Hair at the corners of her eyes tough to manage

[kjc]

Originally Posted by Maximo

The CVS preservative-free eye wash is what I used on Max. I agree that it seems tap water would have horrible things in it that would be more irritating, but the eye wash irritated Max's eyes.

Wow... in that case I would consult a vet Opthamologist on what would be best to use... with Yorkies being so close to the ground and hairy, they are always prone to getting dust and stuff in their eyes. Maybe a purified baby drinking water would work for him as an eye rinse? There are a few threads that say the Gerber water fed to Yorkies eliminates the excessive eye junk... or if it ain't broke, don't fix it! (use what you know works for him).

[kjc]

Duplicate post

[concretegurl]

Originally Posted by Maximo

The CVS preservative-free eye wash is what I used on Max. I agree that it seems tap water would have horrible things in it that would be more irritating, but the eye wash irritated Max's eyes.

That's awful!
I keep eyewash in my dog emergency kit, I'm going to have to take it out.
I think I'll just leave a dropper in there and eye sheild and use spring water for any emergency eye flushing...imagine using it for an eye in an emergency an only causing more irritation-no good.

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by kjc

Wow... in that case I would consult a vet Opthamologist on what would be best to use... with Yorkies being so close to the ground and hairy, they are always prone to getting dust and stuff in their eyes. Maybe a purified baby drinking water would work for him as an eye rinse? There are a few threads that say the Gerber water fed to Yorkies eliminates the excessive eye junk... or if it ain't broke, don't fix it! (use what you know works for him).

He does fine with the regular water, so we are just going to keep using that. I figure that is what goes in his eyes when he has a bath, so it makes sense.

Originally Posted by concretegurl

That's awful!
I keep eyewash in my dog emergency kit, I'm going to have to take it out.
I think I'll just leave a dropper in there and eye sheild and use spring water for any emergency eye flushing...imagine using it for an eye in an emergency an only causing more irritation-no good.

I used to tell everyone here to use only sterile saline in the eyes, but it is something to consider. It might be that Max has an individual sensitivity to it.

[kjc]

Originally Posted by Maximo

He does fine with the regular water, so we are just going to keep using that. I figure that is what goes in his eyes when he has a bath, so it makes sense.

I used to tell everyone here to use only sterile saline in the eyes, but it is something to consider. It might be that Max has an individual sensitivity to it.

That's what I was thinking. It's always important to observe any dog anytime you use anything on them, be it eye wash, shampoo, finishing sprays... anything! Even new foods or treats. You never know if they will be sensitive to any ingredient, or develop a sensitivity to something they've already been exposed to!

[alaskayorkie]

Thanks for the continued advice.

I should have posted photos earlier illustrating what I'm talking about.

1st one: Jillie freshly groomed. You can see the black, tear stained hair coming down from her right eye. It's actually on both sides.

Other 2: Closeups taken just 4 days later. I'd brushed her 2 or 3 times, but didn't try rinsing with anything.

It just drives me crazy that her hair is a mess within days of a bath.

[concretegurl]

Originally Posted by alaskayorkie

Thanks for the continued advice.

I should have posted photos earlier illustrating what I'm talking about.

1st one: Jillie freshly groomed. You can see the black, tear stained hair coming down from her right eye. It's actually on both sides.

Other 2: Closeups taken just 4 days later. I'd brushed her 2 or 3 times, but didn't try rinsing with anything.

It just drives me crazy that her hair is a mess within days of a bath.

She seems pretty pink/red I'd just start with some raw cold pressed coconut oil...from grocers.

Seriously...within days of a bath...I'm lucky if I can say hours here...

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by alaskayorkie

Thanks for the continued advice.

I should have posted photos earlier illustrating what I'm talking about.

1st one: Jillie freshly groomed. You can see the black, tear stained hair coming down from her right eye. It's actually on both sides.

Other 2: Closeups taken just 4 days later. I'd brushed her 2 or 3 times, but didn't try rinsing with anything.

It just drives me crazy that her hair is a mess within days of a bath.

Does Jillie do better during the warmer months, or is this year round?

If it is year round, I think there should be something you can do, because that is a lot of wetness/staining on her beautiful face.

Has she ever been on antibiotics for anything? Max has been antibiotics a couple times and I wonder if that is what cured his tear stains. He also had antibiotic eyedrops.

On Teddy, I occasionally use Happytails eyepads which has the same effect as the mixture mentioned above. Some people don't want to use them, arguing the collodial silver might make the dog resistant to antibiotics.

When you wash Jillie's face, make sure to move the hair at the corners of her eyes against the direction of hair growth. Separate the hairs as best you can to remove the reddish gunk, the yeasty stuff.

Nancy1999 has a great link to a list of the many causes of tear stains. She had great success in curing Joey's by using Gerber baby water for his drinking water for a short period.

I would talk to your vet too.

[kjc]

I was going to ask for pics, lol.

1. Part the hair from the corner point of one eye straight across to the corner point of the other eye. This will bring more hair down to the nose (more hair= more weight to help keep the hair down), part that straight up the middle and comb to the side and down. You can also comb from the eye towards the tip of the nose about 1/2 inch or so to help keep it clear of the eyes.

2. Whatever you use to clean the hair with is fine, just don't comb that hair until all the nasty stuff is wet and softened up. Combing this area dry will just rip the hair out (ouch). I start with a wide toothed comb, then a narrow toothed comb, then a flea comb, which will take most of the debris with it. The first two combs will remove most of the knots (if any). Then I wipe the area again with a warm moist cotton ball, flea comb again, and repeat until I'm satisfied with the results (no more gunk coming off on the flea comb). Then I dry the area with a dry cotton ball.

