The basic reason dogs have tear stains on their face is because they are shedding tears instead of the tears draining properly into their tear ducts. There can be other reasons for dogs to have tears. Short-nosed breeds often have shallow eye sockets which cause the normal tears to fall out onto the dog's face. In some cases a dog will have excess tearing because he has hair around his eyes that irritate them or which "wick" the tears out of the eyes and onto the face. There are also some other reasons due to eye structure or eye problems such as an eye infection or glaucoma, or an irritation caused by an eyelash rubbing against the eye.

All dogs can have these stains on their face but staining is most noticeable if you have a white dog. This is because the tears will come in contact with bacteria or red yeast on your dog's face and produce a reddish stain that is easy to see on a white dog.

Depending on the reason why your dog has tear stains, there are often ways to minimise their appearance. If your dog has stains because he has shallow eye sockets, such as with the short-nosed breeds, you can't change the shape of his eye sockets, but you can do some things to keep the stains at bay. If your dog has them because of a constant eye irritation, you can keep the hair around his eyes trimmed and see a vet about any eye infection or glaucoma.

If your dog has staining because of a problem with eyelashes that turn in or an eyelid problem, there are some surgical options. You can talk to your vet about what he or she might be able to do to fix the problem.

You can make them less noticeable in the following ways:

• Antibiotics: Some owners use tetracycline or tylosin (Angels' Eyes) to reduce or eliminate stains. It's probably not a good idea to use these antibiotics indefinitely since they can lead to drug-resistant bacteria in some cases.


• Apple Cider Vinegar: Many owners swear by apple cider vinegar added to food and drinking water to reduce or eliminate tear stains. They use raw apple cider vinegar from a product that still has the "mother" in the jar. They add a tablespoon a day to the dog's food or water. The acidity in the apple cider vinegar is supposed to keep the tears from staining when they come in contact with any bacteria on the dog's face. It's a theory anyway. Some people like to add