I have a 2 year old bichon when i got her she was very matted it took me 3 days to get the Matt's out but some had to be cut off her legs were one huge Matt it was awful i had no choice but to clip her coat off, it is growing in nicely now, the only problem i have with her coat is the tear staining i have tried various cleaning products but nothing seems to work, i have researched all sorts and found a product called eye envy or Angels' Eyes but i heard that this product was band in the UK as it can be dangerous is this true, what do you do to help get rid of the tear stains i cant just cut them out or i would have to cut it back like the poodles face as there is a lot on one side Here is Molly when i first got her home molly now
I'm shocked regarding what you have said regarding Eye Envy - off to do some searching on the internet!
Hi there, I have a Bolognese and a Coton, both very white dogs so know how frustrating tear stains can be!! You are right about the Angel Eyes it has been banned in the UK due to one of the ingredients used. However Eye Envy is available to use in the UK and is exactly what I use on my dogs. If you can get into the habit of using daily it really does work. It's available from Pet London although I buy the bigger quantities direct from the US (even after paying the postage it's cheaper) from www.eyeenvy.com I hope that it works as well for your beautiful Bichon.
I heard that adding a little apple cider vinegar to their food can eliminate tear stains. Don't know if it works though...
I use eye envy and started using bichon hotels angels delight, I had angel eyes given to me but never used it as I felt a bit suspicious about it (don't like giving dogs antibiotics from the vets nevermind just for tear stains!) and I'm so glad I didn't. The eye envy worked very well but now I'm using the angels delight too I have been able to really cut back on how often I need to apply the eye envy, the tear stains are totally gone now whereas before there was always a tiny hint of staining. I also only feed Burns dry food and this has helped a GREAT deal.
This is a common problem with white dogs. I work for the Eukanuba Care & Advice Line and some people wonder whether it has anything to do with the dog’s food but tear staining is not diet related as long as you feed a good complete and balanced diet. It is due to a substance called porphyrin which is naturally found in the tears and the saliva of dogs. Porphyrin turns red when exposed to sunlight. My Westie often had reddish paws because he liked to lick them. Maybe your vet can recommend a good product. It may also help if you gently wipe her under eye area with a wet cloth every morning. This won’t get rid of the problem completely, but may get rid of some of the porphyrin and therefore the stains will be less noticeable.
I heard that beet pulp in dog food added to the red staining but as I'm no dietician I couldn't tell you if that is true or not lol
I have been told to use a wet tea bag for the eyes and around the mouths on white dogs,have to say i havent tried it yet but i am assured it works!
My dog Summer who's a x Bichon Westie, does'nt get tear stains,I use Apple Cyder Vinegar, and it does work,I'm also giving it to my Chihuahua, as she's always got runny eyes,so it's worth a try, apparantly it dries the secretion up,it's not very expensive, I get mine from Sainsburys,a bottle lasts about 3 weeks.
