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to trim lower, inner eye hair or not

to trim lower, inner eye hair or not?

5K views 28 replies 14 participants last post by  ilovemymaltese 
#1 ·
I have always been torn about trimming the inner, lower eye hair. My vet thinks it's a good idea b/c it's easier to keep the area clean and dry. With her advice I have kept the area trimmed. I still wonder if I'm doing the right thing, so I wanted to know what everyone else thinks.

a] yes, I trim the area
b] nope, I prefer it long

[I don't know how to do a poll, but I'm giving it a go. If it doesn't work my apologies :embarrassed:
 
#6 ·
leila came to me with that hair trimmed, but i prefer it long, so i'm growing it. for now, it's taking a lot of vigilance to keep it out of her eyes, but it's almost long enough now where it stays out of the way. i'm shocked leila ever stayed still for her eye hair to be trimmed safely.
 
#19 ·
The vet suggested it because the tearing leads to wet hair and then causes bacterial infection. Dixie has had a couple of those now. I have kept the area trimmed. I wash her eyes AND DRY THE AREA every morning. I want to grow it out but worry it will be a health issue. No one else has this problem with tearing and untrimmed hair?
 
#15 ·
Well I just recently started trimming closer around the eye, muzzle area. As some SM members know we had a terrible staining problem. When I got Tyler he was trimmed and no tears (at 8 months). I then let it grow out for the past 5 months. When I went to the vet she said that his hair was poking into his eyes and causing the tearing. She suggested I cut it. I had also sent a photo to Chris and he said it looked like the hairs were causing the problem. I tried Tylan from the vet for several weeks and that didn't work. Then I got him trimmed and I have to say his eyes aren't tearing like they were. They look big and bright and stray hair free. The tears aren't pooling or streaking like they were. My groomer (who lives in my building) trims him and he stays completely still. We're all happy right now so I'm staying with that. That's what worked for us.
 
#21 ·
I've always trimmed it as I don't like it stabbing them in the eyes and it does reduce tearing. I also like that nice neat look. Sometimes I see dogs with it grown out and in a topknot and it looks like they have inner blinders on. LOL I don't think Cosy would have a muzzle at all if I grew it out. She'd look like a pekamalt. LOL!!! (made myself laugh)
 
#23 ·
your pup had the infections while having the area short or long??... if it was while having the area short, I would think that bacteria was introduced to the area via clipping it (as you said) so I would give it a try to growing the area and see how the pup is doing...
 
#26 ·
yes, it could be... let the hair grow now, and be careful with the cleanliness... As I told you before I clean her eyes area every day with a wet cotton ball (I use boiled water or bottled water), once a week I add to the water a cleaning product (Lagripet , :::Home Dragfarma::: ) then I dry her with a clean towel and finally I brush her very carefully... I'm very carefull with her eyes, 'cause she always has the area wet during the day, sometimes I clean her twice a day, and if I see some hair in her eyes (I mean inside, sorry for my bad english) I apply some artificial tears to remove it.

hope this helps!!
;)
 
#27 ·
Staining results in the tears making the hair wet creating an environment for a yeast infection...thus red yeast. It can be itchy, if you've ever let your dog's face get really messy and they start pawing at it, it could be the bacteria causing an itchy feeling. I don't think cutting or not cutting has much to do with staining other than while the hairs are growing out they can irritate the eyes causing excess tears. I trim for neatness and I like the clean look it gives.
 
#28 ·
sent the girls to the groomer today and plan to start growing out the eye hair. Are there any products or tricks out there to help keep the area dry. Those pesky hairs will be poking in their eyes for a while. How about a light dusting of cornstarch?
 
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