What causes “tear staining,” and what is safe to use near the eyes for stain removal?
Basically, tear staining is caused by a chemical reaction between tears, or saliva, and the hair. This occurs when tears run from the dog’s eyes, or when drool gets on the hair around the dog’s chin as they lap up water from a bowl. In essence, the key to preventing staining is to keep the affected hair clean and dry, but it seems that some staining will inevitably occur. Read on to learn some tricks that help minimize tear staining and make stain removal easier and more effective. Puppies ——- A puppy will tear more while they are teething, but will usually outgrow this by the time they are adults. While they are young, though, wash and dry their face every day and rub corn starch into the hair below the eyes to help keep it as dry as possible. Be careful not to get the corn starch in the eyes and comb away any excess powder clumps. You can also CAREFULLY clip away a little of the hair near the corner of the eyes. It may seem like a losing battle while they are a puppy, but don’t w
