[glamourdog]

Hey all,

Up until now I thought the only real sure way to keep the tearstains away was to clean them daily and keep them dry, and that there were a few products on the market, but they all take alot of work.

Well, we took Gucci in the other day to get looked at for something else and the Vet gave us these antibiotics that we sprinkle on her food. She said she gives it to all the show dogs??

I thought I had heard this was a bad idea??

any thoughts?

 

[Puddles Mom]

Don't know if its a bad ideal or not, but Puddles is on antibiotic from his teeth being pulled and I have noticed that the stains are not as bad.

I asked the my vet about the stains before and she said its something I have to accept having a while dog.

She did offer to refer us to a surgeon that would open up the tear ducts, allowing them to drain in the throat. She didn't think it was bad enought to do any thing about. But hubby also thinks that I am making his eye water more by putting cleaners and rubbing them so much.

Think I read on here once that teething can cause more tear stains. If thats so, maybe that can be some of our problem, cause right now hes cutting teeth.

 

[dr.jaimie]

using antibiotics just to get ridof tear stains isnt recomended b/c it can cause drug resistance. and when your dog gets sick and realy needs the antibiotics, they might not work as well. i didnt know it was bad until i asked an animal opthalmologist about it. hope this helps

 

[Brinkley & Neyland's Mom]

I asked the my vet about the stains before and she said its something I have to accept having a while dog. [/B]

This is my vet's philosophy too...I don't think he would ever suggest antibiotics...he might consider if I asked...but he says it is cosmetic...small white/light colored dog problem. He said keeping it clean and dry is the best solution he knew of. I don't want to do the tear duct thing...surgery for something cosmetic...mine is not a show dog...hehe.

It might not hurt to try it-if you already have the antibiotic...just to see if it works...at least then, if it gets unbearably bad...you could do it again later on...I wouldn't want to keep them on it all the time though. Plus, won't your baby be in the spotlight some with your new store and all? I would want a clean face too..he he. Not that it matters too much. The pictures I have seen of your baby are absolutely precious!!!!

 

[k/c mom]

Kallie used to have tear stains so badly that just about her whole face was red. This occurred when she was a young puppy. I made sure she was on a food with no color additives and I use filtered water. Over time as she got older, (she's 2-1/2 now) the tear staining went away and now she has just a teeny tiny bit at the inner corner of her eye and it is hardly noticeable. I think the one thing that made the biggest difference was the teething... Once that was over, the tear staining greatly improved. Another thing that helped was that her groomer trimmed the inner hair that is at the corner of her eye area.

I don't think it is a good idea to use antibiotics for a cosmetic problem.

 

[Phoebesmom]

Phoebe's vet refuses to give her antibiotics for tear staining because she says it only tears..........not an infection! I totally agree with the poster who said that the dog could build up a resistance to antibiotics. Look what's happened in our society with the new superbugs. They are caused from overuse of antibiotics.

 

[ButterCloudandNoriko]

How old is Gucci(love the name

)?

Cloud use to have horrible tear staining up until he wasn't teething anymore. Every baby is different through. My babies don't have that much staining. Just some since I like their facial hair long. My babies drink tap water. I tried this one brand where the dog food was red, and I noticed that the staining was coming back. If you do use the antibiotics, don't use it permanently. Everybody's suggestions that are posted here are good suggestions.

 

[kodie]

I really cant even help with this post... I would like to know the answer to your question... is it okay to use that medicine??

Kodie has never had any red staining ever. He tears but its clear and never turns red. I used to wash his face every other day or so... because I was scared his face would turn red from the tears but nothing... no redness. His mother didnt have any red stains either... do you think its genetic?

 

[Guest]

I just can't go along with this prophalactic appraoch in administering antibiotics daily for tear stains and neither can my vet. BUT, there is no question that there is a bacterial component to tear staining. When one of my guys was given antibiotic for another reason the minimal amount of tear staining he did have..vanished.

 

[2happymalts]

I had to give Josie antibiotic tear drops for a couple weeks as she was having some major staining as a pup, and the vet said she was not producing enough of the right type of tears (she said they produce two types-one thick and one watery) so her eyes were getting dry and had irritations on them..the drops cleared her right up and she is 95% tear free now. Pudge has tears off and on his are allergy related. Little Sophie is staining right now because she is teething. I agree with not giving them antibiotics prophalactically-because it is just like in humans you build up a resistance then...but maybe the vet saw something while examining her that made them think the antibiotics would work?

