# Tear Stains



## cjm40 (Jan 8, 2013)

I have a blonde toy poodle who tear stains are terrible. Does anyone have any ideas what I could do to reduce them?


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

There are a couple of things you can do. The first is buying a tear stain remover such as Angel eyes or eye envy. I would be carful of the angel eyes and similar products as they contain antibiotics. Also my experience is it only takes the color out of the tears, the eyes still tear up a lot. Lots if people have had success with eye envy, but I have not. It does help for a while but once the powder gets dried up they start tearing again. Also all the product is, is witch hazel as the liquid and talc powder for the powder, so it is a pretty simple product. I have heard adding a little bit of apple cider vinegar with "the mother" in it to the daily drinking water and only using filtered water helps too. My dogs will not touch the water if I add ACV to it. Simply wiping the eyes every day and keeping them dry might help also. The best luck I have had with helping tear stains is with some Viva La Spa eye wipes I got for free at a grooming expo. I would wipe my dogs eyes with it every night and it made them 80% better. They still did have bit if tearing and if I missed one night they would start to get worse. Oddly enough the first ingredient in them is Witch Hazel! So witch hazel must help a lot and it is a very cheap product. Hope I helped a little bit, and good luck! 


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Tangee did really well with the Eye Envy (only the original liquid used a few times a week - never used the powder), but I think that it depends upon the dog - some it does nothing for, some it works miracles...


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

How old is your dog? Many pups get runny eyes when they are teething, and it improves as they get older.

The first thing I'd do, if you haven't already, is to get your poodles eyes looked at by a vet. Sometimes there is an underlying condition - a blocked tear duct, or an ingrowing lash - that needs sorting out. Sophy had quite severe staining when she was young - I found bathing and drying the area twice a day helped. I used a home made boric eye wash (innumerable recipes on the web) but I suspect plain water would have been just as effective! I've also seen contact lens wetting solution recommended. I think the key thing is to keep the area clean and dry.

There are loads of products out there - Angel Eyes has been banned in the UK because of the antibiotic it contains, but there are many others. Each seems to work for some dogs, but not others. I'd try the simple, inexpensive bathing and drying first (after checking with your vet), and see how that goes.


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## Joelly (May 8, 2012)

fjm,

Your posts is always right on!!! I learned a great deal from you.


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## PoodleFoster (May 25, 2013)

Hello
I have a white toy poodle (rescue) who has terrible eye staining. Her problems are due to improper breeding and having sort of bulging/poppy eyes. I've tried every single tip that has come my way, none have solved the problem 100%! I deal with it by giving her a moustache to 'hide' the staining and photo shop her photos!
Here are the tips I have tried:
Feed a good quality grain free food WITHOUT beet pulp food coloring (red)
Check treats ingredients that they have no dyes in them. (very important)
Feed and water in stainless steel or ceramic bowls, keep them fastidious clean 
Give yourself a tablespoon of plain yogurt and then put a dab on dog food (in that order for obvious reasons! ) It's supposed to change PH of tears and it's good for the gut
Use a flea comb from the corner of the eye down towards nose to kind of comb out the crud. You can also use an eyebrow comb (if you are of an age to even have one in your makeup bag!)
wash with soap and water
dab the tear stain lines with a papertowel that is slightly dampened with peroxide. VERY carefully, don't get it in the poodles eyes. (just a dab will do you) wipe AWAY from eyes
KEEP hair short under the eyes so that the staining doesn't build up.
Angel eyes: is an antibiotic and I agree with others comments on it's use. It's expensive too.


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## Caniche (Jun 10, 2013)

We have a mixed poodle who has bad tear stains. We keep the hair around
her eyes trimmed and use Angels' Eyes. For some reason, the Natural formula doesn't work too well. We prefer the chicken flavor. 


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

Makeup remover works wonders!!!! A little on a cotton ball and (1) you don't have to worry about irritating the eye, (2) since it takes mascara, etc. off, it also works on those stubborn tear stains! And, it's inexpensive. I don't have that problem with Sunny, but my sister's bichonpoo mix's stains were terrible. She tried Angel Eyes, and lots of others and found a diet change and makeup remover was the combination. Good luck.

P.S. The makeup remover suggestion was given to me by a woman in Paris some years ago who had the most adorable white poodle. I thought it made sense, and it does work!


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## brownlikewoah (May 3, 2012)

I've been using this: No Stains "Fur" Me :: Natural Pet Products | Holistic Wellness & Remedy Items Dogs & Cats for Zora, and it seems to be working. I've also heard good things about angel's eyes.


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## NorthJerseyGirrl (Aug 15, 2011)

My red dog's quite bad staining stopped through putting apple cider vinegar in her drinking water, and/or putting her on Vetri-Science Everyday probiotics, and/or switching her from grain-free to Royal Canin kibble. I made all those changes at the same time and don't know which was the key element or if it was the combo of two or three, but I am a happy camper. I did not want to put her on antibiotics.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

It won't really help anyone, but just so you know it is really true what they say about the tearing being related to the teeth - Tangee was the worst tear stainer every - her face was perpetually wet - even seconds after a bath and blow out, if her eyes were open, her face was soaking wet (and we did have her tear ducts flushed when she was spayed, and she did see an optomologist, who found nothing wrong with her eyes). Eye Envy (which I prefer over Angel Eyes because it is topical instead of ingested) worked for her (as long as remembered to use it), but they day that she, at age 11 had to have all but 5 of her teeth removed, the tear staining shut off like somebody had flipped a switch - 100% gone! And she will have that little bit of corner eye gunk that all poodles get, but absolutely the same as never tearing Teaka.
Not that it helps anything - except for you to know that it is probably not anything that you are doing or not doing, it is just they way that they are built!


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## Carley's Mom (Oct 30, 2011)

http://www.poodleforum.com/5-poodle-talk/42258-no-more-tear-stains-lumi-amala.html


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