# Why do Maltese tear?



## moots (Oct 26, 2009)

My 5.5 year old maltese cross westie...she's pretty much got ZERO westie in her , everything about her is maltese, temperment and looks... gets tear/sleep stains n all, but she can get a lot of build up in a day or 2 if not cleaned, and it's really disgusting build up. Several dif vets have said it's normal. My westie on the other hand doesn't get this at all? I mean she'll get a very very tiny bit of build up from sleeping, less than what a human does but it doesn't stain and it's easy to take off, like just 1 pick at it and it goes away, hell if l leave it - it just falls off itself half the time no stains at all.

Why do maltese get this? I was thinking of getting a 3rd dog, pure bred or some cross of a maltese or maybe another pure bred westie. I am leaning towards another pure bred westie just because of this issue with the maltese.


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## Pai (Apr 23, 2008)

Excessive tearing is the result of bacteria, or sometimes of a slight deformity of the eye. Certain ingredients (artificial coloring, beet pulp) in dog food can make it worse. If she is otherwise healthy, there are several tear-stain removing products you can use to treat it.


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

I would start with diet too..and if she's a pup and teething, the tearing and staining can be worse during that time. Also make sure the hair around her eyes is kept trimmed and isn't irritating the eyes causing more tearing.


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

Have your vet check it out. Sometimes they can dilate the tear ducts and open them up, as often the problem is simply that the eyes don't drain properly. The dark staining is a result of bacterial or yeast infection which can be cleared up with an antibootic, but it only lasts as long as the meds are used. My experience is that once the med is discontinued the infection causing the stains reappears.

With one of our dogs the staining is pretty much constant despite trying everything. The antibiotics work but I prefer not to feed her that on a constant basis. So I wipe her eyes, especially the inner corners, twice per day with contact solution since it will not harm the eyes. I use a little terry cloth face cloth and really wet it good. Let it soak the fur so that you aren't pulling at things. Then wipe it away, continue with a clean, moistened corner of the cloth to wipe the tear stains. I find it helpful to wipe backwards against the fur a bit to get everything down to the skin.


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