# Regimen that cured Alpha's tearstains



## jessbuggy (Jun 18, 2012)

Hi!

I am going to start off by saying that I am by no means an expert when it comes to treating dog ailments. But for the past couple weeks I have been treating my dog's tear stains without Angel Eyes or anything of the sort. I've seen amazing improvements, and his eyes are now pretty much tear-stain free! This information may not be useful to you at all, but I hope that it can at least prove to be interesting.

1) Clean

Twice a day, I use a steamed towel to clean alpha's face. I press the towel to either side of his eyes and rub all the stuff out. 

Then I use cotton swabs soaked with very warm water and rub it in the contaminated area until wiping does not cause the cotton to stain.

Finally, I clip out stained hair from around the eyes. 

2) Prevent

I use a two-pronged attack for prevention.

Basically, I make a cocktail paste made from Tums and baking soda and apply this topically around my dog's eye area (with a Q-tip) every time I finish washing his face.
Tums does not dissolve readily in water at all. Thus, I crush it up into a powder, place it in a bit of hot water while agitating the mixture. I then bring the super-saturated solution to room temperature again while continuing to stir. If you do this, make sure that you use the either the white or green kind of Tums for this part (the pastel green colouring can counteract the red colouring of the yeast). I make a separate paste out of baking soda and water at room temperature and combine the two mixtures together. I store this mixture in an empty sample-size face cream container. Using a Q-tip to apply this works really well. 

The second part of my prevention was to feed my dog 1/4 tablet of flavoured Tums after he eats. I didn't do this every day; and I have stopped doing this now because the tear stains are basically gone. 

(Some people combine a number of random methods, like using vinegar or lemon juice in addition to Tums. I think that if the point is to alter the pH and create a hostile environment for the yeast, combining alkaline and acidic substances will alter the pH to 7 and thereby have no effect.) 

3) Maintain

I continue doing everything the same way except I have reduced the strength of the paste by using more water. And like I said, I have stopped giving him the Tums orally. Not much to do now except wait for the stained hair to grow out completely. 

Conclusion:

Again, I am not an expert. This is simply what worked REALLY well for me and Alpha. The reason why I decided to try this as opposed to giving him the store-bought tear stain solution is because I gave it a sniff the other day at the pet store and it smelled terrible. I wouldn't put that stuff near my face so I decided to do my own thing. Tums is basically calcium carbonate, while baking soda is calcium bicarbonate and both are completely harmless. Many people actually use baking soda as a shampoo. I am extremely pleased with the results and I really hope this helps someone out there! 

Best wishes! :thumbsup:


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## zooeysmom (Aug 1, 2011)

Thank you for sharing this info, Jessie. I'm sure it will be helpful to many Malts, and how great that it's all natural


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## maltese#1fan (Feb 20, 2012)

Can I ask how old is Alpha? Bella is still teething and I'm told that is why her staining is so bad.


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## LizziesMom (May 4, 2010)

Thank you so much for the info! I will definately give it a try. Does it also take care of stains around the mouth?


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## Summergirl73 (Sep 18, 2011)

Thanks for this post. Bellas got some pretty awful tear stains and I think I'll give your steps a try! Much appreciated  .


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

I would not give TUMS (calcium carbonate) orally if your dog is on a commercial dog food as it already contains the correct calcium to phosphorus ratio. Too much calcium can cause problems, especially in young dogs:

*Calcium excess*

Feeding high calcium diets with excess calcium is often blamed for contributing to bone problems in young, rapidly growing dogs. There does appear to be a link between the incidence of hypertrophic osteodystrophy (HOD), osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) and hip dysplasia, and the overfeeding of calcium. In recent studies, researchers fed dogs calcium at a much higher than recommended amount, and compared the incidence of disease in dogs that were fed normal or less than normal calcium levels. As would be expected, the animals that were overfed calcium showed increased incidence of skeletal problems including hip dysplasia. 

http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/breeding/calcium.htm


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## jessbuggy (Jun 18, 2012)

Alpha's three! 

