[munchkn8835]

I get Ollie's food (Acana) at a store that is all about healthy animals. I mentioned using Angel Eyes for his eye stains that started up a couple months ago. She ask me if I had probiotics for the stain rather than the low antiobiotic in Angel Eyes. She gave me some organic to sprinkle on his food once a day for a few weeks. Have any of you heard of this? I wash his eyes a couple times a day and have no idea why the stain started. He was doing so well.

 

[jpupart]

Donna,
I,too, would be interested in learning if others have had success with probiotics for tear stains. I don't believe in using Angel Eyes as I've heard too many controversial things about it. Candy has also started staining for the past month. She is teething right now- so I'm hoping that is the main reason. I also used to give her distilled water and haven't been doing that lately so I am going back to using distilled water,too.
I also use Spa Lavish and it does work nicely to lighten the staining, but it would be nice to know what is actually causing it.
Is the Acana you use Chicken based? I have read that sometimes chicken can aggravate tear stains. Also, is the store you go to in Durham or Chapel Hill?

Hopefully, someone will respond that has some experience with probiotics- and which ones they've used.

 

[Nikki's Mom]

I've been using probiotics in Nikki's food since I got her, and although I think that they are great for digestion, and I still give them every day, they didn't do anything for her tear stains. I tried all the other "remedies" as well. Frankly, I am not sure why her tear stains went away. It might have been the switch to home cooking, but I can't say for sure. I used one course of antibiotic (called Tylan/Tylosin) and that seemed to help as well.

 

[munchkn8835]

Jocelyn, I go to Hillsborough...Paws At The Corner. Love this store and they are very knowedgeable. Acana has three different flavors...chicken in one, lamb, and salmon. It started back with the salmon and now he is finishing up chicken. If it goes away with thelamb, I'll keep him on that. Not sure what triggered his again. He gets filtered water and duck treats. I give him a flossie about once a week. Nothing else had changed. If you decide to go to Hillsborough, let me know and maybe we can meet! If the probiotics don't work by next weekend, I'm asking the vet for a low grade antiobiotic and maybe that will work.

 

[mysugarbears]

Jocelyn, I go to Hillsborough...Paws At The Corner. Love this store and they are very knowedgeable. Acana has three different flavors...chicken in one, lamb, and salmon. It started back with the salmon and now he is finishing up chicken. If it goes away with thelamb, I'll keep him on that. Not sure what triggered his again. He gets filtered water and duck treats. I give him a flossie about once a week. Nothing else had changed. If you decide to go to Hillsborough, let me know and maybe we can meet! If the probiotics don't work by next weekend, I'm asking the vet for a low grade antiobiotic and maybe that will work.

It could be that he's allergic to poultry, not just chicken, many people forget that duck is also poultry. I would try forgoing all poultry products and that may help.

 

[jessica-01]

I have been informed by a scientist friend that probiotics will not be effective in a canine's body at all. There is something in their system that destroys the probiotics before they reach the part of the body they need to get to in order to 'work'. I was advised to not even buy probiotic yogurt for my fur-baby for that reason (although, of course, feeding natural, sugar-free yogurt sometimes is to be encouraged).

 

[munchkn8835]

I'll do some more research on probiotics. I've heard nothing but good things it has done. Acana is coming out with a Buffalo one and I plan on getting that to try.

 

[Nikki's Mom]

Probiotics work very well for my two dogs. I've noticed quite a difference when I use them. (Sometimes I forget when I am out of town and there is a difference in their elimination habits.) I think it depends on the brand and how stable they remain until they get to the gut. In this case, you get what you pay for.

 

[jpupart]

Jocelyn, I go to Hillsborough...Paws At The Corner. Love this store and they are very knowedgeable. Acana has three different flavors...chicken in one, lamb, and salmon. It started back with the salmon and now he is finishing up chicken. If it goes away with thelamb, I'll keep him on that. Not sure what triggered his again. He gets filtered water and duck treats. I give him a flossie about once a week. Nothing else had changed. If you decide to go to Hillsborough, let me know and maybe we can meet! If the probiotics don't work by next weekend, I'm asking the vet for a low grade antiobiotic and maybe that will work.

Donna- I'll look it up to see where in Hillsborough it is located. It's a pretty good drive for me-but I'll check it out. Might be more fun to meet when the weather warms up a little!!