 

[pico's parent]

Pico has had two bad cases of staining which included red crusty material on his skin between and under his eyes along his muzzle.

Both times my vet (who has 3 Maltese) gave him a prescription of Doxycycline Suspension. .5 ml by mouth once a day for 5 days.

For ordinary pink/red staining I would not care to use this but he had big chunks of red stuff that I could never clear up and it was spreading over his face. My vet is not concerned with once a year or so use of this for Pico.

 

[glamourdog]

Hey all,

We are going to try it out on her and see what happens, actually we were told we only use it for a while and then we stop?? not sure how that works... but we'll try it.

I'm worried too that she might build up an immunity but apparently we wont use it that long?

We'll see how it goes and we'll let you know.

Thanks!

Oh, I think? this is the stuff we have

 

[pico's parent]

GlamourDog, ask your vet about the Doxyclycline Suspension. He told me it was used for tear staining. Maybe it is less powerful than the Terramycin.

 

[Gizmosmom]

I met a guy a while ago with a maltese and he gave me a great tip. He says he gives his dog only distilled water to drink, not tap water. That completely clears up the eyes. He hasn't had the staining since. He told his groomer about it and now she tells all her clients because it saves her from cleaning the stains if they don't have any. I've started to try this on Gizmo, but looking at his baby her face was spotless.

 

[ButterCloudandNoriko]

Originally posted by Gizmosmom@Nov 3 2004, 01:23 PM
I met a guy a while ago with a maltese and he gave me a great tip.  He says he gives his dog only distilled water to drink, not tap water.  That completely clears up the eyes.  He hasn't had the staining since.  He told his groomer about it and now she tells all her clients because it saves her from cleaning the stains if they don't have any.  I've started to try this on Gizmo, but looking at his baby her face was spotless.
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[/QUOTE]

Hey gizmosmom-I give my babies tap water. they're like 10-11 mos right now. I gave them distilled water when I first got them and it didnt work. It didn't work because ButterCloud had a horrible ear infection that lasted like 2 wks and because they were teething. Now, they're not staining much at all! If they are teething though, distilled water doesn't help. At least not in my case.

 

[LexiAndNikkisMom]

Sometimes the distilled water helps and sometimes it doesn't. I have tried all different kinds of water and none help. The tap water at my apartment sucks so Lexi and I only drink bottled water. Right now I'm giving her the bottled baby water.

 

[mmo]

Originally posted by GlamourDog@Nov 1 2004, 08:37 PM
Hey all,

We are going to try it out on her and see what happens,  actually we were told we only use it for a while and then we stop?? not sure how that works... but we'll try it.

I'm worried too that she might build up an immunity but apparently we wont use it that long?

We'll see how it goes and we'll let you know.

Thanks!

Oh, I think? this is the stuff we have

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[/QUOTE]
Hi glamourdog
What`s the dosage that your vet prescribed? Diluted in water? in their food? Did you started already? How`s it going?

 

[Brinkley & Neyland's Mom]

Can you only get that from a vet? Not that I think I want some, but just wondering. Even if I wanted to try it...I don't think my country vet would go for it unless he truly thought it was a dangerous infection situation...he wouldn't do it for my own personal trial cosmetic reasons I know. <_<

 

[glamourdog]

Hey guys,

I forgot to comment on this thread a long time ago, but I was talking to another maltese owner today and looked this thread up to show them the picture. Today Gucci is completely white. We used this stuff for a few weeks, I think maybe a month or so. It's now been about 2 months I think and her face is totally different.

The other weird thing is before she always got tear stains, but she never got gunk in her eyes like our oldest who has never had tear stains, her eyes were always wet, and red, but never anything in them to clean, or pick out.

Now.. she has black stuff in the corner of her eyes we have to clean out from time to time, but she never has any tearstains. You can see in that other picture I posted of her i think. it's really a drastic difference. i'm not sure if it works for all dogs, but it has been great for her.

 

[020202]

My vet recommended this to us also for tearstains but after reading how it might affect discoloration of Izzy's permanent teeth we decided to hold off. From what I've heard and read, it's okay to use it for a few weeks IF your dog has already gotten their permanent teeth. That's just what I heard, I'm no expert by any means.

The vet said to buy it over the counter at any feed and grain store, like Farm and Tractor, Agway, etc. Any place that sells livestock equipment etc. You don't need a prescription for it. At least not here in PA.