Those Unsightly Eye Stains
Eye staining! Oh the trials and tribulations! There is no subject on any of the list serves that comes up more
frequently than this one. God, Allah, Yaweh, Krishna and Mohammad bless all those long time participants in
dutifully replying to a newbies cry for help.
There are as many answers as questions about what causes eye staining. I will provide you with the answers I
have heard and/or researched which make sense to me.
1) Regardless of why some dogs produce more tears than others, the reason the staining occurs is due to
a substance called porphyrin that is present in tears. When porphrin is exposed to light, it turns reddish brown
in the same way chlorophyll turns green. Since Cotons are white, this discoloration becomes very apparent.
2) Many if not most puppies go through a stage of eye staining; some more than others. There seems to
be a consistency in litters with respect to the degree of eye staining. This may be a result of other reasons I
will mention later. Sometimes the eye staining clears as they grow older, sometimes not. Staining can occur
with teething as a consequence of pressure areas in the upper jaw changing the angle of the space beneath
the eye.
3) Whether your Coton stains or not is a consequence of several factors: the facial structure of the eye,
the angle at which the hair is growing around the eye and likely some other factors I don’t know about yet.
Regarding the facial structure, some dogs structure provide a little “shelf” for the tears to pool and in so
doing allow more time for exposure to the chemical reaction with light. The mechanism of hair growth
stimulates increased tear production through irritation, the same mechanism that will cause your eye to tear
when confronted with a foreign body. With the addition of more tears, the turnaround time for tears to
evaporate decreases thereby allowing more tears to be exposed to the air which results in increase staining.
4) In some cases the tear duct is not patent or the lower lid is too shallow. Both of condition result in an
increase accumulation of tears spilling onto the outside of the eye; the more tears, the more discoloration!
5) The possibility of infection should always be considered in the event of a change from baseline. If your
dog has not had much tear-staining and suddenly develops stains, a visit to your vet is in order.
So now that we know some of the causes, what can we do to prevent or fix it? The remedies are equal to or
greater than the causes. There are pros and cons for each treatment some of which concern your lifestyle
and what is realistic for you to do.
1) Tylan added to the water daily will interfere with the reaction of porphrin with light. Tylan is an
antibiotic so the cause and effect is not entirely clear to me. I suspect that since an antibiotic is involved
there must be some sort of bacteria that work with the porphryn and light to cause the staining. This is
probably the easiest remedy but I a personally reluctant to give antibiotics on a daily basis just for the sake of
cosmetic appeal. However, keep in mind that there are thousands of people on daily doses of antibiotics for
the prevention of acne (including myself), so who am I to judge? Also, the amount of antibiotic required is
really very small. How antibiotic administration could be managed in a multidog household is another question.
This particular antibiotic should not be given to pregnant bitches or puppies as it can result in tooth
discoloration. There are definitely foods that result in an increase in eye staining. I experienced this
personally with Iams dog food. I also have noticed a difference in beard staining between using purified
water and tap water. I haven’t noticed that this has any effect on the eyes.
2) I have heard many people swear by Angel Eyes which is a product that can be found on the internet.
Just do a google search by entering angel eyes dogs and a number of websites will pop up. I appreciate the
explanation provided about how their product works:
“Angels’ Eyes works to prevent tear staining by tying up circulating porphyrins. A porphyrin is a compound that
reacts with light to produce a reddish brown stain to the medial canthus. The ingredients in Angels' Eyes will
prevent your dog from contracting Ptyrosporin (Red Yeast) and bacterial infections which causes excess
tearing and staining.”
This appeals to my passion for knowledge based on evidence or at the very least, containing logic.
3) A cheaper solution is to use Boric acid mixed with distilled water. This definitely works as long as you
apply it religiously each night for at least six weeks and then on a somewhat regular basis after the initial
therapy. I know this works because I have used it. Unfortunately, my religion didn’t have the staying power
necessary for maintenance so the stains are back and I haven’t yet become born again. Should you decide you
have what it takes, I will provide instruction. Basically, you mix up about three tablespoons of pharmacy grade
Boric Acid in a cup of boiling distilled water and stir until dissolved. You will store this in a bottle from which
you will be able to either squeeze out a controlled amount of well-placed solution or simply or wet a cotton
ball or pad. Contrary to some sources, you do not want to get Boric Acid in the eye However, should a small
amount inadvertently find itself in your dog’s eyes, do not worry.
So, now you have the Boric acid solution in a manageable container. If you were fortunate to find the
perfect squeeze container, you will invert the bottle and carefully squeeze several drops onto the hair on the
inner aspect of the eye, AKA, the part that’s stained. After doing so, you will take one or several cotton
balls and firmly wipe away the solution and hopefully along with it, some of the discoloration. If using a
cotton ball in conjunction with the container holding the solution, just simply wet the cotton ball and wipe.
You will do this every night until the staining is gone. Subsequently you the go to the maintenance part of the
program, which is probably every 3-4 days but I wouldn’t know for sure since I flunked maintenance. My
excuse is that I have more dogs than you, what’s yours?
