# am i a bad mommy



## bentleybsmom (Sep 5, 2011)

i try not to worry to much about bently's tear stains, i wash and dry his every nite after brushing his teeth. the stains have no odor. i have a limited budget and rather buy him great dog food. i brush him every day sometimes twice and he has no mats. but i dont want people to judge me.
he has a nice shiney coat and i keep him in a puppy cut. maybe i am worrying about nothing. but every one here seems to have picture perfect maltese.


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## Hunter's Mom (Dec 8, 2008)

No worries! Hunter has tear stains that we simply can't get rid of due to his facial structure being part of the problem. We just do what you do - wash and dry each night. Based on what you described - I think you are a good maltese mom!


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## bentleybsmom (Sep 5, 2011)

bentley here...tell mama not to comb so much yuck then she kisses me after double yuck. at least i dont got to wear bows like my jaunty look. oopps got to go she is coming


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## Malt Shoppe (Jul 20, 2011)

Amy,
Can't tell how old Bentley is but if he's a teething pup, he can be expected to have tear stains.

This can also be caused by clogged tear ducts. I believe in finding the cause of the tear staining, not just cover it or wash it away. I am a strong advocate for getting to the root of the problem of tear staining and believe it usually is clogged tear ducts.

I've had 3 of my Maltese tear ducts flushed during dental cleanings because of tear staining. Just had Gi'mme's dental last week and requested her tear ducts be flushed because one eye was causing staining. Vet said it was clogged. It looks like that has stopped now, the hair growing out is not stained.

My Mimi had staining when I got her and the vet thought it was from the structure of her sweet little face, more like the structure of a Chihuahua. I insisted on the flushing of her tear ducts and it fixed the problem permanently. 

This can also be caused environmentally; if you live in a dry dusty location, that can cause the staining. Everytime I took Truffles to Las Vegas to visit my relatives, she started staining, requiring flushing.

If you have Bentley's teeth cleaned or any other procedure requiring to be anesthetized, have his tear ducts flushed.


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## Sylie (Apr 4, 2011)

Nobody is going to judge you harshly because of a little bit of tear staining. Bentley is very cute and sweet and happy looking. It seems to me that all young white dogs have some tear staining. You are a very attentive mom, and yes it is way better to spend your money on good food than those expensive tear stain removers that don't work anyway.:dothewave:Go Bentley!


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

Tear staining is just cosmetic. There is nothing you can do about them. Most Maltese have them. Don't feel bad because of it. Pictures are taken most of the times after grooming and pictures don't always reflect reality. And there is photoshop where you can take the stains away. Your little guy's staining is not bad at all. 
Those 2 pictures are from my late Alex when he was still a pup. As you can see the staining was much worse.
View attachment 97976
View attachment 97977

My new pup has a little staining too. 
View attachment 97978

I am not going to do anything about it for now.


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## RudyRoo (Jun 24, 2011)

Of course you are not a bad mommy! Those tear stains put up a good fight. Have you talked to your vet about it? I think Bentley is absolutely adorable and perfect, and I can't see how anyone could take one look at him and judge you in a negative light. Oh, and I can guarantee that Rudy is not picture perfect on most days!


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

Malt Shoppe said:


> Amy,
> Can't tell how old Bentley is but if he's a teething pup, he can be expected to have tear stains.
> 
> This can also be caused by clogged tear ducts. I believe in finding the cause of the tear staining, not just cover it or wash it away. I am a strong advocate for getting to the root of the problem of tear staining and believe it usually is clogged tear ducts.
> ...


You were lucky that flushing helped. I had Alex's ducts flushed and it did not help. After a few years I reluctantly resorted to Panamycin drops. Then he came down with thrombocetopenia, was put on prednisone for 6 months and I stopped the panamycin not wanting him to have antibiotic in the same time. After that, he never had tear staining again. Don't ask me why, I have no idea.


