# Teething and staining



## maddogdodge (May 29, 2015)

I'm sure the topic of tear staining has been done a million times on here but I'm a little confused...

I've got a 12 week old white male Spoo. He has some tear staining going on, the breeder said she's pretty sure it is just because he is teething and should clear up once he's older. The breeder kept a pup from a previous litter (same sire and dam) and she had tear staining while young but it stopped once she got older.

Everything on google and here seems to say that teething can definitely cause tear staining... yet when I asked my vet today she said she'd never heard of teething causing tear staining and she doesn't believe that is a cause. She said he'll most likely have the staining for life...

Now don't get me wrong, I love my little guy no matter what he looks like, but I really hate the look of tear stains so the idea of him having them for life is a bit disappointing


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## Charmed (Aug 4, 2014)

Mine had tear staining when teething and also when his borderline Addison's flared up. Most of his life he has not had any problems. My old light apricot girl would get tear stains if she ate dog treats with red food coloring. When she was 12, she had a tumor removed from her eyelid and that one eye did have tear stains for the rest of her life (three more years.) The girl would cry real tears when she did something naughty. Here's a recent picture of my ten year old male. No tear stains .


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

Your vet may believe that since so many pet people feed lower quality food and diet does influence tear stains. Keep your kiddo on quality food and just wipe the stained areas with a damp cloth occasionally and I'll bet by the time he's done with teething, he'll be perfect again. 

My DD's older shih tzu had issuses with tear stains until we learned about better diets. He's going to be 13 in July and he's never looked this healthy before. Playful, smells better, no more tear stains (we put him on grain free food and it's made a HUGE difference in him).


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Sophy had bad tear staining as a pup - it improved with daily cleaning and drying and vanished when she finished teething. There are conditions that can mean it will need veterinary treatment if is not to be a lifelong problem - excessively narrow or blocked tear ducts, ingrowing eyelashes, etc, etc - and I am sure some dogs get watery eyes due to dust and allergies, but many, many people on here have seen improvement with good food, good hygiene, and a few months of age!


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## maddogdodge (May 29, 2015)

Thanks for the replies  Glad to hear that you guys have seen improvement of tear staining in pups! The breeder fed him Royal Canin and I'm currently in the process of slowly switching him to Black Hawk as that is what my other dogs and cats are on and they're all doing well, if we have issues there is a grain free Black Hawk that I could try. One of my cats is on the grain free one because of health issues on other foods, and he is doing really well now 

So would you say I should just wipe it with a damp cloth daily rather than using a tear stain remover daily?


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## BorderKelpie (Dec 3, 2011)

If you already have the tear stain remover wipes, go ahead and use those. I just tried to keep the area clean with a warm, damp rag. 

The only other thing I forgot to mention, when you give him his regular smooches (you don't have to admit to it, I know we all do it lol) Make sure you don't detect a yeasty smell. My DDs shih tzu had to go on grain free because he would have issues with yeast on his face and in his ears. I could always tell if he got that musty smell to his face. Keeping his face clean and dry will do wonders for reducing stains. If the stains are caused by yeat then you may have to get a little more aggressive with treatment. 

I'm guessing our little man is probably just staining because of the teething. Shih tzu have a much harder time keeping their little smashed in faces dry.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Wipes, contact lens solution, eye wash, warm water, saline solution - any will do, just keep the hair short, clean and dry.


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## Mariah08 (10 mo ago)

maddogdodge said:


> I'm sure the topic of tear staining has been done a million times on here but I'm a little confused...
> 
> I've got a 12 week old white male Spoo. He has some tear staining going on, the breeder said she's pretty sure it is just because he is teething and should clear up once he's older. The breeder kept a pup from a previous litter (same sire and dam) and she had tear staining while young but it stopped once she got older.
> 
> ...


Hi ! I am having thissame issue andwanted to ask if the tear stains ever cleared up ? I have a puppy with the same issues and wonderinf if it will go away. She looks just like you male did as a pup.


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

Mariah08 said:


> Hi ! I am having thissame issue andwanted to ask if the tear stains ever cleared up ? I have a puppy with the same issues and wonderinf if it will go away. She looks just like you male did as a pup.


It's possible but not likely that the OP will respond. They haven't been around the forum for several years and this thread is almost 6 years dormant. 

It's good that you started your own thread and you can also use Search for "tear stains" to see what others experiences have been. 

As noted in your thread, it all depends on the cause.


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

Here’s a link to the current thread on this topic: 









Tear Stains


Hello! I recently got a poodle puppy and she has tear stains. I was hoping it would go away when she gets older and heard teething could cause the stains but my vet said she has never heard of teething causing stains and she will have stains for the rest of her life. I have other cream poodles...




www.poodleforum.com





Going to close this one to avoid any confusion. But @Mariah08, you can try messaging the original poster with your question, as that might trigger an email alert.


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