Puppy tear stains: Is teething the cause? What else can I do?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Juliette! There is pigment normally present in tear film and saliva. If she is having excessive tearing and is either using her paws to rub her eyes (like a grooming cat) or is licking her paws that can explain the discoloration. The most common reason for a sudden onset of excessive tearing and licking of the paws is allergies (allergies can start anytime). You are right that the tear staining can be normal in some breeds and there is nothing that can be done. I would get Juliette in to your Vet for an evaluation of her eyes and skin. Watch her closely to see if she is pawing her face or is licking her feet. If the staining is on her back feet then you have your answer, she is licking them. Your vet can prescribe medications for her eyes and something to stop the itch. There are not products that work consistently to remove the staining. You will have to stop the inciting cause then wait for the hair to grow out and get her groomed. I wish you the best!

Pets can develop tear stains due to many issues including food, water quality, minerals in the water and some dogs produce the discoloration naturally due to blocked tear ducts. Since this has just started, I recommend to have Bella checked by the veterinarian who will look for clues to a medical condition like allergies or an infection. If no medical cause is identified, you may try a product like Angel Eye which comes in wipes or an oral supplement. You can also try allowing her only distilled water. You can also try a food change to something like Nutro Essentials which has non-GMO products and no artificial ingredients. Avoid grain free diets. Any food or water changes will likely take 6-8 weeks to see any difference. I hope this helps.

Yes, allergies can cause excessive tearing. Other causes include obstructed tear ducts and tiny eyelashes rubbing against the cornea (distichiasis). Have Smokey examined by your veterinarian for a diagnosis. The eye should be stained to rule out corneal injury as well. Antihistamines may help allergies, flushing the tear ducts may open them up and having the lashes plucked should decrease tearing.

This is very common in smaller breed dogs. It is normal eye drainage called epiphora. As long as the drainage isn't green or yellow and Scribbles isn't favoring her eyes, then I am not concerned that it is infection. I would recommend to use a warm damp wash cloth daily to clean under the eyes. I also recommend to have the hair under the eyes trimmed short or shaved. You can ask your vet or groomer to help you with this usually for little to no cost. I do not recommend to do this yourself as it is really easily to accidentally poke their eyes without proper restraint. Finally, if you do not like the brown color it makes, then you can consider using a probiotic or angel eyes which both will SOMETIMES work to decrease the darkness in the fur. Unfortunately it doesn't always work. You can take some comfort in knowing that as long as the eye drainage is frequently cleaned and isn't causing a skin infection then the brown discoloration is strictly cosmetic. I hope this helps!

While your groomer means well, they are not a vet and are not schooled in animal nutrition. I would listen to your vet, they are the ones who attended veterinary school and have education in animal nutrition. Tear stains are actually common in breeds like Shih Tzus. You can feed Ruby from a ceramic or stainless steel bowl to see if that helps, and there are teat stain removers which can help. Best of luck.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. The dark circles are staining of the fur from discharge/tears from the eye. You can get the eyes checked to make sure that they can close properly, and there aren't any medical problems that are causing Sizzy to produce more tears, or the tears to not flow down into the nose like normal. Lots of dogs however have no problems and just have tear staining, so it could be fine. I recommend discussing this with your vet next time you are there for a check up. Best of luck with Sizzy!

Hello, sorry to hear about Gracie. It could be indeed from her allergies, however, this could also be that she had tear staining in the area which we can see with longer hair breed dogs. If she is not scratching at the area now, you can clean it with a damp cotton ball and make sure you avoid cleaning her eyes directly. Look for any signs of sneezing, persistent eye or nasal discharge, squinting, or scratching at her face. If you note any of these then have her evaluated by your veterinarian then. Alternatively, these could be signs that her tear ducts are impacted with debris and may need to be flushed out. Hope this helps and best of luck.