# Poll- Grains-free food = no/less tear staining?



## iheartbisou

Just wondering what the majority of posters here think? 

Does your Maltese seem to have more tear staining with a grain-free food or not? Or have you not noticed before?

Thanks!


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## k/c mom

I use Castor & Pollux Organix and Claire and Catcher have no tear staining at all. When I got Claire in April 2009 at 7 months old she had extremely dark staining that covered a wide area but it is completely gone now. Kallie developed tear staining a couple years ago and after testing it was determined that her tear ducts were blocked and the vet and I don't think it is food related.

http://www.castorpolluxpet.com/store/organix/organix®_adult_canine_formula
It has these ingredients 3rd, 5th and 6th.
Organic Brown Rice, Organic Millet, Organic Oats,


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## dwerten

Demi has never had tear staining until i switched water and food for a short time and only change was to cod from chicken and spring water to fridge filtered water 

She has always been on a high grain diet newman's own organic with no staining 

I switched her back to chicken as we put a little organic chick on her food as she is picky and will not eat without it and back to spring bottled water and seeing the difference now as it is getting better


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## Furbaby's Mommie

Shoni has never had any tear staining and was on food with grain most of his life. Last 6 mo. he has been on raw grain free and still no staining.


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## Snowbody

Tyler's been on food without grains and still has tear stains. :smilie_tischkante:


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## LitGal

Haiku has never been on a high grain diet and she hasn't had a problem with tear staining except for about two months when she was teething.


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## mysugarbears

I never noticed a difference between the grain free and the food with grain concerning tearstains. The only reason that i feed grain free is because the fluffs itch uncontrollably and chew on their feet when on food with grains. I also can't feed any type of poultry because Chloe has an allergy to it.


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## angelgirl599

Snowbody said:


> Tyler's been on food without grains and still has tear stains. :smilie_tischkante:


Same with Lola...but lately she her staining has gotten a lot better and the tear stains are slowly starting to grow out! I'm not sure why, nothing has changed.


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## iheartbisou

Thanks Everyone. Honestly I haven't noticed a difference with Bisou either. I couldn't remember if grain-free was fed to hopefully stop tear staining or what? (not including corn and fillers like that of course..but meaning whole oats, etc- the good grains).

Thank you again!!


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## joanastancu

:chili::chili::chili::aktion033:Wheat,corn, soy beet pulp are causing allergies in some dogs which causes tear ducts to swell and that is causing tear stains.That's why some dogs have tear stains and some not.I noticed that my Duchess was on Royal Canine which has corn,beet pulp she had tear stains and now she is on Wellness and she has no tear stains.It is important that the food to be free of BHT ,Etoquisn ,colors fillers...
The food should be homeopathic,organic.:aktion033::aktion033:


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## Johita

Not sure. Aolani used to be on Fromms and didn't have staining. Then in August I started him on Dr. Harveys and he began to get staining though he had also just gotten his vaccination and had a reaction to one of them as well so I don't know if that attributed to the staining too. I'm still trying to figure out how to get rid of them and have been giving him only Orijen but it doesn;t seem to be helping much. We'll be switchinq again soon.


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## iheartbisou

Johita said:


> Not sure. Aolani used to be on Fromms and didn't have staining. Then in August I started him on Dr. Harveys and he began to get staining though he had also just gotten his vaccination and had a reaction to one of them as well so I don't know if that attributed to the staining too. I'm still trying to figure out how to get rid of them and have been giving him only Orijen but it doesn;t seem to be helping much. We'll be switchinq again soon.


Just wondering- does he like the Orijen? If so, what flavor are you giving him?


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## silverhaven

Lola has some issues with staining. Only a little mostly. When we moved I think the stress and change of water made her much worse for a while. Teracycline for a month cleared her up. She never changed her food so that wasn't a factor. She is on Acana and now some Dr. Harvey's but I haven't totally restricted occasional grains. I may try her on the Canine Health and see how she does.


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## Johita

iheartbisou said:


> Just wondering- does he like the Orijen? If so, what flavor are you giving him?


 
He's on Orijen 6 Fish and loves it. He's not picky at all, but I wonder if this is too much protein for him. He def. cannot have chicken and I found that out the hard way.


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## iheartbisou

Johita said:


> He's on Orijen 6 Fish and loves it. He's not picky at all, but I wonder if this is too much protein for him. He def. cannot have chicken and I found that out the hard way.


Is he allergic to the chicken? What do you mean you found out the hard way? Did he throw it up?


