Tear stains are usually caused by red yeast. My Murphy is a white Havanese and he has staining. The only thing that works for him is Angel Eyes. I give it to him once a day in his food but for short periods of time. I usually use the regime for three months and as soon as the stains stop I take him off and start when he starts to stain again. It has been almost a year since his last treatment and he is indeed staining again. Time to start AE.

No amount of washing will take the stains out. He is usually stain free in about six weeks after starting the Angel Eyes again. He gets groomed professionally every six weeks and the stains have to be cut off.

He doesn't mind the taste at all. My pupsters eat Blue Buffalo wet food so it mixes in easily.

Spaniels are prone to tear staining because they have shallow eye sockets. And of course it's more noticeable on a white dog.

Sometimes a dog will tear excessively due to an eye irritation, or hair that grows too close to the socket. Allergies can cause tearing too. Cocker spaniels often have blocked tear ducts. I don't know about a Tibetan spaniel. Has the Vet checked to make sure there isn't a physical cause?

Sasha is beyond adorable.

I have used Eye Envy products for my persian who gets tear stains and was happy with the results.

I also occasionally use an antibiotic eye drop prescribed by the vet and that helps with the discoloration of the tears.

To clean it, make a paste of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda and apply it CAREFULLY using a Q-Tip. Let it sit for a few minutes, then rinse it off. Be careful to not get any in her eyes, of course.

Going forward, as always, prevention is the best medicine. Tetracycline is best but apparently very hard to get. I have a Bichon coming tomorrow who has a TEENY amount of powder/med sprinkled on her breakfast every day. It's coming with her and I'll let you know what it is.

....not to hijack the post - but congrats on the new puppy Tibbrix - please post photos!

I had a cream pekeapoo with awful tear stains that bothered me a great deal. I had my vet prescribe tetracycline and that solved the problem permanently. I only had to give him a couple of doses of it.

I copied and saved the following cure. I don't know where I got it from and I never had to use it. Here it is:

Sometimes the light colored dogs will get tear staining on their eyes, to control the staining you need to change the PH balance of the dog, you can add 1/2 tsp of powdered buttermilk to their food, or you can try Sensible Choice Dog food (the chicken formula) Pet Supplies Plus can order it for you, they don't carry it anymore but they do order it for me, it does take time, it took 3 to 4 months before it got rid of the teary eyes, it's not an immediate fix.

I recently read a column in the Washington Post written by a veterinarian who said that the staining can be caused by beef-flavored (and possibly lamb) dog foods that have added dyes.

I've been giving my two pups Angel Eyes for years. Chloe is 12 y/o & has had no adverse effects. She's very healthy & active and has been taking it since she was a couple of months old.
Initially, I gave the recommended dose daily until the staining completely disappeared. Now a tiny amount - maybe 1/16 tsp every other day sprinkled on her food. I tried everything listed above except Tetracycline. I buy it from Drugstore.com, Sweet Potato flavor.
Sasha is adorable.

Dog food with no dyes or artificial ingredients will help a lot but not completely eliminate the problem. Sometimes bad tear duct problems are hereditary.

mairecateâ¦alas, I'm a dog sitter, so I can't have a dog of my own, and the pooch I'll be picking up today, the Bichon, is someone else's. She'll be joining me and a Wheaton Terrier I've got with me now. But he goes home on Monday. The Yorkie I was also supposed to have this weekend cancelledâ¦and so it goes.

Timely post Lynn. Just last week I posed the same question on a Cavalier group that I belong to. The responses were similar to some of the above, but the first suggestion was to change to filtered water and to wash Billie's face twice a day.

It has been only a week, but it seems to be making a difference. Billie has allergies (we adopted her last year) and is on grain-free food. She gets Taste of the Wild food topped with Greek yogurt and fresh veggies twice a day.

If this doesn't solve the problem I will ask the vet on her next visit. Sasha is adorable!

Here's Billie with her stained face:

Hi Linen,

I'm back with the Bichon. The powder they use is called Tylan. It's a prescription from the vet, and the dose is teeny. They are now using it every other day for Maggie. It's an antibiotic.

Tib, I believe Tylan is the active ingredient in Angel Eyes. I will check the container later today.

Hey HKâ¦OT butâ¦did you get the TP?

Sorry that it's taken this long for me to get back here. My laptop was acting up and DH was hogging the PC in the study. Thanks everyone for the ideas and suggestions.

Tib and Holly-Kay: Sasha is scheduled to be spayed and have her teeth cleaned on the 27th. This will be her first visit to our vet. I'll ask him about that Tylan. Thank you!

Maire-Cate: I'll ask my vet about that, too, on the 27th. Thanks.

Bonnie: I LOVE Cavaliers!! Such darling little dogs. Billie is adorable. We've had Sasha for just less than a month, but we all drink filtered (R/O) water as we're on a mountain community well. Hopefully that will help as time goes on. The Greek yogurt is an interesting addition. We eat it every day but I've only given it to our dogs when their tummies are upset. I have started giving them all a small amount of coconut oil in their food to help their coats.

