Tear Staining.
I am wondering what to do about my maltipoo and his tear staining issue. I clean his stained area very gently every night, but they will not completely go away. I first try to soften them with a warm face cloth and then wipe but the staining is bad.
I do not want to cut or have it shaved because I don't want his fur thinned out that much or often around his eyes. I am also terrified that one of those kids in the grooming section of the local petsmart will hurt his eyes so I have not taken him there. What can I do?
Hi
Tear staining is a very common problem with Maltese and other similar white-haired breeds. Of course, some dogs have more trouble with it than others, they're all individuals.
Firstly I'd suggest you check with your veterinarian to make sure that your dog doesn't have any infection going on, or that his tear ducts aren't blocked or partly blocked. Both of these things make tearing a lot worse, and obviously contributes to the staining.
As using warm water isn't working very well, I'd recommend that you try one of the products designed especially for this problem.
I don't have dogs who suffer from this problem myself so can't give personal recommendations, but from what I've heard there are three products that are very popular and seem to be effective.
Angel Eyes is a dietary supplement that you add to your dogs food and it reduces the amount of tear staining, you can find out more about it here http://www.angelseyesonline.com There's also a natural/herbal product that is said to work the same way, it's called Purifeye and you can find it here http://www.petpurity.com
Then there's Eye Envy, which is actually a cleanser that you use to help lighten and remove the actual stains. Check it out here http://www.eyeenvy.com
A friend told me that eye-make up remover (the hypoallergenic kind) also works well to remove these stains. Maybe you want to give that a try too.
If you determine there's no physical problem with his eyes that's causing excess tearing and staining, it's probably just going to be trial and error to find something that works well.
Good luck :o)