Do this as often as needed. I usually tidy them in the morning, and then again at night. If I leave mine a mess at night, I will have more of a mess in the morning, lol. Be diligent with the 'neat and clean' for around two weeks. If she's still producing a lot of eye junk, then talk to the vet. I use an Opthalmic antibiotic ointment for dogs (non steroidal) when my dogs' eyes get overproductive. This helps a great deal. Depending on Jillie, you may only have to do it every 3-4 days or so, or even less, once it's under control.

It may take a few cleanings to get the stains to go away completely. I think the Natural Tears eye drops or eye wash help to break down some of the junk and discoloration. Use with caution and have plain water ready to rinse her eyes in case she has a reaction to any eye products.

[mimimomo]

Originally Posted by alaskayorkie

Thanks for the continued advice.

I should have posted photos earlier illustrating what I'm talking about.

1st one: Jillie freshly groomed. You can see the black, tear stained hair coming down from her right eye. It's actually on both sides.

Other 2: Closeups taken just 4 days later. I'd brushed her 2 or 3 times, but didn't try rinsing with anything.

It just drives me crazy that her hair is a mess within days of a bath.

Just looking @ the pics, (she's so cute!) it looks like yeast to me. They thrive in moist places, so that area needs to be kept dry. Mimi & Turbo have the same problem & I have to trim the brown/red stained hairs to keep the yeast from spreading. I also wipe their eye boogers & stain area w/a baby terry cloth everyday, sometimes twice a day. It gets very bad in the winter time for us, IDK why, maybe bc they're indoors more? I'm not sure if it's food related, but Momo & Princess has darker facial colorings & they don't seem to have this problem. It could also be genetics. Since it's cosmetic, I don't believe in giving them antibiotics to clear it up, it will come back once they're off the antibiotics anyway.

[alaskayorkie]

Thanks for the advice, everybody. Sounds like I need to put some more effort into it and keep it clean.

Kristen, yeah, I think the problem is about the same summer and winter. I've been ignoring it equally in all seasons :O

[alaskayorkie]

Thanks for the advice, everybody. Sounds like I need to put some more effort into it and keep it clean and combed.

Kristin, yeah, I think the problem is about the same summer and winter. I've been ignoring it equally in all seasons :O She's never been on antibiotics.

[mimimomo]

Originally Posted by Maximo

Does Jillie do better during the warmer months, or is this year round?

If it is year round, I think there should be something you can do, because that is a lot of wetness/staining on her beautiful face.

Has she ever been on antibiotics for anything? Max has been antibiotics a couple times and I wonder if that is what cured his tear stains. He also had antibiotic eyedrops.

On Teddy, I occasionally use Happytails eyepads which has the same effect as the mixture mentioned above. Some people don't want to use them, arguing the collodial silver might make the dog resistant to antibiotics.

When you wash Jillie's face, make sure to move the hair at the corners of her eyes against the direction of hair growth. Separate the hairs as best you can to remove the reddish gunk, the yeasty stuff.

Nancy1999 has a great link to a list of the many causes of tear stains. She had great success in curing Joey's by using Gerber baby water for his drinking water for a short period.

I would talk to your vet too.

I just read your post...You know what, you might be on to something here...Momo & Princess has been on different antibiotics several x's, whereas Mimi & Turbo has never been on antibiotics. Maybe they need to be seen by the vet...& I just took Princess & Turbo in today!
So Max's tear stains never came back?

[mimimomo]

Originally Posted by alaskayorkie

Thanks for the advice, everybody. Sounds like I need to put some more effort into it and keep it clean and combed.

Kristin, yeah, I think the problem is about the same summer and winter. I've been ignoring it equally in all seasons :O She's never been on antibiotics.

Does Jillie have a lot of hair in her ears or does she scratch it @ all, any odor? Since the eye & ear are all connected, it could be also be a sign of an ear infection.
I had actually taken Princess & Turbo in yesterday to our vet...Turbo has a slight ear infection & they had to hold him down to pull out all the ear hair (he has a lot) & he even squirted out his anal gland stinkies @ them loll! The vet also gave some anti-inflammatory shots in his ears bc they were red & inflamed. I feel so horrible bc I try to clean out his ears once a week & left his ear hair bc he won't let me pull it out...I thought cleaning it was enough. I need to drop some hydrocortisone ear drops on him twice a day for 7 days, he's not gonna be happy about that. We'll see if his tear stains improve...

[alaskayorkie]

Originally Posted by mimimomo

Does Jillie have a lot of hair in her ears or does she scratch it @ all, any odor? Since the eye & ear are all connected, it could be also be a sign of an ear infection.
I had actually taken Princess & Turbo in yesterday to our vet...Turbo has a slight ear infection & they had to hold him down to pull out all the ear hair (he has a lot) & he even squirted out his anal gland stinkies @ them loll! The vet also gave some anti-inflammatory shots in his ears bc they were red & inflamed. I feel so horrible bc I try to clean out his ears once a week & left his ear hair bc he won't let me pull it out...I thought cleaning it was enough. I need to drop some hydrocortisone ear drops on him twice a day for 7 days, he's not gonna be happy about that. We'll see if his tear stains improve...

Thanks for weighing in. No, Jillie doesn't have any issues with her ears. No scratching, they smell fine and a look inside shows discoloring or blackness as I've seen in Labs before.

I spoke with a groomer today at the dog show and showed her the pictures. Since Jillie's a pet, she recommending asking my groomer to trip around her eyes. She also recommended varying thickness of brushes just like Kristin recommended.

I think I'm going to go the daily cleaning and combing route first and see how that works. I appreciate all the advice.