Wednesday, October 5, 2022

Does Your Dog Have Tear Stains?

Tear stains are SO frustrating but you can get rid of them. There isn’t a magic fix but if you consider all of the following, it can help. If your pet never had tear stains before, be sure to check with your veterinarian as it is common for pets to get particles in their eyes, have a blocked tear duct or eye infection. Allergies also can be a factor. While there are many cosmetic products, remember that you need to address the underlying CAUSE.

Recently we went through a bout of tear stains and got rid of them after much trial and error. I wanted to give a variety of options to try as each pet will respond differently.
1) Look at your pet’s diet. Diet is a huge culprit. Grains, allergens and low quality ingredients can cause tear stains. Upgrade your pet’s food and feed a low carbohydrate novel protein diet such as a raw frozen rabbit or venison diet. Eliminate chemicals like food dyes and sugars from treats.
2) Balance your pet’s gut flora. An overgrowth of bad bacteria or yeast can cause tear stains. Use Power Probiotic to improve your pet’s gut health as it contains beneficial bacteria, prebiotics and Lactoferrin which helps fight tear stains.
3) Add prebiotic fibers slowly to feed the probiotics. Legend was eating a novel protein raw diet but was getting some tear stains due to environmental allergies. We added AllerEaze, some cranberry and blueberry powder and organic potato starch to his food. We also added some raw goat milk.
3) Be careful with topical eye cleaners!!! The skin around your pet’s eye is very delicate. All the wiping strips away the natural protective layer of good bacteria and can cause irritation. Legend got an eye infection from using natural eye wipes!
4) Check your pet’s liver function. The eyes and skin are eliminating toxins on the inside. The rust staining at least in our case, was due to his liver. Using products like Ask Ariel’s Liver & Gallbladder Support can be helpful for flushing out toxins especially if you have an older pet.