how on earth do you get their faces clean?
 

Ok, here's a tough one. I am just wondering how on earth you get your pups faces nice and clean? I struggle in the tub to try to wash Wallee's face as he doesnt like the water in his face. I often see lots of the eye gunk that has made it's way into his beard and it is very hard to get out when he wont let me pour the water over it. Also his face has a lot of white on it and since I can't really get the shampoo lathered on his face, it always looks less white than the rest of him. Uggh..anyone with tips to get a nice clean "white" face on a wiggle worm will be appreciated.

I don't wash their head...I only wash from the neck down because one way or another they get water in their ears when I try to wash their heads...which is really bad (creates a nice spot for a yeast infection and other yuckies).

I just take a warm wet wash cloth and pet them with it for their heads and around their eyes (nowhere near the tub) so they don't flip a pancake - they're fine with it.

Maybe not the way most would suggest but our dogs are clean and happy, so I'll keep doing it. =)

I just wash Tibbe's face with a strong wet paper towel with his tearless doggie shampoo on it and then stand him at the edge of the sink and hand dip water over his face until he's soapless and the hair "squeaky feeling", if that makes any sense. It feels like it would squeak if you rubbed it - feels harsh kind of. I rub my finger downward over his nose immediately after each rinse so he knows he won't lose air. If he gets water over the edge of a nostril he starts to move back as he senses he can't breathe well. But simply letting him know that each and every time he feels water on his nose immediately it always gets wiped away keeps him standing there. In his bath, when I rinse his head, I use my cupped hand and immediately wipe his nose free of water each time until his hair feels squeaky clean on his head and neck. He fought me in the bath like a tiger , always with his little muzzle pointed up in the air as if he felt he were drowning, when I first got him, but eventually this wiping of his nose frequently during the bath, even when his face is not being rinsed, took his fears of getting water in his nose away, so he settled into liking his baths. I also, during his bath, will stop soaping or anything at times and just hold both of my hands firmly around his body in a calming, still way every so often and I can feel him relaxing even more when I do that. I don't talk to him much during his bath as talking tends to excite him sometimes. He stands calmly and just lets me bathe him. Between face washings, I use my fingernails to check for and remove any accumulations of any eye gunk but most times there isn't any, thankfully.

I use a special shampoo just for faces that is tear free and use a cup of water to wet there faces and rinse them. I also use my hand to cover there eyes to make sure they close them. If I get near there face with the shower head sprayer they are not very happy with me. I also use a wet cloth to clean eyes every night even if it looks like there are no eye buggers.

Also I make sure to sure epi-otic ear cleaner I get from the vet to clean there ears out with after a bath. It has a drying agent in it to make sure to dry any water in there ears so they don't get ear infections or yeast.

I use a measuring cup to pour water over the head. Then I use a tear free facial wash -- SPA Lavish which gets the goobers and grease out, yet is easy to rinse. Jenny has a couple of great face washes too at www.toplinepet.com

I use wet cotton balls around the eyes, and a tiny flea comb.

Like Taylor, I use a ear cleaner with a drying agent after baths.

I put the soap in the beard first and then I steady the head with my hand on the jawline to work around the eyes and top of the snout.

I wash their faces with shampoo and wash it off. Sometimes while wet, it is helpful to comb the hair on the face with a small comb to get out any eye gunk. However, it is best that you remove this eye gunk daily before it makes its way to the beard. If eye gunk has traveled beyond the corner of the eye, it has been there far too long already. Your grooming of Wallee will be easier if you do this daily. I use a 4" Safari comb around the faces.

I use Espree Pet Facial Cleanser - plum. I love it. I can even put some on a wash cloth and wipe areas. I use a little comb- groomaster finishing dog comb to get the goopies from his eyes. Works great.

is there a special shampoo or something you guys use to get rid of the "staining" on the beard and fur around the eyes? It looks better after a wash but still that rust color (I am careful to keep any out of the eyes)

Agree with all of the above
 

I agree with the responses and learned a couple of things. The only thing I can add is to ask your vet or groomer to check the hair around the eyes and ears. The inside corner of the eye will produce more 'gunk' (for lack of a better word) if the hair is irritating it. Your vet or groomer can show you how to keep it trimmed. Not all dogs need this and you want to make sure you have the right equipment and technique to do it. It is just a small amount of hair that is removed. Not an amount that is noticeable. I really saw a difference after my vet showed this to me.

Do you give regular water out of the tap or filtered water for drinking? I ask because I have read on here that giving filtered water (or more specifically, Gerber baby water) helps with weepy eyes.

Also, there is something called Angel Eyes, I think. It is supposed to help with that rust color issue. It has really good reviews on Amazon...

Amazon.com: Angels' Eyes Tear-Stain Eliminator...

:thumbup:
I would try the Gerber water (I cheat and use Walgreens Nursery Water) it works, it really works!!! While most times the staining is harmless its good to know whats causing it, so work with that angle.

Angel Eyes is NOT recommended for various reasons. There are many threads regarding this product here and I will attach one of the most recent ones. I wouldn't gamble with this product. Try the water and go from there. Good Luck!!

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ngel-eyes.html

OK. One more thing for me to worry about. :confused: I have a dumb question and I'm almost afraid to ask. Barney's muzzle area is a light tan and his upper face his light gray. I just assumed it was just his natural coloring. Do you think his lower face is tan because of tear stains? I had always just thought tear stains were by eyes.

Thanks so much everyone for the wonderful advice. I am going to try to in the stuff for his ears as I do use the shower head on the back of his head when I am bathing him. I also do trim the hair around his eyes with the baby nail scissors so he doesn't have any tear stains. I just find that when he wakes in the morning he sometimes has eye gunk and as I try to clean it, he sometimes wiggles and it ends up tangled in his beard. I am going to try to be more dilegent at cleaning his face with his baby wash cloths like I used to every day. I will also check out the products mentioned for tearless washing of his face. He does let me use a cloth on him daily, but as I mentioned, with his beard being white I find that water alone doesn't seem to make it look white.

I must admit, I didn't research Angel Eyes here. I know my sister in law uses it for her maltese and she says it's great. I've never had to use it. I really think the water may help in the long run with the staining, too. (although, it seems - I just read that thread - that it is worth trying for short term anyway)

No worries. That is just his natural color. He'll continue to change color for a while. When I got Mandie, her whole head on top and sides was grey. Now she has one very light streak up the middle of her forehead and a little on her ears left. I've read around here that they change colors for up to 2 or more years. :)