Removing Tear Stains In Dogs

My puppy is almost 6 months old and she has tear stains. I heard that this is not common for westies. Is that true? How can I get rid of the stain? (Gretchen Carolan - Iowa)

Tear stains are less common in westies but do occur. There are a large number of possible causes. The most common cause is excessive tearing which creates a breeding ground for bacteria and yeast which discolor the are and in turn cause more tears to be produced. In other cases the tear duct itself might be clogged and need irrigated by a vet. Tear stains can also be a side effect of other issues like and ear infection or the cutting of adult teeth during which the dogs head structure and mouth are undergoing changes and causing pressure on the tear ducts.

Depending on the cause of the tearing there is a variety of treatments, for example if it is a bacterial infection antibiotics can be prescribed by a vet, while if it is being caused by an ear infection then Otomax can be effective. Compounds that change the ph of your dogs tears like TUMS, or white vinegar (up to 1 teaspoon into drinking water) have also been known to help. Most products designed to directly remove tear stains contain bleach which then needs to neutralized and beside damaging the hair condition can cause problems if it gets in the eye.