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## educ8m (May 19, 2010)

Gracie had terrible staining and I was also very self conscious about it. My breeder, was almost certain her tear ducts were clogged. I took Gracie to an eye specialist and indeed the ducts were completely blocked in both eyes. The doctor wanted to enlarge her tear ducts and do something surgically to pull the lower lid away from the eye a bit. That sounded so radical that I requested they JUST unclog the ducts. I also asked that they do it without anesthesia. They said they would try. It took all of five minutes. They gave me some drops to use for two weeks and now Gracie's face is almost all white!


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## Snowbody (Jan 3, 2009)

It sounds to me like you're a great mom. Tear staining is often a culprit in our fluffs -- if they weren't white dogs, we wouldn't see it. Tyler has tear staining and when I took him to a specialist she said his tear ducts are inverted and she could do surgery but it's only 50% successful so she didn't even suggest she do it on him. I clean his face, keep his hair short, use some eye wash drop, and get the stray hairs in his eyes and **** out as often as I can. There are times when I really notice them and other times when I don't see them at all. The fluffy mustache masks them especially in pictures. So don't worry. No one's going to judge you.


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## Katkoota (Feb 18, 2006)

I do not think that you are a bad maltese mama - I agree with what others have said already 

Bentley looks like one smart cookie with these glasses :wub: and does look like he is well taken care of.

I hope to see more of him 

Kat


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## bentleybsmom (Sep 5, 2011)

thank everyone, i do my best with bentley. he is 15 months old and i think he is going through adolescence. oy vey!!!! soon as i comb him he shakes it out and i dont use a slicker brush on him i dont like it and he dosent like it either. i am working on him being still while combing and getting used to having his chin held still. he is getting better.


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## BellaEnzo (Nov 1, 2011)

@Amy- I too look at some of these pictures of these perfectly white Maltese and wonder what everyone might say about my Bella! 

It has seemed to rain nonstop here in Miami for the past 6 months so the grass is ALWAYS wet when I take her out, therefore her paws have some staining. I was using Angel Eyes which had totally cleared up the problem but all of a sudden the stains came back. I wonder if it has something to do with Innova being bought out by a new company, could they of changed the formula? I've since switched her to Organix, but I don't know what else to do. Maybe try Tylan? Or a watter bottle? What is involved in unclogging or flushing out the tear ducts?


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

Dont worry about being judged it is what people do, wether we like it or not, from the moment we get up in the morning till the time we go to bed. It is in everything we do, so I just accept it. People will say and think what they will. 

I think the picture perfect thing has come up before, most of us take pictures of our malts right after a fresh bath and groom, so yea they look their spiffiest. I have to keep a close eye on the hair around my Rockys eyes, sometimes fine hairs get in his eyes and this causes him to tear. I feed him a grain free food and give him filtered water and we do not have much of a problem with tear staining. I brush Rocky once a day and his coat looks just like your fluffs does, it is only perfect and smooth and fluffy right after his bath which he gets once a week.


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## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

Aww, try not to worry about the staining! Often it will eventually clear up on its own. Both of mine had bad staining when they were puppies, even a little past 1 year old, but they both cleared up. London's face is usually 100% ice white but for the last two years she has gone through a phase where for a few months she will stain, even her paws...then it clears up. I noticed Preston has some staining this year, also. I am suspecting it is environmental allergies as my personal allergies have been awful this year, even right now in the fall!


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## Lacie's Mom (Oct 11, 2006)

I think almost everyon on SM has had a problem with tear staining at one time or another -- some more than others. I refuse to keep mine on Angel Eyes or antibiotics just to get rid of the staining. Right now, Tilly seems to have alot of staining and this is unusual for her, so I have put her back on Angel Eyes for a couple of weeks.

You are a great mom to Bentley B -- don't worry about the tear staining -- it's pretty normal -- especially had certain times of the year when the fluffs have an allergic reaction to what's in bloom.


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## Alexa (Aug 6, 2009)

Bentley looks very adorable and please don't worry about his tear staining! I know you'd like to get it away but I think it'll need time.

He still is very young and often puppies have problems with it until they're adult.

Try to go on with your care, seems like you do everything possible. I'm quite sure it'll become less if he gets older!

Alexandra :wub:


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