# Tear Stains on my Puppy



## llf060787 (Nov 19, 2007)

Bitsy is 13 weeks old. As you all know, she's my little puppy mill rescue. Anyway, her face is in horrible shape. She has tair stains all over her face and stains all around her mouth and chin. She's been with us almost two weeks now and all I've been doing to combat this is wash her face with a tear stain remover that I bought at Petco and then rinsing her face out and drying it daily. I know I can't give Tylan to her till she's done teething. Is it because it does no good or is it because its not good for their health? If I can give her some Tylan how much do I give her? She only weighs 2lbs 5oz.

I've used Tylan for Bianca and its worked wonderfully so I do have some onhand. I just don't know if its ok to give to Bitsy or not. My poor cuddly little baby looks like a gremlin right now and I don't know what to do for her. HELP!


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

Tylan does not stain puppy teeth. However, I think it is completely unnecessary for a teething puppy. Teething itself can be the cause of the staining. Dosing your dog with antibiotics unnecessarily can be detrimental when your dog truly needs an antibiotic. Continue with basic maintenance and readdress when teething is over.


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## almitra (Apr 24, 2009)

Medicating an otherwise healthy individual (animal or human) seems wrong somehow. Meds for esthetic reasons.....that sounds like the equivalent of botox (shooting oneself in the face with botulism toxins in order to effect partial facial paralysis). Not only are antibiotics prescribed far too often, but they are also often incorrectly taken (not taken for the full length of time prescribed, not taking the recommended dosage, etc)--all this leads to antibiotics becoming useless as the culprits they are intended to wipe out eventually become resistant to them entirely. Most Malts have tear staining to a degree or other (not *all*, but most), so wait to see if it's caused by teething--should know that by 8 or 9 mos at the latest. Who knows, you could be one of the lucky minority with pure white faces---we have a few here.  Then if your baby still has them, you could see if it's dyes in the food, high mineral content in the water, red yeast going amok, clogged tear ducts, etc. Truly though, as long as it's not a health issue and merely a cosmetic one, perhaps another avenue for addressing the problem (rather than medications) might be a better alternative? Just a thought. 

P.S. Your baby is absolutely adorable! :wub:


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## Nikki's Mom (Feb 13, 2008)

QUOTE (almitra @ Dec 16 2009, 11:54 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=863182


> Medicating an otherwise healthy individual (animal or human) seems wrong somehow. Meds for esthetic reasons.....that sounds like the equivalent of botox (shooting oneself in the face with botulism toxins in order to effect partial facial paralysis). Not only are antibiotics prescribed far too often, but they are also often incorrectly taken (not taken for the full length of time prescribed, not taking the recommended dosage, etc)--all this leads to antibiotics becoming useless as the culprits they are intended to wipe out eventually become resistant to them entirely. Most Malts have tear staining to a degree or other (not *all*, but most), so wait to see if it's caused by teething--should know that by 8 or 9 mos at the latest. Who knows, you could be one of the lucky minority with pure white faces---we have a few here.  Then if your baby still has them, you could see if it's dyes in the food, high mineral content in the water, red yeast going amok, clogged tear ducts, etc. Truly though, as long as it's not a health issue and merely a cosmetic one, perhaps another avenue for addressing the problem (rather than medications) might be a better alternative? Just a thought.
> 
> P.S. Your baby is absolutely adorable! :wub:[/B]


 :goodpost: 

I totally agree. Nikki had terrible tear stains when she was teething. She still has them, but they are minimal now. The best thing you can do for your puppy is to keep the face clean and dry, use an eye wash like Collyrium to keep the eyes clean, feed a good probiotic to maintain good intestinal flora and wait it out. I know how hard it is, but it's better to do that than to use antibiotics, unless, of course, your dog has tested positive for a bacterial infection. I gave Nikki one course of Tylan last year, and that's it for us.


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## cleooscar (May 28, 2008)

Napoleon has stain all over his face when he first came because his breeder lives outside of town and uses well water. After several months at our house where he gets bottled water, probiotic yogurt and buttermilk powder and new food, his stain slowly went away. While he was teething during the summer, he was tearing but didn't stain.


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## maltlovereileen (Jan 19, 2009)

QUOTE (JMM @ Dec 16 2009, 11:10 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=863163


> Tylan does not stain puppy teeth. However, I think it is completely unnecessary for a teething puppy. Teething itself can be the cause of the staining. Dosing your dog with antibiotics unnecessarily can be detrimental when your dog truly needs an antibiotic. Continue with basic maintenance and readdress when teething is over.[/B]


Totally agree with the above post. Just be diligent about washing her face daily...the stains will grow out. If you keep cleaning it, new stains (from the teething causing her eyes to run) won't grow in.


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## bently's mom (Dec 16, 2009)

QUOTE (MaltLoverEileen @ Dec 16 2009, 01:58 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=863236


> QUOTE (JMM @ Dec 16 2009, 11:10 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=863163





> Tylan does not stain puppy teeth. However, I think it is completely unnecessary for a teething puppy. Teething itself can be the cause of the staining. Dosing your dog with antibiotics unnecessarily can be detrimental when your dog truly needs an antibiotic. Continue with basic maintenance and readdress when teething is over.[/B]


Totally agree with the above post. Just be diligent about washing her face daily...the stains will grow out. If you keep cleaning it, new stains (from the teething causing her eyes to run) won't grow in.
[/B][/QUOTE]

When is a puppy done teething. My Bentley is 5 months and has pretty bad stains too. We are on well water so i'll have to try bottled water and see if that helps.


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## ilovemymaltese (Oct 9, 2008)

QUOTE (bently's mom @ Dec 16 2009, 09:31 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=863433


> QUOTE (MaltLoverEileen @ Dec 16 2009, 01:58 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=863236





> QUOTE (JMM @ Dec 16 2009, 11:10 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=863163





> Tylan does not stain puppy teeth. However, I think it is completely unnecessary for a teething puppy. Teething itself can be the cause of the staining. Dosing your dog with antibiotics unnecessarily can be detrimental when your dog truly needs an antibiotic. Continue with basic maintenance and readdress when teething is over.[/B]


Totally agree with the above post. Just be diligent about washing her face daily...the stains will grow out. If you keep cleaning it, new stains (from the teething causing her eyes to run) won't grow in.
[/B][/QUOTE]

When is a puppy done teething. My Bentley is 5 months and has pretty bad stains too. We are on well water so i'll have to try bottled water and see if that helps.
[/B][/QUOTE]

Between 5-12 months old. It varies between dogs. Some lose them early like my Gigi, some later, like some pups on this forum. Purified, or bottled water would really help.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

Never give distilled water, only filtered or spring water. Distilled water leaches the body of minerals. 

Dogs finish teething most of their teeth by 6-7 months. They can lose their molars as late as 9-10 months.


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