Red tear staining under one eye on my 16 week Apricot Doodle

[Loril Hawk]

Does anyone have issues with eye tear staining?  No one wanted to adopt him because of it, so I did.  The breeder said it is more cosmetic than anything, but it seems that if it's a yeast infection of sorts it must irritate him. What can I do? It is just one eye.  The other one is fine.  It is particularly a dark rusty red in the corner, almost like a dark red blotch, then a bit of staining under the eye.  Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.  I've only had him for 24 hours. 

[Marianne *OZZY & ZOEY]

My vet said that he stiches the tear duct when he spays or neuters the puppies and that stops the problem. Zoey was spayed at 7weeks before I had her, but, the tearing did stop as grew older. I never had the tear ducts stiched on her. I used to keep drying her eyes for just that same reason. Hope all works out for your doodle.

[Loril Hawk]

Thanks for the comments. The eyes don't seem to be wet but the fur is red. I am keeping the eyes clean. I wonder if this was an issue for him prior to now because I checked his eyes several time yesterday and today as well and there doesn't appear to be any seepage or wetness. I'll keep my eye on them. There doesn't appear to be any smell to that eye either.

This is going to be a great site for me. These are such sweet dogs. Colter is a bit nervous. I picked him up yesterday from the breeder and he's four months old, and she said shy. And indeed he is. But I think he's going to be a wonderful addition to my family!!

[Loril Hawk]

Hi Nancy,

Thanks for the welcome!

I have yet to find any "boogies" in Colter's eyes. No gunky stuff at all. They seem dry, at least they are every time I check. His fur under his eye is just stained red. I'll keep an eye on it.

And he seems to get calmer every minute. He now goes outside and comes back in the door on his own and he is staying in the living room with Cody (my Golden) and me. That's a good sign.

I just caught him beginning to eat his poop outside, though. Will have to break that little habit. Yuck! Time for some mouth wash! lol

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

Try a product call Angel Eyes. I work in a pet store and we sell ALOT of it. Mostly people with white/cream dogs buy it, I guess because tear staining is more noticeable in them Not all the dogs have wet or gunky eyes, just the reddish stains. I have never heard anyone say it has not worked. For some dogs it takes a while for it to work, with others owners notice a huge difference within 1 week.

http://www.angelseyesonline.com/

[Jill Holder]

My vet also told me you can use regular contact lens solution to clean the eye stains. My dog has the same issue as well and I haven't tried it yet. I'll let you know if it works! We did buy Tear Stain remover at Pet Smart and it didn't seem to work. That Angel Eyes someone mentioned is in alot of doggie catalogs and they have a guarantee that it will work. I was thinking of trying that as well.

[Loril Hawk]

Now that's interesting. Today I am trying the hydrogen peroxide to see what that does. I did order some Angels' Eyes. I'll try that for a while. I am always concerned about using something with an antibiotic but if it's a yeast infection, as I am reading, then a mild antibiotic makes sense. I'll let you know how that works. Do let me know how the contact lens solution works out.

[Linda, Webber and Seda]

Yeast is a fungus so an antibiotic would not work.

[Paula]

I did tell everyone in Doodlekisses 15 months ago. I do live in ON but my VET in in MI as I live on a border. He told me that the VET who's practice he took over In Sault Saint Marie MI told him the only thing he ever knew to work for tear stains (Angel Eyes doesn't) Iis CHERRY Rolaids and it HAS to be CHERRY FLAVOUR. We're talking about tear staining on white or light coloured dogs. My white Standard Poodle had this problem quite severely when he was young, I gave him two per day initially and his stains miraculously cleared up in less than 3 days and stayed that way as long as he got the CHERRY Rolaids. Nowadays he doesn't have this problem so often but when he does he gets Cherry Rolaids.
I asked my VET how the VET knew this "trick" and he said he had no idea how the doctor knew. But it absolutely works. On little wee dogs like Toy Poodles or Bischons give only one per day

[Loril Hawk]

Now, that is very interesting...weird..but interesting. You'd think the sugar in Rolaids wouldn't be so good for them. Hmmmm. And he actually didn't have a problem eating the Rolaids?? Wow, who would have thought? Thanks for the tip. If Angels' Eyes doesn't work (I already ordered them from Amazon.com) I'll try the Cherry Rolaids.

[julie farris]

hi! i have a one year old labradoodle mini, we used angel eyes for about 3 mos.... did not see a big difference w/ regard to staining... i feel it is unnatural and not healthful, i have stopped using it and now would like to try something less invasive... rolaids is interesting!! do they just eat it out of your hands?? would a vet approve? i wonder why it works... i will try it...! apple cider vinegar did not seem to do anything... i try to cut the hairs out of the way, but that is difficult, but i spose it's necessary, huh?

thanks

[Eric and Koda]

Hello. I thought I'd revamp this thread. My light colored puppy came to me with red tear stains under his eyes but he also had hair covering his eyes that I think may have been irritating them as well. I trimmed the hair around his eyes and got him on angel eyes. His eyes cleared up after about 2 weeks and he has been tear stain free ever since. Though it has worked wonderfully, I have to mask the angel eyes in a bit of canned dog food in the morning and I don't want to have to do that for the rest of his life. I looked up the cherry rolaids but it has been discontinued. Anybody know of a pill like alternative to angel eyes or a supplement that requires lower dosage of feeding so that I can hide it in pill pockets and give it to him while training? Should I just take him off Angel Eyes and see how it goes? I currently have him on a grain free diet and I only give him purified water. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Angel Eyes contains Tylosin, which is an antibiotic used in farm animals. It usually doesn't have side effects, but I wouldn't use a drug for cosmetic purposes.

Some veterinary information:

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1329&S=1