DEALING WITH TEAR STAINS

 
Tear Stain Removal

 
TUMS
If you need to change the pH of your dogs system to aid in preventing yeast or infection then Tums is primarily a source of Calcium, known as an antacid formulated as 500 mg Calcium Carbonate. Giving your dog 1/2 of the Fruit flavored variety twice a day will help change the pH of the tears. This will change the tears' environment and can help make it hostile for the continued growth of yeast and bacteria.

 
White Vinegar
A teaspoon of white cider vinegar can be added to your dogs drinking water to control new tear stains. Start with a tiny bit and increase to almost a tsp.   It may take a while for your dog to "decide" to drink this water so start with a little less and gradually increase the amount of vinegar.  Vinegar works much like TUMS in that it can changes the pH of the drinking water. Changing the pH of your dog slightly will do wonders in the tear stain war and help eliminate bacteria and deep stain color and prevent yeast build up and is best used as a prevention once you have the tear stains removed or nearly removed. This will help for the future of the tear stains and make them a minimum occurrence.

 
Milk of Magnesia, corn starch and peroxide
 
Use equal volume of MOM (plain white) and peroxide, and then use the corn starch to make a good paste of this; put on and work well into the stained hair only ....  and let dry 4 hours. Wash out, CONDITION WELL. Keep doing this for several days until tear staining is gone, although I would recommend skipping a day or two between applications if possible. Apply a thin coat of desitan diaper rash ointment after the area is washed out and dry. Try this every other day if possible and the choice way of doing it. If your dog has heavy stains then do this for 3 days in a row, then skip every other day.

 
This MOM formula is a popular preference when show people need to remove tear stain color from the face of dogs. It works well but give it a few days to show results.

 
          
Commercial Applications
There are a lot on the market, but few work very well, imho.
 
Tetracycline
Consult your vet for this method as it requires a RX anyway. This method should only be used when all others have failed and should only be used for 1-2 courses of treatment and not relied on as a continued treatment. Some have found success in eliminating tear staining by putting a bulldog on a ten day course of low dose tetracycline. Occasionally this may need to be repeated. Do not use this in puppies that have not yet cut their adult teeth. Tetracycline has been shown to cause teeth which have not erupted to permanently stain yellow.