# Does cutting eye hair help with tear staining?



## Cheerios (Dec 16, 2017)

Does anyone have experience trimming the hair around their pup's eyes and have it cut down the tear staining? My 4 1/2 month old puppy, Ricky, has tear staining. I was going to stick it out and just let the hair grow out but I kind of made up my mind yesterday to let the groomer trim it a little, at least the hairs poking up and into his eyes. Then this morning my husband talked me out of it. Ricky's appointment is next week. I'm kind of on the fence. It seems like most advice on the forum here is to to let it grow out but I was curious if cutting it would help cut down the staining. If you have had experience with it please let share. Thanks.
Here is a picture of Ricky.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Cutting it will not prevent eye staining. It really has nothing to do with it. If you let the hair grow out, there won't be any pokey ends to hit his eyes, If you cut it, you will have to keep on top of it from then on, because the sharp, cut ends CAN poke his eyes. (but it still wont affect tear staining much, one way or the other)


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## Marni (Apr 1, 2017)

Don't cut around eyes. They are so cute when the hair parts over the nose and makes a mustache. Groomers want to dish into the eye area when you get a puppy cut or shave because you could not stay on top of the matting at 10 months. Insist that the groomer never cut around eyes.


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## Cmward (Jun 28, 2017)

Marni said:


> Don't cut around eyes. They are so cute when the hair parts over the nose and makes a mustache. Groomers want to dish into the eye area when you get a puppy cut or shave because you could not stay on top of the matting at 10 months. Insist that the groomer never cut around eyes.


My groomer gave me the "are you crazy" look when I said no cutting around the eyes on Nico's first visit. By his second visit at 5&1/2 months I caved and told them to cut the hair. Nico had "fans" of hair that wouldn't lay down no matter what I did or put on the hair. Here is his "before" look


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## Cmward (Jun 28, 2017)

Here is after with just enough hair cut so we could see his eyes, his eyes don’t get watery though so no staining issues (yet):


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## Marni (Apr 1, 2017)

Zoey has had those fans! they go through awkward phases as the coat grows.


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## Cmward (Jun 28, 2017)

Marni said:


> Zoey has those fans!


Zoey is sooo cute! I didn't mind the fans all that much (I've got big hair that is always in my eyes too) but Nico was starting to bump into things and my husband kept complaining about not being able to see his eyes lol. Oh well so far it hasn't caused any tearing but some of his moustache is trying to fan upwards now lol.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

It's just a stage. You either live through it or commit to VERY regular trimming of that area going forward. The worst thing you can do is cut it, let it grow so that it's poking their eyes, then cut it, them let it grow too long again. EITHER let it grow out, or keep up with it. As often as it takes to keep it out of their eyes.

Either option is fine, neither one is wrong. But letting it poke them, over and over again because you don't keep it groomed often enough IS wrong.


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## ShamaMama (Jul 27, 2015)

krandall said:


> It's just a stage. You either live through it or commit to VERY regular trimming of that area going forward. The worst thing you can do is cut it, let it grow so that it's poking their eyes, then cut it, them let it grow too long again. EITHER let it grow out, or keep up with it. As often as it takes to keep it out of their eyes.
> 
> Either option is fine, neither one is wrong. But letting it poke them, over and over again because you don't keep it groomed often enough IS wrong.


I agree with the above 100%. Below are three recent photos of Shama. When we're at work or too tired to do her hair, she's au naturel. (This photo shows her lying on her coffee table among papers I needed to correct.) When her hair is up, you can see how it now lies nicely below her eyes. The third photo shows her on our straw bales. We planted eight tomato plants and two basil plants in mid-May.

Someone should start a thread devoted to close-ups of sweet Havanese faces with hair below eyes either grown out or maintained so that it never pokes the eyes . . .


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## CaroleG (Aug 13, 2016)

Mine does not have staining, and we do cut the hair there. My feeliing is it the water and/or dog food. I feed orijen and only give bottled water


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Ricky is the same color as my Scout. He had staining on his left eye only. That has been resolved. I have been giving Proviable DC for about 1.5 years and it did help. The groomer has always trimmed the hair around his eyes, first because of the staining problem. Now we just think it looks better on him. His muzzle is trimmed which helps keep him clean since he is a light color. Truffles has a different shape head and has never had the hair cut around her eyes. For me it's a little more work to keep her eyes clean daily. The hair does lay down, but needs combing a few times a day. When she eats her beard needs to be cleaned. The long hair on the muzzle always gets drenched when she drinks. She needs to be dried off or occasionally blow dried. The eye hair does require trimming monthly.


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## Melissa Brill (Feb 22, 2017)

*hair around the eyes*



krandall said:


> It's just a stage. You either live through it or commit to VERY regular trimming of that area going forward. The worst thing you can do is cut it, let it grow so that it's poking their eyes, then cut it, them let it grow too long again. EITHER let it grow out, or keep up with it. As often as it takes to keep it out of their eyes.
> 
> Either option is fine, neither one is wrong. But letting it poke them, over and over again because you don't keep it groomed often enough IS wrong.


That's exactly! why I let Perry's grow and don't have the groomer cut it (the hair around the eyes, not the hair above the eyes - that gets cut) because I am a little freaked out about cutting hair that close to his eyes (when I cut his bangs I put my hand over his eyes so that I don't slip  ) that I know I will never be able to keep up with it - I imagine that even if I could get to a professional groomer every 6 weeks or so it would still need some trims in between so nope, not for me, that hair stays long!


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