What can I do to prevent tear staining with my puppy?

Maltese 5months old
Answers:
Well I have two maltese of my own and I must say that preventing tearstaining will be a hard task. In most cases with maltese/toy dogs tearstaining is inevitable irregardless. However there are some things you can do to prevent the degree of the tearstaining. There are four things that i have personally found to help more than anything else. These things are:

1. Feeding maltese natural foods (dry or canned) (anything processed can upset stomach and contribute to tear staining, i reccomend a brand u can find a petco/ petsmart called Ultra, its a lamb and rice formula that works wonders for maltese coat/tearstaining!)

2. Give maltese purified water in stainless steel bowls only (minerals/calcium in tap water may be too harsh for maltese, and plastic, ceramic bowls contain chemical dyes that may irritate maltese and cause staining)

3. Grooming around eyes regularly to prevent hairs from irritating the eyes

4. Keeping areas that maltese frequent clean and dust free (maltese have common allergies and having dust/pollen can cause heavy tearstaining)

In doing these main things you can prevent maltese from having heavy staining and in most cases reduce staining almost completely. If staining does not reduce, I would take to opthamologist to make sure your maltese have no known eye medical conditions.

Hope this helps!

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you can't do anything to prevent it, but to get rid of it take a paper towel and wipe under the eyes twice a day.

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go to your local vet

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Here is a fantastic website that is dedicated to Maltese dogs with tear staining. It tells of the causes and treatments!

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Some breeds are just prone to tear stains, it's especially noticable when the pup has a white coat! Cleaning the pups face often with a hypoallergenic pet shampoo may help.

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there is a cream you can get at the vets office I am not sure what it's called though.

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Stop making him cry.

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Just get them use to wiping thier face using a warm cloth. There are certain solutions that you can use as well but myself I prefer just warm water.

I did find a site though dedicated to maltese dogs and the tear stains.

Edit: Opps someone already posted it for yah :)

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Get yourself a catalog from Drs.Foster%26Smith. They have all kinds of products for dogs and puppies with this problem. I don't know if you can prevent the stains from happening, but you can remove the stains from their face and below their eyes. Try looking them up on the net and see their products too. They have a wide variety of other interesting things as well.

Good luck and may you and your puppy have a long companionship and friendship with one another.