How To Whiten Your Dog’s Tear Duct
All dogs, regardless of their color, have brown spots under the eyes, or in the case of white dogs, with a reddish tone, under the tear duct. No matter how hard we try to clean that area every day, these stains are hardly able to disappear. Is there a solution to remove them? Can the tear duct of the canine be bleached?
What creates those brown spots on the dog’s tear duct
In the case of white dogs, especially small dogs, these spots are much more visible than in large or darker colored dogs. However, before you start talking about them you should know something: it is nothing serious at all.
Knowing this, we can tell you that what causes those reddish or brown spots are tears. Tears contain minerals such as iron and magnesium that oxidize very easily when they come into contact with air.
To this is added the fact that when the animal’s hair gets wet in that area due to tears, fungi and bacteria settle in it and favor the darkening of the area that the oxide of the minerals had already created.
Above all, make sure that the dog is in perfect health and does not tear more than necessary. Having more tears than usual can be a sign of an allergy, that this duct is blocked, or even an eye infection.
Normally this is accompanied by reddened eyes, but even without being so, the excess of tears may be warning of an eye problem. Observe your dog and take him to the vet if you see anything unusual.
How to remove tear stains from your dog
Now let’s talk about how to eliminate those annoying stains or, at least, hide them as much as possible, since in some of the cases the complete disappearance may be impossible.
One of the best methods to whiten your dog’s tear duct is to attack the root problem. Therefore, these tips can be useful:
- Unblocking the nasolacrimal duct. If you take your dog to the vet, he can clean the nasolacrimal duct, since the obstruction of this happens often, especially in dogs with flat noses. They are very easily obstructed due to their genetics.
- Remove any obstacles from your pet’s eyes. Legañas, hairs or anything else that gets in the way of your eyes. Trim the surrounding hair and always keep the area clean to avoid unnecessary tears.
- Make sure she doesn’t have allergies. There are foods with additives, corn or soy that can cause allergies in many dogs, so testing your pet for this condition will be necessary to rule out any problem of this type.
- High protein diet. We are not saying that your dog should gorge himself on these, but they must be very present in his diet. Homemade liver food can be a good option to reduce the rust your tears create.
- Bottled water. If it is not a huge expense and you can afford it, give your dog bottled water. It is refined and contains fewer unhealthy compounds, thus reducing the rust options in your tears.
- Apple vinager. Putting a teaspoon of this product in the animal’s water, which you will not notice, can improve the appearance of your tear duct in a short time.
- Hygienic feeders. The most hygienic and recommended are those made of stainless steel, since bacteria or fungi cannot lodge in these, so it will favor the health of your dog.
And as a home remedy, we suggest you clean the stain a couple of times every day with a gauze soaked in warm water with sea salt, or in physiological saline or contact lens liquid.