# Tear Stains and Breeding



## Skye (Jan 23, 2010)

Hello,
I am new to Havanese, and I do not own one yet. I'm not quite sure how to ask this question, but do certain lines seem to produce dogs with more or less tear staining? Or, do you really just never know whether or not it will be a problem for your dog? I've been reading how to clean staining on the face, and how certain foods may affect it. Also, that sometimes they grow out of it? Just curious as I begin my puppy search.


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

I dont' think anyone has the answer to that. The way it seems to me is that it's can be caused by either small tear ducts or an eyelash that sticks into the eye all the time. We've produced one dog who stains because of the eyelash even though parents for generations behind her don't have that eyelash. I don't think having it removed is a big deal, but the owners didn't want to do it since they aren't worried about the staining and it's really not that bad.

Sometimes we've had a puppy who had it when small and later grew out of it. Roxie had it in one eye when she was small but did grow out of it. I know she still had it after she was 6 months old because I remember a young lady, showing a Maltese, who came up to me at a show we were showing Roxie at and asked what I would do about the eye staining since her dog had it and she was very concerned. She was not happy with my answer when I told her that Roxie would most likely grow out of it, which she later did.

When the area outside the tearduct stays wet all the time is when they stain. With dogs that don't stain, this area accumulates a dry stuff that's not hard to get off.

Some have said that it's because of breeding to an Almond Eye but evidently they don't understand what an almond eye is. It's not a smaller opening eyelid, it merely means that the upper eyelid has a longer edge than the lower lid. I believe it can go with eye size though, since it would also have a small tearduct.


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## galaxie (Dec 1, 2009)

I was told by my vet that the color comes from red yeast in the diet, and that it can be combated by adding yogurt to the diet to get the good bacteria in the dog's system. It helped Roscoe a little bit but not a lot, so we decided to try Angel Eyes which as a mild antibiotic in it. Roscoe has had 1/8 tsp of Angel Eyes once per day for about three months now, he has about another week left until the small bottle is finished and then we will stop giving it to him. His staining has cleared up completely - when he was 8 weeks old his face looked red from all the staining, now its faded and the new growth is white! I used hydrogen peroxide to help fade the old staining, too.


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## mellowbo (Aug 12, 2007)

Good question! I must say though, I have 2 with almond eyes and none of mine have any staining.


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## Leslie (Feb 28, 2007)

Tom King said:


> I dont' think anyone has the answer to that. The way it seems to me is that it's can be caused by either small tear ducts or *an eyelash that sticks into the eye all the time. We've produced one dog who stains because of the eyelash even though parents for generations behind her don't have that eyelash. I don't think having it removed is a big deal, but the owners didn't want to do it since they aren't worried about the staining and it's really not that bad.*
> 
> Sometimes we've had a puppy who had it when small and later grew out of it. Roxie had it in one eye when she was small but did grow out of it. I know she still had it after she was 6 months old because I remember a young lady, showing a Maltese, who came up to me at a show we were showing Roxie at and asked what I would do about the eye staining since her dog had it and she was very concerned. She was not happy with my answer when I told her that Roxie would most likely grow out of it, which she later did.
> 
> ...


Emphasis mine.

I can tell you if it were my dog I'd definitely have the offending eyelash removed. Not because of the tearing/staining issue, but because of the pain it is most likely causing. Have you ever had an eyelash in your eye? It's pretty darned painful! Besides the pain, the eyelash can cause permanent damage to the cornea, which, in turn, can precipitate an eye infection.


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## Tom King (Aug 2, 2006)

Yeah, we tried to tell them that too but at this point it's their dog. It didn't even get noted on her CERF exam as disticiasis, which is fairly common. The staining is not as bad as you see on a lot of these dogs so it must not be that unusual. I've seen some pretty old dogs with this sort of staining that can still see pretty well. The genes for eye problems have been located now and some breeds are using that to their advantage with genetic tests. These dogs keep hair in their eyes all the time without being bothered by it. We leave those sorts of decisions to the owners after we offer our advice. This particular dog did not have in when she was a puppy. It only started as the hair grew out.

These are quite good owners. They are just a little silly about them. Their teeth get brushed every day and their teeth look amazing even with their age. Even though they live a couple of hours away, they will bring their two dogs to stay with us if they have to do something like go to a wedding.


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## Renee (Mar 27, 2008)

Miley had bad tear stains as a puppy. I hoped she would outgrow it, but she did not. So I talked the vet into letting me try Tylan powder, the active ingredient in Angel Eyes. I put about 1/32nd of a tsp in her food everyday, and it did clear up after a 6 week treatment. I had to give her another round of tylan powder at the end of last year, because she had the red staining again. It cleared up even faster...I think because I got on top of it right away.
I'm not sure if it's due to yeast or bacteria, but I think it needs to be treated. She used to itch when she had it. Now she doesn't itch anymore, and her eyes are BEAUTIFUL!


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