued him, he was a breeder release and had his papers.
Fran


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## Bishop (Mar 10, 2012)

What brand of food are you feeding? I think that could be one reason for tear staining...can you post pictures of Roux, Skylar and Ellie?


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## Kaiser (May 10, 2012)

I've always thought that tear stains is possibly influenced by the food they eat and genetics but I'm not too sure so I'd also love to know the answer to this!


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## fran (Dec 22, 2011)

This is Ellie










This is Ellie and Roux








This is Saddie, the Cavashon (daughers dog/mine now)









This is Skylar as Woody for Halloween

I feed them Taste of the Wild. Saddie is overweight and the vet recommended a grain free food for her and I just put the rest of them on it.
These are the only pics I have. I'm at work. I have more on my laptop at home. These pics were taken after grooming and baths. So the tear stains don't look that bad.


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## Sylie (Apr 4, 2011)

There a many different causes, allergies that make them tear too much, blocked tear ducts or the genetic one...simply small tear ducts that tend to overflow. Lots of other causes as well.


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## fran (Dec 22, 2011)

I have had all 3 of the their eyes checked. The dr. doesn't feel they have allergies or plugged or small tear ducts. I just was wondering if it was from their poor breeding/puppy mill life.


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

Rocky gets tear stains depending on the food he is eating. It can also be caused by environmental allergies as well.


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

Cant nasty water also cause it?


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## fran (Dec 22, 2011)

I am going to try Angel Eyes. I did that with Roux when I first got him and his not nearly as bad as Ellie's.
Thank you for all your input


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

I'm sorry to say that all of my Malts came from backyard breeders(I was ignorant about this) about 3 of them had staining and 3 had very little. Laurel's was the worst by far! Angel Eyes worked fantastic on her. The other ones with staining had their tear ducts opened and it did the trick. I see some dogs on breeders websites that have staining also . I think that you just have to keep on top of this problem, whether it's diet, water, environment, tear ducts, or whatever.


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

some dogs from reputable breeders have tear staining too. A lot of small dogs have tearing. You don't see it on dark color coats. One of my daughter's chihuahua has tear staining too. Makes a black half circle under his eyes.


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## StevieB (Feb 2, 2012)

Hi, Fran - I can't see your pictures! But I'm dying to! Anyway, my boy from a BYB, dumped at the pound, then rescued. He's 11lbs and curly so he could definitely be a mix, at the very least he's very poorly bred (but still 100% awesome in my eyes!). He had pretty ugly staining when I got him but I started feeding him Innova at first, then switched to Blue Buffalo (both are grain free, "all natural"). I also did 10 days of Angel Eyes a few weeks after I got him but not since then (that was in Feb). I don't know if it's the Angel Eyes or the food, but his staining is gone. So in my case I believe it was the food causing it. He just drinks regular old tap water and I wash his face every day or every other day. He still does have tearing, but it doesn't stain his face, just kind of dries up. The vet said the amount of tearing he has is not excessive though so I haven't had a specialist look at it. I think it just depends on the dog. What are you feeding your babies?


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## Gizmo'sMom (May 10, 2012)

Has anyone asked their vet about Angel Eyes? I see its something you give them with their food, and was just wanting make sure its vet approved. Gizmo was from a reputable breeder and had tear stains when he was very young --? teething? and then nothing for many years and now out of the blue it has come back and the staining is on his feet as well(from licking)--his is 13. Vet has said something about some enzyme causing it.


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## Noah (Jan 6, 2012)

I got Noah from the shelter and he is a mix, but he had terrible staining when I got him. I think from poor grooming, food and just being dirty. I have been feeding him Natural Balance and washed his eye area every day with contact solution. He doesn't have anymore tear staining, so I am not sure it has anything to do with pedigree, but I don't know. I also have a maltese now from a byb and he has terrible staining as well. I am doing the same thing with him and we'll see if it improves. My guess is there are a lot of different factors that can cause the staining.


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## fran (Dec 22, 2011)

I feed them Taste of the Wild.


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## pammy4501 (Aug 8, 2007)

Gizmo'sMom said:


> Has anyone asked their vet about Angel Eyes? I see its something you give them with their food, and was just wanting make sure its vet approved. Gizmo was from a reputable breeder and had tear stains when he was very young --? teething? and then nothing for many years and now out of the blue it has come back and the staining is on his feet as well(from licking)--his is 13. Vet has said something about some enzyme causing it.


Here is a thread about that very subject. Amazing results too!


http://spoiledmaltese.com/forum/64-picture-posts/119424-before-after-pics.html


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

Gizmo'sMom said:


> Has anyone asked their vet about Angel Eyes? I see its something you give them with their food, and was just wanting make sure its vet approved. Gizmo was from a reputable breeder and had tear stains when he was very young --? teething? and then nothing for many years and now out of the blue it has come back and the staining is on his feet as well(from licking)--his is 13. Vet has said something about some enzyme causing it.


My vet used it on his dog a shi tzu.


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

Gizmo'sMom said:


> Has anyone asked their vet about Angel Eyes? I see its something you give them with their food, and was just wanting make sure its vet approved. Gizmo was from a reputable breeder and had tear stains when he was very young --? teething? and then nothing for many years and now out of the blue it has come back and the staining is on his feet as well(from licking)--his is 13. Vet has said something about some enzyme causing it.


The opthamologist at OSU OK'd it for Laurel!


