Stains around the eyes will promote stains to change color. Common colors of eye stains include: brown or red. The hair will feel crusty or hardened and may look wet if the stains or fresh or dry if they are old. Most stains are seen when the owner is poorly grooming their dog or cat.

White dogs are the ones that make stains easy to see. That is because their hair is so light-colored, it makes them highly visible.  Just because white dog tear stains are easily seen does not mean that black dogs do not have them to.

Indeed black dogs develop tear stains; it’s just harder to see because their hair can be extremely dark. However, the hair may look wet or crusty as well. As a pet owner of a darker animal you know when your pets hair does not look clean. You can use the same products on darker colored dogs as you do light colored dogs. Commonly used products include: tear stain removers or a tear stain supplement.

Tear removers are: combs, cleansing eye wipes, or body washes. You can also use scissors to cut back your dogs hair near the eyes to help reduce the accumulation of tears on long hairs that enter the eyes.

The causes of tear stains in white dogs and black dogs can be the same, especially in the same breeds. Most breeds like Maltese, Poodles, Bulldogs and Poodles have tear ducts that can clog and their hair around the face can grow and enter the eyes to collect the tears. As the tears become old it creates a bacteria or yeast, which makes it turn red and brown looking.

Keeping your dog healthy is important so using a tear stain option is can help improve your animal’s eye health. Make sure if you decide use a tear stain supplement that it is promoted for existing and future stains. Also, keep in mind that a tear stain supplement is not a removal option; it is considered a dietary option that can be used in your pet’s food regularly.