My sis has a Westie, to keep stains from forming, she uses Vasaline, (petrolium jelly) on the areas that stain. It keeps them from developing the stain. I have a bichon x who has a damaged eye duct... it leaks constantly, but with her I just keep that area short (and with the clip she gets, it looks fine) Some breeders and show people here bleach westie coats (the stained areas) but I would never consider it!

apple cider vinegar added to the drinking water can help. Chunky is right in that poor diet can make tear staining worse, but even dogs fed a natural diet can still get them. I would go with a bit of vaseline and some cider vinegar. Neither will harm the dog at all.

ACVinegar is a myth in that it helps staining, it doesnt work & can upset some (not all) tums. As for a poor diet, that is a myth as well, i personally know people who feed expensive food to their white dogs & they still get staining. Ive only heard of two people who have had diet success, one fed JWB white fish & other fed Pal. Ive known others to try same foods with no success at all. Thats going from one price range to the other end of price range.

Vaseline like Sudocreme works as a barrier so that the "tear" runs down off it not getting to the hair & thus cutting down the staining.

Beanz - I am sorry you found the need to scoff at what I said, but we all have our believes and this is mine. If you already had a view, why did you need to ask what diet in the first post. That is a little sarcastic, and really not needed, we all have our believes, and fine, we do not all agree, but that was really not called for.

I can only speak from what I see with my own eyes and I personally don't regard it as a myth about diet at all. With regards to the AC vinegar, that should really only upset the tum if you gave too much

I feed raw usually, but tried Burns for a while and one of my dogs suffered terribly with eye staining whilst on it. Went back to raw and it totally disappeared. I have clients who have however switched to Burns because of staining and it has gone. What works for one dog will not nesessarily work for another. Good food does NOT always mean expensive. It is cheaper to feed my dogs raw than buying them most commercial food

Please also remember that very often the symproms will get worse before they get better. I have LOTS of customers who's dogs have come in with staining, they have tweaked the diet and after a few months it has if not been erradicated all together, it is very very minimal

I have to agree with you Chunky. I have had many clients whose white dogs have tear staining and a change of diet has helped. It has also reduced the discoloration that many Westies have along their backs. I can think of two straight off the top of my head that had been fed Bakers and after I recommended JWB the tear stains and discolouration went away. I have clients for whom the ac vinegar has also reduced or stopped tear stains. It won't work in 100% of cases but it does work for many and I've never heard of it causing tummy upsets. If you used loads the dog prob wouldn't consume it anyway.

To Sara'N'Scout Thanks for your remedy i will try the Vasaline
With Regards

If it helps I've been using Johnson's Diamond Eyes from P@H.

Although I have a Ruby Cavalier, I can tell the difference and seems to leave a "powdery" feel to the fur afterwards. I guess acting like a barrier.The bottle states it's not soley for white coats and can be used on all small breeds of dogs where staining may be an issue.

Im afraid I have to disagree re the ACV. In some dogs it does not agree. You can buy it in capsule form which minimises the "smell" [smell can put some dogs off]. Quite a few horse people use it so I do know it can be beneficial to some animals.

The dogs in question were not given too much. As someone else posted, if you gave too much the smell alone would put the dog off. Even in capsule form the smell is quite potent.

Im not quite sure what you mean by my mentioning diet in my post? Perhaps I did not make myself clear - someone had said for the poster to change the dogs diet. I merely was attempting to point out that changing the diet may not necessarily work.

For anyone whose dog is affected by tear staining have a look at this link. This stuff DOES work. It is pure natural products with no harmful additives etc

http://www.dogsstuff.co.uk/en/Kleen-Face

as a owner of 4 white dogs and a white cat ,i've tried every thing for tearstains ,food ,face scrubs ,angel eyes ,you name it ,i have tried it ..my maltese suga had a litter last year 2 out of the 3 pups had no stains ,so i dont think its in the breeding either ?? i've just bought a litre of kleen face hope this works ....jo

My Bichon Scooby had very bad eye stains when we first had him. I gave him Angel Delight on his food and bottled water to drink with apple cider vinegar ( 1 tsp to a 2 ltre bottle), occasionally half a digestive tab, and I have to say his eyes are stain free now. I only give the Angel Delight occasionally now also.