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## LJSquishy

Johita said:


> He's on Orijen 6 Fish and loves it. He's not picky at all, but I wonder if this is too much protein for him. He def. cannot have chicken and I found that out the hard way.


If you think the Orijen 6 Fresh Fish is too high in protein, give Acana Pacifica a try -- it's a little lower in protein, but still very high quality (and made by the same company as Orijen).

I was feeding Orijen and it seemed to be a huge improvement from the Natural Balance, but I thought their stools weren't firm enough so I switched to Acana Pacifica and it's the PERFECT balance. I also rotate with the Acana Grasslands for variety.


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## Johita

iheartbisou said:


> Is he allergic to the chicken? What do you mean you found out the hard way? Did he throw it up?


 
He didn't throw up, but after a few days of giving him DH with organiz chicken his stool became very soft and eventually bloody. Poor thing. I threw away so many wee pads cause it just kept on coming out (sorry everyone for the graphic). It got to the point that when he went he would actually pick one of his paws up to his belly like it was really hurting him  I took him to the vet and he recommended that I not give him chicken anymore and see how that goes. After a few days he got better. It could have also been that I was only feeding him DH with chicken for that weekend whereas durign the week I woudl give him kibble for breakfast and DH for dinner so perhaps it was too much of a change for him. Don't know, but we'll stay away from chicken to be on the safe side.


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## Johita

LJSquishy said:


> If you think the Orijen 6 Fresh Fish is too high in protein, give Acana Pacifica a try -- it's a little lower in protein, but still very high quality (and made by the same company as Orijen).
> 
> I was feeding Orijen and it seemed to be a huge improvement from the Natural Balance, but I thought their stools weren't firm enough so I switched to Acana Pacifica and it's the PERFECT balance. I also rotate with the Acana Grasslands for variety.


 
Aolani's poop is optimal (firm and shiny) so I don't think we have an issue there, but I will consider Acana Pacifica. Is there a variety withouth chicken?


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## Bailey&Me

Johita said:


> Not sure. Aolani used to be on Fromms and didn't have staining. Then in August I started him on Dr. Harveys and he began to get staining though he had also just gotten his vaccination and had a reaction to one of them as well so I don't know if that attributed to the staining too. I'm still trying to figure out how to get rid of them and have been giving him only Orijen but it doesn;t seem to be helping much. We'll be switchinq again soon.


Quick question - how did you find Fromms? Did Aolani like it?


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## iheartbisou

omg! Poor Aolani!! I had no idea. I'm really sorry that he had to go through that.

The Acana grasslands has chicken fat in it but here are the ingredients for the Pacifica (looks chicken free)

*INGREDIENTS* 
Boneless salmon (natural source of EPA, DHA), salmon meal, herring meal, russet potato, peas, whitefish meal, sweet potatoes, salmon oil (preserved with vitamin E), sun-cured alfalfa, boneless herring, boneless flounder, natural fish flavors, pumpkin, turnip greens, spinach, tomatoes, carrots, apples, organic kelp, cranberries, blueberries, juniper berries, black currants, chicory root, licorice root, angelica root, fenugreek, marigold flowers, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, chamomile flowers, lavender flowers, summer savory, rosemary, vitamin A, vitamin D3, vitamin E, niacin, zinc proteinate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, vitamin B5, iron proteinate, vitamin B6, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12, selenium, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product.


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## Johita

Bailey&Me said:


> Quick question - how did you find Fromms? Did Aolani like it?


Yes, he loved Fromms, but I didn't want him to get tired of it and become picky so I like to switch it up. The vet said it's a good idea to do that too and I alwasy introduce him to a new food very slowly.


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## Johita

iheartbisou said:


> omg! Poor Aolani!! I had no idea. I'm really sorry that he had to go through that.
> 
> The Acana grasslands has chicken fat in it but here are the ingredients for the Pacifica (looks chicken free)
> 
> *INGREDIENTS*
> Boneless salmon (natural source of EPA, DHA), salmon meal, herring meal, russet potato, peas, whitefish meal, sweet potatoes, salmon oil (preserved with vitamin E), sun-cured alfalfa, boneless herring, boneless flounder, natural fish flavors, pumpkin, turnip greens, spinach, tomatoes, carrots, apples, organic kelp, cranberries, blueberries, juniper berries, black currants, chicory root, licorice root, angelica root, fenugreek, marigold flowers, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, chamomile flowers, lavender flowers, summer savory, rosemary, vitamin A, vitamin D3, vitamin E, niacin, zinc proteinate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, vitamin B5, iron proteinate, vitamin B6, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12, selenium, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product.


Thank you so much for the ingredients - good to know that there is no chicken in it.


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