Hiya,hope somebody can help. My Bichon, Blu, who is nearly 3 has got really bad tear stains. I was using Angel Eyes, with Tylosin (is that a dirty word now!) every few months to keep the staining at bay, but now that it is banned I don't know what to use. All the reviews tell me Angel Eyes Natural is no good. I've seen an advert for Twinkle Eyes Australia, saying that it is the new name for the original Angel Eyes. Is this just the back door way of selling Angel Eyes with tylosin? Or has anyone got any other recommendations. Some people say the brown stains give Blu character but it's got so bad now. Any advice will be welcome.
Best advice I can give you is to contact a professional dog groomer & ask them what's best thing to clean your dog's eyes with.
Many thanks. Blu's groomer who is fantastic, gives her a blueberry face wash, which helps slightly, but is at a loss what else to do. Thanks again.
One of my Beagles has a small tear stain from her right eye. Most methods seem to rely on getting the stain first of all washed, and then completely dried, before treating. I have tried Colloidal Silver, which does work, and is safe, but getting the hair dry before applying it is a real fag! In my case, not really worth all the poking around. My next move is going to be trying contact lens solution, an idea which I found on the Healthypets.mercola.com. site. Have you tried this one? If so, did it work?
Thanks Carole, I'm a contact lens wearer and speak from experience that it smarts (understatement) if the neat solution gets in your eye. If I pluck up the courage to try it I will let you know. Thanks for taking the time to reply
Thanks for that info. In that case, I definitely wouldn't want to try it! In the olden days, many exhibitors used Boracic powder. I have never heard of it doing any harm, but it became one of those things the EU said we couldn't buy any more.
I've not heard of any horror stories using Angel Eyes either and it did work a treat with no effects on Blu. I wonder what exhibitors use now!
Just a thought, as I have never had a white dog so tear stains are way out of my knowledge, but is there a Breed Club for Bishons that maybe you could contact to ask? Or have you already gone down that route.
Oh I didn't know that. I will definitely look into contacting them. Thank you so much for taking the time with your advice. I'm new to forums and it's so nice people being genuinely so helpful.
Hi. What I use is Earth Animal Dr. Bob Goldstein's Daily Health Nuggets for dogs (available at more the mom and pop pet stores) and go by the amount of nuggets suggested for Cappy and 21st Century Tear and Saliva Stain Remover. Angel Eyes did not work for me. Of course, every dog is different but this has really helped Cappy.
Is that a US product? I haven't heard of it in the UK. Good advice for members that have access to it though.
You're welcome. Angel Eyes is also supposed to be good, but never worked with Cappy. I don't know whether they have these two items where you live, but the Healthy Dog Nuggets can be found and ordered from the Earth Animal site.
Yes, it's available in the US. The liquid eye 21st Century I got at Petsmart or Petco one. The health nuggets for dogs I found at this little natural shop, but they can also be ordered at Earth Animals site.
On the off-chance that @AnnmarieUK still visits Breedia, or to help any others in the UK who have this problem. The Bichon Frise Club of Great Britain do sell a cream which has been formulated to remove eye staining by red yeast. It is available in two sizes, and is sold at Club shows or by post. Check the club site for full details.
Hi all,have just joined the forum & have been reading your posts on tearstaining.One of my bichons who is nearly 12 started getting tear staining only a yr ago with no idea why.Have tried all sorts to clear it including basic daily eye/face washing,changing food to a grain free diet & this has defiantly made a difference.I have used the Angel eyes too which did help but found it costly as had to order it from the states. Hope this is of help x
Hello Theresa, welcome to the forum. If your 12 y.o. Bichon has only shown staining a year ago, I would think it is likely that his tear ducts have become blocked. You can have these blown through at the vets, but have heard that results are mixed and they may be likely to block again. I feed grain free, and my girl's tear stain is still there - just one eye, and not enough to make a fuss about, but I would like to be able to clear it without using anything that contains an antibiotic. It is more noticeable in windy weather, so I think that she may just have sensitive eyes. I have found that cornflour is quite good for absorbing any overspill of tears, and I am currently back on good old Diamond Eye for daily eye care. However, my girl is a Beagle, not a Bichon, and the white hair in her face is due to aging. I haven't tried it yet, but I might be tempted to try the Bichon Club's product if I saw it at a show.
Having never had a dog with tear stain problems I just had a look and found the following: https://iherb.com/pr/21st-Century-Pet-Natural-Care-Tear-Stain-Cleansing-Pads-90-Pads/73232 and https:/iherb.com/pr/21st-Century-Pet-Natural-Care-Tear-Stain-Remover-All-Pet-4-fl-oz-118-ml/73233 I do not know if they work but maybe it is worth a try.
Could be allergies. Just like people, over time you just become more sensitive to certain things. We are trying to figure out why our guys hair is thinning. I have found two different things that help. The first is dehydrated liver treats. I get these from Amazon and they are cheap. Learned about them at a dog show and saw a difference within there weeks with one of our boys but didn't seem to help with our other guy. The second is fresh raw blueberries. Buy fresh and freeze. Give 4 to 5 a day as a treat. A groomer told me about blueberries and they really do seem to reduce the tearing.. One of my boys responded great and tear stains are completely gone. My other boy has minor staining on both eyes and around mouth. What I mentioned above has definitely made a difference but has not completely cleared up the staining. We treat holistically when all possible. I tried Angle eyes a long time ago with moderate success and then they changed the formula. There has been a lot of negative reviews due to the active ingredient. I use Bausch & Lomb Sensitive Eyes To clean around the eyes and it seems to work better than plain water. Good luck!
