Michelle

Question
Dear Patti,
 I have a 5 month old maltese and he never had a problem with tear
staining until he started cutting into his adult teeth. The staining is
not too bad, a lot of it comes off when I clean it with a damp cloth--but
it is still a light reddish brown that stays on his hair. In your opinion,
is the staining related to his teething and do you know if the staining
will go away after he is done with the teething process? Thank you for
your help!

All best,
Michelle

Answer
Hi Michelle,

Maltese will cut their adult teeth any time form 5 months to 8 months of age. During this time the head structure and mouth are under going many changes causing pressure on the tear ducts. Many Maltese puppies who have had no previous tear stain problems will during this time. It is most important to keep the facial hair as dry as possible and frequently wash it to help keep yeast and bacteria under control. (yeast and bacteria can grow in the moist warm fur).

The good news is that when the adult teeth are in this will go away if you have kept it under control. Make sure your Maltese has plenty of chew type of toys to help relieve the pressure on the mouth during this time.

There are a number of products available from the dog products suppliers at shows or through mail order that can be used on the facial hair on a daily basis.

One of my dogs is a white Chihuahua. When he was a puppy, he also had red tear stains. Using a wash cloth or cotton balls moistened with a little hydrogen peroxide, I would wash around my dog's eyes nightly. Be sure to dry the eye area well when you're done. This seemed to work as good or better as the store bought solution.
My dog's tear staining stopped as my dog grew older.

I've heard of some people using Tums antacids too. Tums is primarily a source of Calcium, known as an antacid formulated as 500 mg Calcium Carbonate. Giving your Maltese 1/2 a Tums tablet of the Fruit flavored variety twice a day will help change the pH of the tears. This is supposed to change the tears' environment and can help make it hostile for the continued growth of yeast and bacteria. Some Maltese exhibitors also use TUMS with success to control excessive tearing before shows.  There are other brands of 500 mg calcium carbonate that may work as well.

With any luck your puppy's tear stains will clear up in a couple of months.

I hope I've been a help. Best of luck,

Patti