Hi
Does anyone have any suggestions for removing the red tear stains on a maltese? I have tried a product called Crystal Eye by Four Paws but have not had any success. Any suggestions or home remedies?

Check with breeders, who show this type of dog? Visit a dog show, if possible or contact them through an advertisement. I like asking at my local pet store since they are still old fashioned enough not to sell me something that doesn't work.

I hope that offers a few starting points, and thanks for posting.

A lot of time a food change can help... If your dog is eating a food like pedigree, Iams, alpo or anything you can get from the market, you dog is more likely to have dog oder, runny eyes and more poop. If you change to a better food with less collar added and less to no fillers... like corn and wheat. Then your pup will have less trouble with stains around the eyes. Here are a few of the foods that top the list of very good. Also if you feed lots of canned food this will also add to the problem... they are full of fat and toxcins that will make a dog's eyes tear and stain as well. So if your pup likes having something mixed with his/her food try mixing veggis, plain yogurt and or plain oatmeal.

Nutro
Nutro Ultra
Wellness
Solid Gold
Chicken Soup for dog
Fromms

It will take a few months to see a difference and it is always better to change a dogs food slowly. 25% new food to 75% old food for 3 or 4 days... then 50/50 for a few days... then you can use up the old food with the new. But you will see a big difference.

Hope this helps, good luck

Hi,
Just another suggestion.
If hair gets in a dog's eye, it causes the eye to "run".
Keep the hair out of the dogs eyes, even if it means trimming it back some.
Best of luck.

I had 2 maltese pups with bad eye stains. Some articles mentioned the minerals in the water. I began using water filtered through a high quality water filter made by NSA, and after a short time their eyes and feet from licking cleared up. The water makes better tasting coffee too.

I have heard about the minerals in the water elsewhere, but have not tried it. You can also use bottled water.

I totally disagree with the post on dog food. I have personally seen thousands of dogs on Pro Plan, showing no problems. Not near as many on Eukanuba and Iams, but no problems with them either.

Avoid foods with artificial coloring such as dried beet pulp and foods with
Preservatives. Keep the hair trimmed around your Maltese eyes because hair
Rubs against there eyes causing there eyes to become irritated. A teaspoon of
White cider vinegar can be added to your dogs drinking water to control new
Tear stains. Filtered water sometimes works for controlling tear stains. Angels' Eyes is an excellent product and it works great. It is costly but is worth it. You can find that online by clicking here: ANGELS'
EYES.
Maltese FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

Angel eyes should have been banned a long time ago.
It contains an anti-biotic for some stupid reason, meaning that if your dog ever gets sick it won't respond as well to antibiotics because it has built up an immunity because of this product.

However, that being said this thread is from 2006 so I am closing it.