KKay: that's interesting! Hmmmm. I've been feeding our dogs the Victor dry kibble with glucosamine, which is rated one of the best dog foods on the market. It's grain-free, beef-free. I can't recall what else at the moment, but I'll have to check the bag and see. But, that said, we've only had Sasha for a few weeks, so anything will take time to make a difference. Darn!

Jterrilynn: as I mentioned above, all of our dogs eat the Victor dog food, but now that you've mentioned it, I will ask our vet about the possibility of tear duct problems on the 27th. Thanks.

Marlene: antibiotic eye drops? OK, now on my list to ask my vet. Thank you.

Romy: That makes me relieved to hear that your dogs have had no ill effects from Angel Eyes and that it works. I'll run it by my vet when Sasha goes in for her check-up and spaying.

Thanks again for all of your suggestions. You've given me a lot of good info and now a list to run past my vet.
Lynn

Tib, yes I did get the TP. I was surprised to find that the ship from location was Leola, PA. That is fairly close to us so we may drive there the next time I need to make a TP purchase.

I noticed how much longer a regular roll seems to last so I plan on using this for the long term.

LOL, what are you talking about Holly-Kay? TP . . . Toilet paper? Too funny!

Linen, yeppers, toilet paper! I mentioned that I now order my TP by the case because TP from the store is such a huge ripoff. I recommended Feathersoft, 96 rolls, from Webrestaurant.com. We did the math and figured we save @ $300 versus buying the equivalent from the store.

Lol, Lynn. Yep tp is a funny topic. Honestly Tib is an amazing resource, she often leads me astray or keeps me straight depending upon your POV.

Love it! The chuckle I got trying to figure out what you two were alluding to AND the heads up on the TP. Hmmmm, living here in the mountains, we have a septic system and always have to watch what we put into it. Most well known brands of TP don't break down well enough in a septic field. Costco's brand does, though, which is what we buy. I wonder how the Feathersoft brand would do in our it our circumstances?

I'm also on a septic system.

From description below:

"Plus, this tissue rapidly disintegrates making it safe for all septic systems!"

Of course, if you're in the mountains, you can always grab a leaf or two!

Here is a link that might be useful: The seriousness of TP!

What I really like about this TP is that it is individually wrapped in paper and not stuffed into a plastic wrap.

We are on a septic system as well and are very careful about what we flush.

I like:

Not having to constantly be hauling TP home from the market;

Saving upwards of $300 for the same amount of TP;

Knowing I'm not being ripped off.

It's a totally win, win, win to get TP this way now.

Ooh, I love the idea of saving more money! I'm definitely looking into this. Thank you!

Lynn and Bonnie, your doggies are such a beauties!

I am laughing about the side TP convo . . .

Thanks Anele . . . I was, too!

Anele, thank you! Billie is a great dog, who came to us via rescue. We have had her for a year. I always learn so much from this site. Tib and HK have me thinking about ordering TP this way!

Unless you plan on croaking in the very near future or moving into the bush and using leaves, there is no reason to not order your TP this way! Saves a ton of money, time, changing rolls far less often, not having to haul the ripoff store stuff homeâ¦.

Sorry. I know I'm repeating myself.

Sasha had her surgery today. Actually, surgeries. Our vet is such a great guy and a fantastic doctor. We think the world of him. He discovered that Sasha had a smallish abdominal hernia while doing her pre-op this morning . . . and that she had never been microchipped! So, my poor little furkid was spayed, had her teeth cleaned, had her hernia repaired, had her nails cut and was microchipped this morning. I'd hoped to be able to bring her back home here this evening, but because of the added hernia repair they need to keep her overnight. I miss my little snuggle bug already!
I did talk to him about her tear stains, though. He said that the reason she has them is that, because of her pushed-in Tibetan Spaniel face bone structure, their tear ducts don't empty correctly. The overflow from their eyes causes the dark staining. It's common with a number of breeds, although he didn't say if this is an issue only with smushed face breeds like Sasha and I didn't ask for clarification. He said that antibiotic eye drops would work, but it's possible for her to then build up an immunity to them, causing a dilemma if she really needed those eye drops for a real problem sometime in the future. Instead, he recommended me to use Tibbrix's suggestion. A mix of peroxide and baking soda, stroked on with a cotton swab and then carefully wiped off. Thanks, Tibbie!
Lynn
P.S. It was so sweet. Sasha took her little teddy bear along with us this morning when I drove us to the vet. They let her keep it with her while she's there, to snuggle with.

This post was edited by LynninNM on Tue, Jan 27, 15 at 18:42

Most welcome, Linen. Poor Sasha. But it sounds like she'll be really ready for her wonderful new life in your home.

Esp. since her eyes stick out, be very careful when applying the peroxide/baking soda paste. and you might want to put her in a Victorian collar while she has the paste on to keep her from rubbing it with her paws, possibly into her eyes.

Good idea, Tibbie. Thanks.