# Eye envy and/or proviable for tear stains?



## LWalks (Feb 7, 2021)

Getting used to life with a white-faced dog, and trying to figure out what works to keep her face as stain-free as possible. I do wash her face, and, but she still has some staining, which shows more when her face is wet (which it is anytime she drinks water or noses in wet grass!) Found an old thread about people using eye envy and a supplement called proviable… any recent opinions on these or other products?


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

The Proviable DC did break the cycle for Panda, and once she was an adult, the staining never came back. I do think, in her case, the staining was mostly related to teething. Fortunately, Ducky has had almost none.


----------



## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

I tried proviable and didn’t notice a difference. From what I understand there are a few potential underlying causes for tear stains and Proviable has worked for others because it works for one of those causes. It seems to be a decent and budget friendly probiotic so it was worth it to me to try it out. 

I always have trouble finding the article I read a few years ago that discussed tear stains being related to yeast, bacteria, or something else, depending on the individual dog, but I’ll search for it. I think the key is eliminating causes one at a time, and it takes a while to see if it’s working. I have committed to at least 3 months of each approach I’ve tried. Now I believe it’s related to bacteria for Sundance. When he was a puppy he didn’t really have problems with tear stains in spite of his eyes being much more weepy then, and I realized recently he took antibiotics many times as a puppy due to other problems. I would never give antibiotics specifically for tear stains because of my family’s experience with antibiotic resistance. Unfortunately from what I’ve read, some are only controlled with long term, low dose antibiotics (which is what I understand was controversial about some of the old products for tear stains that are off the market now) and I think that’s irresponsible for cosmetic purposes. But some are resolved after a single course of antibiotics, so if Sundance ever takes another course for something else, I will be watching to see if it affects his tear stains!

I have focused on trying to keep the area dry and minimize the appearance instead of trying to completely eliminate them, although I’ve become more complacent about it lately. It drives DD crazy, she pounces on any eye goopies  I think Eye Envy would be good for that goal, isn’t it a system to help keep the area clean and dry? I think it’s on my list to try out at some point, I just haven’t thought about it in a while. I have tried other various wipes over the years and they all help as far as keeping the area clean, but I think drying it with a tissue afterwards is what makes the biggest difference.


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

EvaE1izabeth said:


> I tried proviable and didn’t notice a difference. From what I understand there are a few potential underlying causes for tear stains and Proviable has worked for others because it works for one of those causes. It seems to be a decent and budget friendly probiotic so it was worth it to me to try it out.


I think this is absolutely true. I was lucky to hit on the "right" answer for Panda. But it can be really hit-or-miss until you find WHAT is causing the tear staining problem for YOUR dog!


----------



## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Scout had a problem with tear staining when he was younger. I gave him Proviable DC for a few years which cleared the staining. Recently he had a small growth on his eyelid which may have caused the tearing and staining again. He had the growth removed a few weeks ago. Last week I started him on FortiFlora. Next time I'll order Proviable because I like the capsules better.


----------



## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

EvaE1izabeth said:


> I tried proviable and didn’t notice a difference.


Same here. I used Proviable for 6 months on Ricky when he was a puppy and it didn't work. What did work for Ricky was washing his tear ducts with filtered water at least once a day for a couple of years. As an adult, Ricky is no longer susceptible to tear staining. Perhaps it was a change in his diet, change in shampoo, or ?, I have no idea why it cleared up.


----------



## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

Heather's said:


> Scout had a problem with tear staining when he was younger. I gave him Proviable DC for a few years which cleared the staining. Recently he had a small growth on his eyelid which may have caused the tearing and staining again. He had the growth removed a few weeks ago. Last week I started him on FortiFlora. Next time I'll order Proviable because I like the capsules better.


I like the capsules better, too! I tried a couple of generic type probiotics when Sundance’s vet first recommended them because FortiFlora seemed expensive. They were okay, but definitely not as good as FortiFlora. Proviable was a noticeable improvement from the generics. He was very “regular” on it. I switched back to FortiFlora recently and it seems to work even better for Sundance. It’s hard to identify exactly, his poop just seems healthier? But the packets really bug me. Sundance loves FortiFlora, I think because it has flavoring. He gets really excited and waits at the counter if I don’t add it so I started splitting it between his meals. It’s a pain to try and sprinkle out half and then find a place for the other half of the packet where it won’t spill out and won’t be forgotten. I like that he didn’t seem to notice the Proviable.


----------



## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

We swear by this product. Got it from our vet when Shama was a wee pup.

💚💛🧡💙💜


----------



## EvaE1izabeth (Nov 14, 2017)

I tried the one Shama’s mama recommends, and gave it 6 months or so. It’s much easier to add to the food! It didn’t work for Sundance, but I think i read it works for yeast based tear stains.


----------



## LWalks (Feb 7, 2021)

All very helpful advice! I guess I’ll just have to do a rotation to see what works!!


----------



## Chloe’s Mom (Jun 14, 2018)

LWalks said:


> Getting used to life with a white-faced dog, and trying to figure out what works to keep her face as stain-free as possible. I do wash her face, and, but she still has some staining, which shows more when her face is wet (which it is anytime she drinks water or noses in wet grass!) Found an old thread about people using eye envy and a supplement called proviable… any recent opinions on these or other products?


----------



## Chloe’s Mom (Jun 14, 2018)

Hi. I got Eye envy about a year ago and found it to be helpful for us. I bought the powder snd shampoo


----------



## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Proviable worked great to get rid of the staining Panda had when she was teething. Post teething, she has had no further problems with staining. And she has never had any staining around her mouth. Luckily, Ducky has never had any staining.


----------



## lollich2448 (10 mo ago)

LWalks said:


> Getting used to life with a white-faced dog, and trying to figure out what works to keep her face as stain-free as possible. I do wash her face, and, but she still has some staining, which shows more when her face is wet (which it is anytime she drinks water or noses in wet grass!) Found an old thread about people using eye envy and a supplement called proviable… any recent opinions on these or other products?





LWalks said:


> Getting used to life with a white-faced dog, and trying to figure out what works to keep her face as stain-free as possible. I do wash her face, and, but she still has some staining, which shows more when her face is wet (which it is anytime she drinks water or noses in wet grass!) Found an old thread about people using eye envy and a supplement called proviable… any recent opinions on these or other products?


Eye Envy has Colloidal Silver in it, which the FDA says has lots of bad side effects, and has not been proven to cure ANYTHING!!! I bought it at Amazon, and immediately returned everything as soon as I read that.


----------



## mudpuppymama (Mar 24, 2012)

I think high quality colloidal silver has its place but it is not something to be used on a regular basis, just like many other things like antibiotics or even herbs. I would not be surprised at anything the FDA says. I do not consider them a reliable resource.


----------



## skubler (6 mo ago)

LWalks said:


> Getting used to life with a white-faced dog, and trying to figure out what works to keep her face as stain-free as possible. I do wash her face, and, but she still has some staining, which shows more when her face is wet (which it is anytime she drinks water or noses in wet grass!) Found an old thread about people using eye envy and a supplement called proviable… any recent opinions on these or other products?


Dooley has tear staining that I’ve had to address every day. I’ve only been rinsing with warm water and getting the deposits of gunk every morning. I’m holding off on buying anything to address it since he was a puppy and teething. He just finished that process and now has all adult teeth so I’m hoping to see it go away.


----------

