My baby has tear stains. We are only giving him distilled water with apple cider vinegar. Two different tear stain ointments, and baby wipes and wrinkle cream. Any additional suggestions thanks.
I have a neighbour who's frenchie is the exact same colour as my boy, and she wondered why hers has problems with tear stains while mine doesn't? And it seems like it's just luck of the draw, because I don't get any problems and don't specially treat it. So I'd say to you, stop wasting money on remedies because their obviously not working if your still finding stains, Just use cheap wetwipes to make sure they aren't sticky and gunky each day, because if their gonna leak there's no way you will stop it if it's genetic! Hope this helps?
What does your vet say? Did s/he suggest you only give him distilled water with apple cider vinegar? And the ointments and wrinkle cream?
What dood are you feeding? I heard that certain ingredients in dog foods can cause tearing, at least that’s what they told me when I had a Maltese. I think they said not to give them food that is red, like if there is cranberries in the food, not to feed. This was so long ago I could be wrong, but maybe look into the food as being the issue.
I find that the eye shape has a lot to do with tear overflow - a round eye can tend to spill tears before they find their way to the drainage duct in the inner corner. Also, this duct can become blocked which makes the situation worse. A vet can check for this by using fluorescent drops, which should emerge through the nostrils if the eye is draining correctly - it is worth having the vet check for any ingrowing eyelashes too. I had a Cavalier friend who chose to have her dog's tear ducts blown through under anaesthetic. It wasn't very successful, and they blocked again quite quickly. I think having a short nose doesn't help, but my elderley Beagle girl has a small stain, and her nose isn't short! The actual stain is supposed to be caused by a red yeast. It can be treated with antibiotics, but it isn't realistic to use these on a continual basis for a cosmetic problem. I have had no success with the filtered water, or the ACV, and my girl has had a couple of changes of diet without any noticeable improvement. I find that she is better in some weather conditions - eg. her eyes stayed dry today despite the high winds and rain. I have tried several mid range products, but haven't gone over ten pounds. I can't say that I have found any of them brilliant. (Most of the expensive ones I've seen are white, which would be no use on a dark-faced dog anyway). I now just clean Merry's eyes in the morning with Diamond Eye, and blot any tears with tissue whenever I see them forming. I have just bought some little Veterinary Eye Cleaning Pads, but I am finding them a bit too small, and no better than baby wipes. You will find that there is a thread on Tear Staining on the Bichon forum.
We did talk to our vet the product they recommended and sold us hasn’t worked. That’s why I was asking here for ideas.
This is confusing. I asked to which you responded and yet now you say So you are you saying that it was your vet and not just having read of others having success with that method, who recommended and sold you the ointments and wrinkle cream. Did he also recommend and sell you the food?
