The Groomer’s Secrets To Removing Tear Stains From Dogs

99% of the dogs, be it purebred or mutt, do suffer those ugly tear stains at least once in their lifetime. Most would think this only happens to white (i.e. Maltese) or light-colored coat dogs. It’s fair to assume considering the brown stains are more prominent on white coats.

Tear stain is a discoloration on the hair under the eyes, caused by excessive tearing of the eyes. Although the staining does not affect the dog’s health but the brown discoloration is very unattractive and it detracts from those adorable doggy expressions. This is an awful problem for many “victimized” show dogs where perfection in grooming is a must.

Can you imagine how appalling it is to see beauty contestants parading the stage with dark circles around their eyes?

There are various reasons why some dogs tear and stain more than others and why they tear more often than other times. Any one or all the below factors can result in tear stains.

• Diet: Low quality commercial dog food can result in bad tear stain. A change in diet can also affect a minority of them.
• Teething: During teething, puppies have a tendency toward watery eyes.
• In Heat: Female dogs tend to stain when they are in season.
• Environment: There are certain times of the year when the eyes may be more greatly affected by irritants such as pollen dust count is high, or when the air is filled with man-made irritants, i.e. room deodorizers, sawdust, and so on.
• Small Dogs: I won’t rule this as a concerning factor. However it does affect some small dogs more than other breeds as they are closer to the ground picking up dusts.

Obviously we can’t avoid some of the above situations but there are ways of controlling the brown eye stains or get rid of them completely.

Homemade Remedy For Removing Tear Stains from Dogs

To apply in the eyes:

1. Use cold weak tea (one teaspoon per cup of warm water).
2. Hold your dog’s eye open with your finger and thumb.
3. Soak a pad of lint* in the wash (*Do not use cotton wool as it may leave numerous tiny fibers in the eyes making the condition worst than before)
4. Squeeze the soaked pad over the eyes, slowly.
5. Lubricate the eye with a drop of cod-liver oil using an eye dropper and give a gentle massage around the close eye lids.

Note: If the hair under the eyes is moist, leave it just that otherwise you have to wet it a little for the next application.

To apply on the coat under the eyes:

1. Use boric acid powder on the wet, stained hair after the above application. This will also prevent brown stain when it gets wet later on.
2. Depending upon how badly stained the hair is, you can apply the powder one to three times a day.
3. After the staining is under control, you may wash the eyes every day with any weak tea or warm water.
4. For a clean white face, apply a little cornstarch just under the eyes and into the whiskers. You can use either a baby toothbrush or your own fingers to comb the cornstarch around those affected areas.

Note: Avoid using boric acid powder on young puppies. If other puppies or the mother lick it off the hair, it can make them unwell. Best to isolate those you’d applied on for an hour or two.

A Better and Easier Alternative to Remove Tear Stains on Dogs

If you find the home remedy too much of a hassle then I highly recommend Halo Herbal Eye Wash. This is also a two-step program however both solutions are applied on the eyes which makes removing the brown stain far more effective.

The Halo Herbal Eye Wash Kit contains two 1 oz. bottles

• Eyebright Eyewash: A boric acid solution is a refreshing astringent that cleans away ugly brown discharge and opens up the clogged tear ducts.
• Goldenseal Eyewash: A saline solution is effective against the germs that build up in the clogged tear ducts. Soothes irritated tissue and reduces swelling.

It doesn’t matter how bad those brown stains are, you can see results within a day or two. Just remember to follow the instructions given religiously.

Once you got rid of the brown eye stains, go parade your dog more often in the park. Flaunt it!

Angels’ Eyes Tear Stain Eliminator

If you don’t like the fuss of cleaning, the next best recommendation is Angels’ Eyes Tear Stain Eliminator for Dogs. It’s a supplement to be sprinkled into your dog’s meal.

Truth be told, I never use this on my dogs (never had to as they no longer have tear stain since they turned one) however my canine customers can attest the effectiveness of this products otherwise I wouldn’t be replenishing Angel’s Eyes so frequently in my salon.

Angel’s Eyes Tear Stain Eliminator comes in three flavors, beef, chicken, and sweet potato. According to my canine customers, most prefer beef (original) and chicken (new) flavors to sweet potato (latest). I’m guessing the sweet potato flavor is for vegetarian dogs. It comes in four different sizes—30g, 60g, 120g, 240g.

There are a few places you could get Angel’s Eyes and price varies. I will list the price for the 30g for both beef and chicken flavors so you could do the price comparison as to where and which one to get.

• Amazon: Beef—$12.73 / Chicken—$16.56 (keep in mind, Amazon’s pricing fluctuates periodically so prices here may not reflect what is current)
• EntirelyPets: Beef—$16.99 / Chicken—$16.99
• GWLittle: Beef—$18.99 / Chicken—$18.99
• TSCpets: Beef—$21.95 / Chicken—$17.97 (check out SDP exclusive pet coupons for 7% discount)
• VetShop: Beef—$26.50 / Chicken—$30.75 (Free shipping)

Final word, if you really want to speed up the process, try using both recommended methods—Eye Wash and Angels’ Eyes.