Tear stains on a white puppy

El Guapo!

I was just wondering what's the best way to get rid of tear stains on my Bichon Frise pup. He's only 11 weeks old and his tear stains are getting worse by the day.

I gave him a bath last night and tried to clean them but no joy. I also tried to trim them off but it's hard enough to keep him still as it is and I was afraid I'd hurt him with the scissors.

Is there any special stuff I can buy or do to treat them or should I just leave them be?
Thanks!

toadfly

What food are you feeding? Think this can have an effect on it.

WIZE

I have never ( and I mean never ) seen a Bichon Frise without Tear stains except for a Show Dog

suziwalsh

A diet change to raw food diet often helps this otherwise there is surgery but if its only because of how it looks I wouldnt recommend it

pokertalk

i use this one its pretty good http://www.christiesdirect.com/SearchResults.aspx?Search=tear+stain
i would be reluctant to use a normal scissors on a dogs face unless its a round nose one just to be on the safe side

Allgäuerin

maybe this helps:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055927868

some people have good results with this
http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/dogs/dog_grooming_care/dog_ear_eye_lotion/eye_care/155835

one Groomer told me ones to use ginger ale to clean the hair around the eyes but i never tried it

El Guapo!

Thanks for the replies.
I've been feeding him Science Plan puppy food. The vet recommended it and it's all he's been fed since we got him. Other than that he just gets doggie biscuits as treats.
When I tried to trim it I was using a small scissors with blunt tips that I bought, but he wouldn't stay still so I only managed to trim off a little bit.
I have heard about rubbing on a small amount of baking soda to remove them but I'd be wary of trying any home remedies in case his skin is too sensitive or anything.

slarkin123

You can get a stain remove from any big pet shop. Its less than 10 euro and did wonders for my dog. Not too sure how young you can use it on. A vet told me that its just from the wind. Nothing serious.

RhodeIslandRed

I've two Bichons and one of them has tear stains. I've tried lots of remedies and none of them made any difference whatsoever. Any stain remover I bought was a complete waste of money. I've also tried bread soda which was useless. I've added cider vinegar to her water, didn't work. I changed her food (she now eats organic dog food) no difference. I've asked three different groomers and two vets and none of them have a remedy. I've researched it on the internet and the only solution seems to be an antibiotic which is a complete no-no (it comes back as soon as the antibiotic is stopped).
The only thing I do is clean it with cotton wool and warm water to take the worst of it off every couple of days because it does get itchy if it's not cleaned. Let the groomer trim it off every so often, I think it may irritate the skin if you take too much hair off.
I'm used to it now and adore my bichons. They are the best pets ever!

zoby

My five yr old Bichon has no tear stains (and shes not a show dog :P )


but, whlie she was teething she looked like she was crying rusty tears


I used baking soda to dry the tears, kept the hair short and eventually when her teeth were through the problem cleared (tho' the rusty hair took a while to grow out fully)


I would also start getting him used to being brushed and handled as it will make it easier for you to keep him free from matts and tangles. :rolleyes: All this bichon puppy talk is making me broody......

El Guapo!

Thanks for all the replies. Much appreciated.
For now I suppose I'll just try cleaning it extra well and see if it clears up. He does get fairly itchy alright and that's one of the reasons I would like to sort it out.
He's getting calmer when I give him a bath, it's the drying he hates.
Hopefully he'll get better as he gets older.

On another note, does anybody have any tips on how to stop him chewing peoples hands?!!
Every time anybody pets him he automatically bites their hands and doesnt seem to stop no matter how much you tell him off. It doesn't really hurt now but I can see it becoming a problem as he gets older, especially if he does it around kids.

Sigma Force

Our papillon had tear stains..still has them occasionally when it's windy..I switched him from Royal Canin to Burns and it cleared up.

With the biting of the hands if he starts remove the hand (obviously lol) and hand him his chew toy, keep a lot of chew toys around even in your pocket so you always have one to hand. Every time he chews something he shouldn't take it away and offer him his chew toy.

El Guapo!

Cheers.
That's kind of what I've been doing but he just gets over-excited and keeps going for the hands. And when I take my hands away he just goes for the jeans or shoes instead! I'm hoping it'll calm down after he stops teething but maybe it's just wishful thinking!

pokertalk

instead of a chew toy [which in his head hes thinking hmm every time i bite a hand i get a toy to play with] just make a loud noise maybe as if he is hurting you to give him a bit of a shock to let him know your disapproval .

byte

Have a Bichon here, under a year old, and he also has the tear stains.

I hate having to try cutting hair around his eyes, but it has to be done, when hair starts growing in front of his eyes.

Not the sole cause of tear staining though. Seems to happen even when fully groomed too.

He started off on Royal Canin Junior, now he's on Pets at Home Puppy food, which he doesn't like, though does seem to like Whites Chicken & Rice after a sample we got. However, still not sure if he'll be grand on Whites long term, or if I should go to an Adult form of RC... *sigh*

kylith

pokertalk wrote: »

instead of a chew toy [which in his head hes thinking hmm every time i bite a hand i get a toy to play with] just make a loud noise maybe as if he is hurting you to give him a bit of a shock to let him know your disapproval .

As soon as he starts mouthing say "Ahh!" and remove him from the room. Give him a time out every single time he does it and he'll soon learn that mouthing people means that no-one will play with him. You need to be consistant though.