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## inchiapas (Oct 28, 2007)

My Jezebel's tear stains completely disappeared after she was spayed. Nothing else changed,not food or anything. Has anyone else experienced this?:huh:


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## gopotsgo (May 21, 2009)

There are a lot of causes for tear staining. Top causes seem to be problems with their teeth and diet/allergies. Other causes include, genetics, blocked tear ducts, etc. Have your pups had an anesthetic dental? Do you brush their teeth every day? The active ingredient in Angel Eyes is an antibiotic that kills the bacteria that live in the moist areas that causes the staining. Like most antibiotics it is not selective and I am not a proponent of using them without significant disease because they kill off your good bacterial flora and can open you/your pup up to other diseases. My pups get regular dentals and are on a frozen raw diet with supplements. That has pretty much eliminated the staining they had when they were rescued. I also blot the area under the eyes as much as I can to keep it dry, that helps too. Good luck.


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## aksm4 (Nov 28, 2011)

Hello there I got Luna my first Maltese from reputable breeder and she stains and Becky from another reputable breeder no stains so i think sometimes it is genetic .


Anna xo


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## Snuggle's Mom (Jan 3, 2008)

From what I have been told, tear stains can come from allergies, food, genetics, and various other sources. Wish we could help our Chrissy out since we have tried just about everything. Right now her Tear stains are really bad...could be the change in weather or something else. It has been rather frustrating to say the least. I know that one of our SM Members tried Angel Eyes for a couple of weeks and it did help clear the Tear STains up.


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## Charlie'sMom (May 12, 2012)

I agree with the previous posts - tear staining is caused by a wide range of things.
It occurs with backyard breeder's puppies and top breeder's dogs as well.
Many times I've seen the differences within the same litter...some puppies had it and some didn't...and they were all born in the same litter.

My vet told me Malteses, Shi-Tzus, Poodles and some other small breeds are prone to tearing, because their tear ducts are either undeveloped or clogged.
They automatically make marks in all these breeds Health Record Cards and they keep checking every time during the check-ups.

I have Charlie on Angel Eyes on/off the whole time. He was doing fine the whole winter and now he started to have a tearing again, so I put him on a dose a day. I'm pretty sure it's environmental allergies in Charlie's case. But my friend's doggie starts to have a heavy tearing every time, when family's schedule changes - so I think the stress is causing it in her case.


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## daryl (Mar 14, 2009)

Gizmo'sMom said:


> Has anyone asked their vet about Angel Eyes? I see its something you give them with their food, and was just wanting make sure its vet approved. Gizmo was from a reputable breeder and had tear stains when he was very young --? teething? and then nothing for many years and now out of the blue it has come back and the staining is on his feet as well(from licking)--his is 13. Vet has said something about some enzyme causing it.


Angels Eyes is not FDA approved. The active ingredient Tylosin Tartrate is not approved (read: not sufficiently tested) for dog use.

I am not aware of any country in the world where tylosin can be administered to dogs without a veterinary prescription, that said, Angels Eyes is still sold openly OTC in some US states.

Some vets sell it, whilst others recommend it. They have no problem with the sub-therapeutic use of antibiotics but i suspect that they are increasingly in the minority. It would be interesting to see what they think about the risks of under-dosing antibiotics and cross-resistance.

I do understand why people use antibiotics for staining Personally I am happy with the natural NaturVet tear stain supplement. My supplier says that the NV is successful for about 80% of dogs where-as AE is about 90%. NV also takes longer to work but it works out cheaper and has the added advantage of boosting health without breaking the law or adding to the rise of superbugs. 

Natural supplements can be bolstered by using probiotics and avoiding grains. You do have to be patient though...


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## daryl (Mar 14, 2009)

With regard to staining being genetic- I have no idea but past evidence would lead me to think that environmental factors are more likely to key. I have seen dogs "grow" in and out of staining, those with parents that did and didn't have stains.

It does seem likely that toy dogs are more likely to suffer from staining, their noses are often shorter, they have more rounded eyes, both of which seem to suggest that they are less capable of recycling their tears via the ducts. Another possible factor is the fact that many toy dog owners are less likely to feed raw- preferring to use grain based dry food.


Mind you- I could be barking up the wrong tree...


I do raise an eyebrow however when I hear breaders say that their dogs NEVER get stains


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

I agree with Darryl. Angel Eyes/Tylosin is an antibiotic and should be used cautiously under the supervision of your vet only.

Tylosin

It should never ever be used on a puppy as it can discolor the permanent teeth before they come in.


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## Snuggle's Mom (Jan 3, 2008)

Unfortunately, Chrissy has not had the best results from eating a grain free food. I asked my Vet just how long a dog has to be fed a grain free food and he said 8 weeks. Well, Chrissy has been on Grain free food for more than 8 weeks and we really do not see much difference. Her tearing has become better though since I started her on Zaditor. Alloway has the same ingredients so I will switch to that when the little bottle is empty because Alloway is cheaper. I did notice that Snuggles eyes do not have a crusty residue since we switched to grain free food which was good for Snuggles.


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## LuvMyBoys (Jan 2, 2012)

Ladysmom said:


> I agree with Darryl. Angel Eyes/Tylosin is an antibiotic and should be used cautiously under the supervision of your vet only.
> 
> Tylosin
> 
> *It should never ever be used on a puppy as it can discolor the permanent teeth before they come in*.


 
Heed this advise, I speak to you as an adult with tetracycline stained teeth who either had it as a child or whose mother had it during pregnancy. NOT PRETTY and very expensive to cover up!


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