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.