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It is common for bulldogs to have tear stains. Keep cleaning those folds, keep them away from allergens if your bulldog hasn't developed tear stains yet.
It is most often possible to wipe away tears and gunk, but sometimes tears can leave stains that don't go away - and this can be an issue because those stains can irritate the eyes. When this occurs, the fur in that area will be wet and the wrinkles will become reddish-brown.
The overflow of tears from the eyes of Bulldogs causes tear stains. Tear stains may seem harmless, but they can pose problems. Bulldogs wrinkles can also be breeding grounds for bacteria and yeast due to the moisture trapped inside. You might also see tear stains in your Bulldog if the tear ducts are blocked, infected, or inflamed.
The process of removing tear stains is time-consuming and difficult. In addition, it takes the right products to remove tear stains effectively.
Causes of Tear Stains
Overproduction of tears causes tear stains. This is known as epiphora. It is trace minerals in the food and water your bulldog eats and drinks that cause tear stains. The dark auburn colour is caused by copper and iron.
Trace minerals exit the body of humans through urine, but they can also leave the body of dogs through their eyes. It is not uncommon for bulldogs to shed more tears than they need to, but it can also indicate health problems.
Bulldogs are prone to excessive tearing for the following reasons:
Genetics: As a result of the skull shape of the Bulldog, especially the eye structure, they are more prone to tears than other dog breeds.
Irritants: Your Bulldog may tear excessively due to airborne objects. Your Bulldog can tear due to dust, smoke, pollen, and toxic chemicals.
Food: Bulldogs may react negatively to some foods or additives used in dog food. His eyes become extra watery, resulting in tears.
Tear ducts or eyes that are infected: A dog's eye or tear duct could become infected, causing excessive tearing.
Water: Drinking water can contain minerals or bacteria that cause tear stains.
Unbalanced pH: Your Bulldog's body may be susceptible to infection and yeast due to a pH imbalance.
The causes listed here are diverse. The following list may help you identify some causes of excessive tear production in your bulldog.
Most of the conditions listed can be treated either by a veterinarian or by making simple changes around your home. If you think there may be a problem with small tear duct openings causing excessive tears, surgery is available to correct that.
Besides surgically removing ingrown eyelashes and fixing inverted eyelids, your veterinarian can treat infections and help you change your bulldog's diet.
How to Detect Tear Stains
When you know what tear stains look like, you'll be able to recognise them at a glance. Dogs often develop tear stains on their faces in a fold that runs from the inner corner of their eye to the other corner of their face.
They usually have a deep red colour and are usually moist.
The skin folds under the eyes and around the eyes are pink to auburn.
The face has an unpleasant odour. This could be a sign that the tears are infected with yeast.
An inflammation around and under the eyes.
The skin folds and under the eyes are moist.
How to Clean an English Bulldogs Tear Stains
Tear stains can be just as troublesome for dark-haired dogs as for light-haired dogs; you just can't see them as well. If you have a lot of tears in your eyes, it's very uncomfortable. In some dogs, that gunk can stain.
Pasting eye makeup over the stains or applying human creams to bleach them can do more harm than good. Any process that merely covers them doesn't remove them.
It is impossible to wash away eye stains with soap and water because they are caused by bacteria. This is a step-by-step guide for removing dog tear stains.
1. Cut and trim the fur around the eyes
Make it easier to clean the area around the eyes by trimming the fur and any long hair around them with a guarded clipper. Around the eyes, tears and gunk build up and stain the fur, making the staining worse.
2. Daily wipes
Keeping your dog's face clean by washing or wiping it regularly - just like we do - is perhaps the best way to prevent long-term staining. Wipe the corners of the eyes gently with warm water and tissue or soft cloth.
3. Put on a collar
To prevent your dog from pawing or rubbing at its eyes until it recovers from an infection or other condition that makes him tear up frequently or excessively, use a collar or similar device.
This is something your veterinarian can advise you on, as well as help you choose a collar.
4. Use milk, peroxide, and corn starch paste
Bulldog tear stains can be removed by making a paste with Milk of Magnesia. Milk of Magnesia and peroxide are mixed in equal parts to make the paste. Mix the cornstarch and the mixture to form a paste.
The paste should be spread over the stain and allowed to dry for a few hours. After cleaning, rinsing, and drying, repeat as needed. Next, cover the area with Desitin diaper rash ointment.
Keep doing this for several days until the stain disappears. However, it is best to skip a few days between applications. Then skip every other day if your Bulldog has really heavy tears stains.
5. Identify and eliminate the causes of stains
You will need to isolate what is causing excessive tearing and eliminate it outside of your normal maintenance routine. Keeping the stains away may not be possible without constant care, but you can reduce the amount of effort it takes.
How badly your dog's staining problem is affected, for example, by what he or she eats and how clean his or her food and water dishes are. Your dog will develop digestive problems if he is constantly fed table scraps and not given a suitable diet for his breed.
When waste byproduct leaks out through your dog's saliva and tears, digestive issues develop. Filling your dog's water dish with tap water can cause rust-colored tear stains around the mouth and eyes because of the lead and iron in the water.
Feed and water your dog in sanitary dishes. Drop a spoonful of apple cider vinegar in the distilled water you give to your dog to prevent stains. It kills bacteria.
6. Use medication
The market has introduced several products for cleaning a dog's tear stains and preventing fur from dying.
There are simple solutions that can be used daily to wipe away stains or antibiotics that can be taken to remove stains and treat duct-related issues.
You can remove stains with cornstarch or grooming products, but be careful not to get them in your eyes. Too much of these can also cause unwanted whitening of the skin.
If you're unsure whether a product is safe for your dog, you should always consult your veterinarian.
The use of these products without sound advice can worsen the problem, or make things worse through allergies, drug-resistant bacteria in tears, etc.
7. Visit a vet if everything else fails
Tear staining in your dog may be caused by underlying medical issues. Some dog breeds may suffer from birth defects that cause excessive tearing, causing stains. Entropion; inverted eyelids that irritate the cornea - is one of the most easily treated abnormalities.
Your dog is in pain or appears to be constantly irritated if regular treatment doesn't work. You might have a yeast infection or an eye infection. You may want to consult the vet if the problem seems to point to a deeper medical problem if left untreated.
How to Prevent Tear Stains in Bulldogs
After you have seen your veterinarian and ruled out any health-related causes, here are some other steps you can take.
Their diet should be allergen-free and free of copper-containing ingredients (beets).
Regularly change your air filters.
Ensure that your bulldog is not exposed to secondhand smoke or other air pollutants.
Pollen counts are high, so stay inside more.
Filtered and distilled water can also be given to your dog. The water coming directly from the tap or well may have extra minerals.
Conclusion
Cleaning a dog's tear stains is a two-step process. First, you must determine what is causing your dog to cry excessively before cleaning.
Any number of things could be the cause. During the detective work to figure that out, you could and should clean the tear stains.
Untreated tear stains can lead to yeast infections, bacteria growth, and open sores. Go ahead and try a few of the home remedies.
In no time at all, you'll be able to wipe away tears from your bulldog's face.
FAQs
Are tear stains dangerous?
It is not harmful to have tear stains on your clothes. If cleaning a dog's tear stains is not done regularly, they will grow bacteria, which is harmful and uncomfortable for your dog.
Tear stains may not be harmful in and of themselves, but their underlying cause can be. Consult your veterinarian if the tear stains do not go away with the lifestyle changes we suggested.
Are Tear Stains Permanent?
Tear stains do not last forever. You can trim the fur back a little and continue to clean the area regularly after treating the cause of the excessive tear production.
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