Eliminating excess tearing is one of the best ways to stop staining.

Dog owners should pay attention to the hair around the face and prevent hair from falling into the eyes causing irritation and infection.

Hygiene: Hygiene is an obvious factor in tear-staining. Matter in the eye tends to collect at the inner corner.

If the dog's eyes are exposed to dust, wind, grooming products, stray or ingrown hairs and other irritants, there will be more matter at the corners. This matter becomes an irritant and causes more tearing and therefore more staining.

Infection

When the face hair is wet from excess tearing it is the breeding ground for bacteria and yeast. The most common is "Red Yeast" which is usually associated with reddish-brown facial stains, and which may emit a moderate to noticeably strong odour.

Your Vet is best able to make this diagnosis.

If bacterial and yeast infections are involved you need to take steps to mollify and eliminate their presence. Veterinarians can prescribe medication to treat bacterial and yeast infections.

Water

The water in many areas has a high mineral level. If your Bichon drinks from a water dish and your local water has a high mineral content you may find the entire face and beard stained.

A Dog can be placed on purified or commercial bottled water to see if any improvement is noted.

Blocked Tear Ducts

Dogs are sometimes found to have very small tear ducts or to have tear ducts that are blocked. To determine this problem, your vet may decide to put a stain in the eye to color the tears. He will then look for drainage to the nose and if the yellow stain does not show up there, he will know the duct is blocked.

Eye duct surgical procedures to increase their tear capacity may help some dogs in certain cases; ask your veterinarian.

Sometimes Bichons can have an extra row of eyelashes or have eye lids that turn inward. In these conditions, the lashes irritate the eye, causing the tears.

NEVER put any drops or ointment into the eye without a veterinary prescription!

Genetics

Genetics may play a role in excessive tearing and staining. A dog could inherit very small tear ducts or overly watery eyes. Definitely inherited are large eyes and short muzzles, which tend to allow more eye irritation and less drainage. There can be inherited or developmental structural defects that result in eye stains.

Again you would need to discuss this with your vet.

Cutting Teeth

Dogs will cut their adult teeth any time form 5 to 8 months of age. During this time the head structure and mouth are under going many changes causing pressure on the tear ducts. Many puppies who have had no previous tear stain problems will during this time.

It is most important to keep the facial hair as dry as possible and frequently wash it to help keep yeast and bacteria under control.

The good news is that when the adult teeth are in this will go away if you have kept it under control. Make sure your doggie has plenty of chew type of toys to help relieve the pressure on the mouth during this time.

Food & Treats

Diet can play a role in tear staining. Feeding a dry kibble that is natural with no additives, preservatives or food color may aid in maintaining white stain free faces. Many commercial dog foods contain beef pulp which can cause staining of the face and beard.

Facial hair needs to be washed on a regular basis to removed any left over partially digested food.

Removing Tear Staining

Remember, before you attempt to remove the tear staining from your dog's face it is important to have eliminated the source of the staining.

Otherwise it will just come back!

Once the source of excessive tearing and staining is found a pro-active program to remove the staining can begin.

Regardless of the cause, keeping the face clean is part of the solution. This means cleaning the hair under the eye several times a day.

A mild shampoo, dilute lemon juice or salt water can be used. Or you can look at your pet store for a product that cleans the hair (which will probably be a salt solution).

Remember you are NEVER to put any drops or ointment into the eye without a veterinary prescription. Sorry to keep repeating myself but the eyes are very sensitive.

Tear stain removal has become much easier with various products now on the market just for this purpose. Your local pet shop may have some suggestions.

There are tear stain home remedies using mixtures of milk of magnesia, corn starch and peroxide, or bleach (usually hydrogen peroxide) used for human hair.

But remember, if you were not to mix these properly, use precisely the right strength of each ingredient, and apply them safely, you could potentially harm your Bichon.

No solution should ever be splashed into the pet's eye, or allowed to wick through the facial hair into the eye area.

Read and follow all instructions very carefully.

Keep in mind that you are treating the eye area of your pet and you can harm their sensitive areas. A full amount of caution and concern must be exercised whenever you use any product or mixture near eyes.

Consult your veterinarian with any questions you may have.

Milk of Magnesia (MOM), corn starch and peroxide.

Use equal volume of MOM and peroxide, and then use the corn starch to make a good paste of this; put on and work well into the stained area (BUT not in or very close the eye) and let dry overnight. Wash out in the morning with warm water.

Keep doing this for several days (2-3) until tear staining is gone.

It is recommended skipping a day or two between applications if possible.

This MOM formula should be used very carefully.

White Vinegar

A teaspoon of white cider vinegar can be added to your dog's drinking water to control new tear stains. It may take a while for your dog to "decide" to drink this water so start with a little less and gradually increase the amount of vinegar. Vinegar works much by changing the pH of the drinking water.

Remember that your first effort should be put into finding a cause (see your vet!) and then you can work at cleaning the stain.

If the eye is healthy, then the stain is just a cosmetic problem that can be solved.

Hoping this article was of some help to you or a friend.

All the very best for now.

Warmly,


Sharda Baker.
 

Dedicated To Making All   Of Your Dog Experiences Good Ones.