Maltipoo is one of the most susceptible dog breeds to tear stains, since their coats are lighter and can easily get stained from their tears. You can identify that your Maltipoo gets tear stains if you see any sort of discoloration under or around your dog’s eyes which is red or brown.
We know that Maltipoos are active dogs, so it may be hard for you to sit long enough to remove the tear stain, of course you must be persistent anyway. If you leave it, tear stains may cause an irreversible color change.
So, if tear stains happen to your Maltipoo, it’s highly recommended for you to look for ways on how to stop or prevent tear stains on Maltipoo. No worries! We’ll show you a number of ways that can stop and prevent tear stains on your Maltipoo. Here you go!
Stopping Tear Stains on Your Maltipoo, Here’s How!
There are several ways you can take to stop or prevent tear stains on your Maltipoo, here they are:
1) Start to clean your Maltipoo’s eyes
If you notice that your Maltipoo’s eyes turn to red or brown, it really indicates your Maltipoo gets tear stains. After knowing it, you can get started to clean the eyes of your Maltipoo. You can use a quality eye wipe which will not only clean the area, but also it will work to prevent staining the coat around the eye.
It’s highly recommended for you to use a damp cloth, but make sure to go over the area again with a dry cloth, so that tiny hairs around the eyes will be dried. It will only take about 10 minutes to wipe your Maltipoo’s eyes. But, if there are already stains, you can use wipes which contain a stain removing agent.
Aside from that, a quick daily face grooming will help in keeping these stains at bay. Furthermore, you can do-it-yourself by mixing one tablespoon boric acid powder that is boiled in one cup of distilled water. Make sure to wash the muzzle hair with dry shampoo or waterless shampoo and a wet washcloth.
2) Check the quality of food and water
When feeding your Maltipoo, you only need to use ceramic or stainless steel bowls. You shouldn’t choose colored, plastic bowls, as it can leak into the food and the chemicals can cause staining overtime.
When your Maltipoo gets tear stains, a high-quality, grain-free diet is such a perfect option for you. It means that the wheat, corn and meals used as fillers in inferior-quality foods will not ensure long-term good health. Moreover, it can cause allergic reactions, causing excess tearing and other issues.
In addition to checking the food of your Maltipoo, you also need to check the quality of your water. When giving them water, it would be better for you to use distilled, purified or also reverse-osmosis water sources.
Of course, you shouldn’t allow your Maltipoo to drink straight tap water. In fact, there are more than 100 toxins which are currently regulated. Certainly, there’s also a high mineral content in some towns which can cause discoloration and tear staining to the hairs around the eyes of your Maltipoo. Well, it’s highly recommended for you to put a filter on the kitchen tap, use spring/filtered water by the gallon or use a filtered water pitcher.
3) Food additives may help
According to people’s experience, adding more teaspoons of either organic apple-cider vinegar or buttermilk powder to meals can really help to reduce tear stains. Another product with reportedly good results is a probiotic enzyme.
In this case, mild antibiotics can be used for short periods of time, naturally once consulting with your vet. The medicines that are commonly prescribed include Tylosin, Lincosin and neomycin-polymyxin and chloramphenicol eye drops. Furthermore, vetericyn ophthalmic gel will be available over the counter and will be enough without a vet trip.
4) Consult a veterinarian
If there are more serious issues behind your Maltipoo’s tear stains, it’s highly recommended for you to immediately consult a vet and make an appointment. In this case, your veterinarian will diagnose the issue accurately and prescribe any medications or treatments for the issue.
Okay, those are four ways to stop or prevent tear stains in your Maltipoo’s eyes. So, make sure to regularly check your dog’s health and bring your lovely Maltipoo to your veterinarian to get treatment.
Causes of Maltipoo Tear Stains
There are some different causes of Maltipoo tear stains, but whatever the case, there will be no reason why the dogs must have a stained coat. Here are the causes of Maltipoo tear stains:
- Excessive tearing
It is known that tears contain much more than just water. The element of tear stains is porphyrins containing iron. If natural tears spill over the eye and then run onto the hairs, well, the iron in the porphyrins will discolor the hair. Of course, the amount of porphyrins in tears will vary from dog to dog. That’s why some Maltipoo will have more tears stains than others.
- Red Yeast
Every time an area on a dog stays moist most of the time, the area will easily develop a yeast infection. Red years can be a cause of tear stains. Using a quality tear stain removal product will be able to clear this up.
- Teething
Since internal passages in the head are all interconnected, it’s very common for puppies which are teething to develop tear stains. Of course, staining must be appropriately removed, while the actual tearing will resolve after the teething phase is complete.
- Water and food bowls
You should only be concerned with what your Maltipoo eats and drinks, but you also need to pay attention to the products you use when feeding your dogs. In this case, plastic bowls can cause quite terrible reactions with dogs.
Of course, there will be allergic reactions, tear stains and nose discoloration. Instead, you may need to use stainless steel bowls or ceramic, as it will not deliver any chemicals to your Maltipoo’s food.