Eye staining! Oh the trials and tribulations! There is no subject on any of the list serves that comes up more
frequently than this one. God, Allah, Yaweh, Krishna and Mohammad bless all those long time participants in
dutifully replying to a newbies cry for help.
There are as many answers as questions about what causes eye staining. I will provide you with the answers I
have heard and/or researched which make sense to me.
1) Regardless of why some dogs produce more tears than others, the reason the staining occurs is due to
a substance called porphyrin that is present in tears. When porphrin is exposed to light, it turns reddish brown
in the same way chlorophyll turns green. Since Cotons are white, this discoloration becomes very apparent.
2) Many if not most puppies go through a stage of eye staining; some more than others. There seems to
be a consistency in litters with respect to the degree of eye staining. This may be a result of other reasons I
will mention later. Sometimes the eye staining clears as they grow older, sometimes not. Staining can occur
with teething as a consequence of pressure areas in the upper jaw changing the angle of the space beneath
the eye.
3) Whether your Coton stains or not is a consequence of several factors: the facial structure of the eye,
the angle at which the hair is growing around the eye and likely some other factors I don’t know about yet.
Regarding the facial structure, some dogs structure provide a little “shelf” for the tears to pool and in so
doing allow more time for exposure to the chemical reaction with light. The mechanism of hair growth
stimulates increased tear production through irritation, the same mechanism that will cause your eye to tear
when confronted with a foreign body. With the addition of more tears, the turnaround time for tears to
evaporate decreases thereby allowing more tears to be exposed to the air which results in increase staining.
4) In some cases the tear duct is not patent or the lower lid is too shallow. Both of condition result in an
increase accumulation of tears spilling onto the outside of the eye; the more tears, the more discoloration!
5) The possibility of infection should always be considered in the event of a change from baseline. If your
dog has not had much tear-staining and suddenly develops stains, a visit to your vet is in order.
So now that we know some of the causes, what can we do to prevent or fix it? The remedies are equal to or
greater than the causes. There are pros and cons for each treatment some of which concern your lifestyle
and what is realistic for you to do.
1) Tylan added to the water daily will interfere with the reaction of porphrin with light. Tylan is an
antibiotic so the cause and effect is not entirely clear to me. I suspect that since an antibiotic is involved
there must be some sort of bacteria that work with the porphryn and light to cause the staining. This is
probably the easiest remedy but I a personally reluctant to give antibiotics on a daily basis just for the sake of
cosmetic appeal. However, keep in mind that there are thousands of people on daily doses of antibiotics for
the prevention of acne (including myself), so who am I to judge? Also, the amount of antibiotic required is
really very small. How antibiotic administration could be managed in a multidog household is another question.
This particular antibiotic should not be given to pregnant bitches or puppies as it can result in tooth
discoloration. There are definitely foods that result in an increase in eye staining. I experienced this
personally with Iams dog food. I also have noticed a difference in beard staining between using purified
water and tap water. I haven’t noticed that this has any effect on the eyes.
2) I have heard many people swear by Angel Eyes which is a product that can be found on the internet.
Just do a google search by entering angel eyes dogs and a number of websites will pop up. I appreciate the
explanation provided about how their product works:
“Angels’ Eyes works to prevent tear staining by tying up circulating porphyrins. A porphyrin is a compound that
reacts with light to produce a reddish brown stain to the medial canthus. The ingredients in Angels' Eyes will
prevent your dog from contracting Ptyrosporin (Red Yeast) and bacterial infections which causes excess
tearing and staining.”
This appeals to my passion for knowledge based on evidence or at the very least, containing logic.
3) A cheaper solution is to use Boric acid mixed with distilled water. This definitely works as long as you
apply it religiously each night for at least six weeks and then on a somewhat regular basis after the initial
therapy. I know this works because I have used it. Unfortunately, my religion didn’t have the staying power
necessary for maintenance so the stains are back and I haven’t yet become born again. Should you decide you
have what it takes, I will provide instruction. Basically, you mix up about three tablespoons of pharmacy grade
Boric Acid in a cup of boiling distilled water and stir until dissolved. You will store this in a bottle from which
you will be able to either squeeze out a controlled amount of well-placed solution or simply or wet a cotton
ball or pad. Contrary to some sources, you do not want to get Boric Acid in the eye However, should a small
amount inadvertently find itself in your dog’s eyes, do not worry.
So, now you have the Boric acid solution in a manageable container. If you were fortunate to find the
perfect squeeze container, you will invert the bottle and carefully squeeze several drops onto the hair on the
inner aspect of the eye, AKA, the part that’s stained. After doing so, you will take one or several cotton
balls and firmly wipe away the solution and hopefully along with it, some of the discoloration. If using a
cotton ball in conjunction with the container holding the solution, just simply wet the cotton ball and wipe.
You will do this every night until the staining is gone. Subsequently you the go to the maintenance part of the
program, which is probably every 3-4 days but I wouldn’t know for sure since I flunked maintenance. My
excuse is that I have more dogs than you, what’s yours?