I thought that stains around the mouth are caused by food? :mellow: If so, I don't think it will work. Maybe you can try washing your dog's face after he eats, since changing food habits is tricky with dogs. Alpha's never had much of a problem with that though so you should definitely ask someone who has taken care of the issue before! 

LadysMom: I only gave him 1/4 of a tablet for a week and then stopped after his tear stains stopped. I totally understand your concern. I am sure there are side-effects associated with an excess of every good thing  If the researchers "fed dogs calcium at a MUCH higher than recommended amount," I think it's obvious there would be problems. It's my personal opinion that particular experiment seems to border on cruelty. 

Regular strength Tums would only contain 50 mg of calcium per 1/4 tablet. It might not be beneficial, but it certainly shouldn't cause any problems in an adult dog. My maltese is also much larger than breed's standard :blush:. In any case, it's only for a short period of time. 

Even humans cannot tolerate/use large amounts of calcium. In fact, humans who take calcium supplements normally require additional vitamin D supplementation to absorb it effectively. 

I forgot to say that if you are feeding your dog Tums for tear stains, you should check for constipation because that is a sign you should stop. 

Thanks guys, I am glad it's at least somewhat helpful. :chili:


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

jessbuggy said:


> Alpha's three!
> 
> I thought that stains around the mouth are caused by food? :mellow: If so, I don't think it will work. Maybe you can try washing your dog's face after he eats, since changing food habits is tricky with dogs. Alpha's never had much of a problem with that though so you should definitely ask someone who has taken care of the issue before!
> 
> ...


Those of us who homecook have to add extra calcium and many recipes call for giving one TUMS per day to meet a dog's calcium requirements. That's why adding TUMS in addition to feeding a commercial diet will supply more calcium than a dog can use and result in an excess.

Obviously you giving 1/4 tablet for a week won't harm a dog, but I just wanted to make sure a disclaimer was added to your thread so anyone reading it would be aware giving TUMS orally for a long period of time could potentially cause problems.


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## mostlytina (Jan 3, 2009)

What is in "TUMS" actually help preventing tear stain???


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## educ8m (May 19, 2010)

Jessie, thanks for taking the time to give such detailed step by step instructions. I'm going to try the tums/baking soda paste.


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## Chantilly Lace (Jan 31, 2010)

Well if you are in fact cutting the hair around the eyes out, it doesn't sound like any stain has been removed. You mentioned you are waiting for hair to grow back? Or am I missing something? I just clean and dry face everyday and occasionally use Blueberry Fascial Scrub and that does the trick for the most part.


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## Calis mom (Jun 26, 2012)

Thanks Jessbuggy!

Cali has bad tearstains and I have tried what seems like everything. I tried purified water (which helped me with her stains around her mouth), I tried a tiny bit of apple cider vinegar in her water. After these at-home treatments did not work I went on to wipes, different gels to use on removing stains, and then angel eyes. Nothing has worked for Cali and me!

I have heard of using tums, but never tried it because all the other "at-home" fixes didn't work. Thanks for sharing your routine! My fingers are crossed that it works for Cali! 

By the way, you mentioned baking soda can be used for shampoo. Baking soda can be used for all kinds of things, I know a recipe for a face wash for baking soda! Just mentioning this because I know some people would feel iffy about putting this on their dog! k:


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## maltese#1fan (Feb 20, 2012)

Chantilly Lace said:


> Well if you are in fact cutting the hair around the eyes out, it doesn't sound like any stain has been removed. You mentioned you are waiting for hair to grow back? Or am I missing something? I just clean and dry face everyday and occasionally use Blueberry Fascial Scrub and that does the trick for the most part.


 
Where do you get blueberry facial scrub?


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## babycake7 (Jan 30, 2012)

maltese#1fan said:


> Can I ask how old is Alpha? Bella is still teething and I'm told that is why her staining is so bad.


 
My Bella also has bad tear staining due to teething...


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