Gerber water...good & bad?
 

works GREAT for Turbo & Mimi! They had major staining (maybe bc they're lighter) & I had to trim off the stained hairs. Turbo is completely clear, it's like a miracle loll! They used to have major eye boogers too & it is significantly less now. Princess never had problems w/goopy eyes & she's doing great too.

But not so great for for Momo. He never had red yeast but he had weepy eyes & he's got both now:confused:. It's kinda difficult to give only Momo bottled water (what they were drinking b4) when the water bowl is shared by everyone. Could the red yeast be caused by something else & not the water?

What I'm trying to ask is: for those of you that are giving your dogs Gerber water, has it made your dog's eyes worse?

Gerber water didn't make my pup's eyes worse, but they didn't get any better either. How long did it take you to see a difference? Maybe I didn't give it enough time. My Momo has white hair, so I've tried just about everything to get rid of those stains :(

I noticed improvement in about a month...I also use Gerber water to boil their chicken breast, salmon or tilapia & use it to moisten their kibble too.
I'm trying to grow Turbo's hair between the nose & it's now @ that stage where it's not poking his eyes, maybe that also has something to do w/it. But his red eye staining is completely gone. Maybe it went over to my Momo loll! Momo also has seasonal allergies, so he has weepy eyes, maybe that caused the red yeast since they thrive in moist places.
How long did you give them the Gerber water?

Gerber water helped Joey unto he finally could drink regular water. Joey had tearing but not enough to cause a yeast infection. Once you get a yeast infection, I don't think the water alone will help, you need to get rid of that. The minerals in regular water can cause some dogs to tear, purified takes out the minerals and adds a few in for taste. The mineral water should not make the eyes worse and certainly wouldn't cause a yeast infection. I think Momo's beard stayed wet too long this is what caused the yeast infection. Some dogs have a problem drinking out of bowls and dip their whole face in the water, you could try a shallow bowl or even gerbil drinking bottles, which many show breeders use so beards stay dry. There's also something called a "Drink Better Bowl", that only allows a small amount of water to seep up on a pad.

I should have been more specific, I'm having issues w/his eyes staining, not his beard. We use the Madan water bottle converters!:D I also have a water bowl out for them. Mimi's beard stains & is noticeable bc she's lighter but she prefers to drink form the water converter. I'm trying to figure out if it's red yeast caused by his watery eyes & I've also noticed lots of eye goobers, which he didn't have much of b4. It must be a coincidence that it started when I switched to Gerber water. I'm trying to keep his eye area as clean as possible & cut off all the hair on his nose bridge bc he has a really short snout. I'm seeing less eye goobers on him today, so hopefully keeping the hair away from his eyes will help.

When did you switch back to reg filtered water, how did you know he could handle it? I've been giving them Gerber water for about 6 months now, do you think it's ok to go back to bottled water?

My guess was it was red yeast caused by water eyes. Joey got a really bad reaction when I switched foods ones. He didn't just have watering eyes, they were filled with gooey brown liquid each morning, and even though he was only on the new food for four days, it stained his under eye area. Have you done a recent food switch?

I used Gerber for a little over a month. But I didn't use it to moisten/boil their food. I used what I use for us - Poland Spring spring water. Maybe that had something to do with it?? I didn't even think about that. I did notice that Momo's tear stains went away completely when I cut the hair around her eyes. I've started to grow it back & the tear stains are back. I'm going to ask my vet about flushing her tear ducts when she goes in for her dental. I read some stuff about flushing on the Maltese boards. Have you ever had that done? If that doesn't work, I may just go back to keeping her eyes trimmed. It's always wet & goopy, plus it's not very attractive. I also bought some whitening gel from #1 All Systems - although I'm afraid to use it because it might get in her eyes.

That's how my Momo's are. :( When she wakes up, she has crusty brown goop in her eyes. I might try thr Gerber water again. Her eyes are like that no matter what food she eats.

I did switch their kibble a couple months back & it did not agree w/all of them so I switched back. Their poopie was always on the soft side & Mimi even had anal gland issues. Now this confuses me, does that mean Momo is not agreeing w/the current food or was it something triggered by the other food. That's exactly what it is, 'gooey brown liquid' yuk.

That's what I do, trim the stained tear stains bc they spread. Once it grows back, the stains are back. I never heard of flushing out their tear ducts...guess it wouldn't hurt to try if vet says it's ok.

Apparently, flushing the tear ducts is a really quick, painless procedure. It's just easier to do when they're under. It's worked for a lot of people on the Maltese forum. They had me convinced enough to ask my vet about about it. Let me know if you get it done...or if you hear anything negative about it. My Momo is due for her dental next month. I'll keep you posted if we do it. I might try the Gerber again for a few months & see if that makes a difference.

Please do let us know how it goes, it sounds very interesting & hope it works for Momo. I was also wondering if the tearing/ staining has anything to do w/his teeth. It hasn't been a year yet since his last dental cleaning (4 more months to go), but he won't let me thoroughly clean his teeth. I'm lucky if I manage to clean both his back molars. Loll it's funny how we have to say 'my Momo' to let ea/other know who we're talkin about!

It was a little like gravy coming from eyes, it came on within 24 hours after starting the new food, but I didn't think it was the food and continued giving the new food for 4 days. As soon as I stopped the food, they cleared up from the brown sludge, but it too a couple of weeks to completely clear up. I then gave the food again just to be sure it was the food, and sure enough it happened again. That time it might have taken three weeks or even a month to completely clear up, but significant results were within 24 hours. That's why I'm not a fan of people suggesting a food change when the dog is doing well on one food, but we all want "what's best" for our dogs, and sometimes we do stupid things! By the way, Joey's breeder was able to bleach the stains out, he's very light and it really showed as dark brown stains. There are directions on the web, but it's not something I would feel confident doing. She also gave me a tongue lashing for switching his food! :D

This site Factors to eliminate Tear Staining - by Tonia Holibaugh - Rhapsody Maltese says that most tear staining is caused by a "Most tear staining is due to a low grade systematic infection. This can cause the enzyme levels in the dog's bodily fluids to be "off" and therefore cause excessive staining. This systematic imbalance can be caused by simple stress or it can indicate an underlying health issue." I believe that why products such as Angel Eyes work, they have a low dose of antibiotic that you use for a couple of months. Lots of people think that's crazy to give an antibiotic for a cosmetic problem, but I really believe that it's more than just cosmetic and I know it's worked for lots of people.

Lol :) I know! Here's an article I grabbed from a link on spoiledmaltese. It might help...
ABOUT TEAR STAINING