Staining

Bully Ma

New member
Oct 11, 2011
23
1
Massachusetts
Bulldog(s) Names
Lamb Chop
SO I have had Lamby on Orijen since she was a puppy. not until recently has she started getting tear staining and stainging around her mouth. I have no clue what or why it is happening. Before she had no problems and was white and white can be. She did go into heat a week ago. Would a heat cycle cause this? or should I try another food?
 

JAKEISGREAT

.................
Mar 25, 2011
14,802
1,155
Southern California
Bulldog(s) Names
Jake
Hi! I'm sorry..I'm not very versed on this but hold on and the right people will find you. In the meantime you might try a search under tear stains..maybe you'll find some info.
 

Sarah

New member
Jun 7, 2011
423
18
CT
Bulldog(s) Names
Brooklyn and Franklin
Not sure about the heat since my baby is spayed. Also not sure about the staining since we've never had that issue. But I do know that Orijen although it is an awesome food, a lot of times it has too high of a protein content for bullies.
 

Sarah

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Jun 7, 2011
423
18
CT
Bulldog(s) Names
Brooklyn and Franklin
It isn't good for their kidneys.
 

Terry

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Jan 16, 2011
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13
Central Valley, California
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Bubbles
We have feed Bubbles Origen since the first day. Her Kidney function is great, if your bullie has plenty fresh water and no known kidney problems orijen if the best. The tear stains could be yeast? Does she have increased tearing because of an eye problem? Signs of an ear infection? Any different treats?
 
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Bully Ma

Bully Ma

New member
Oct 11, 2011
23
1
Massachusetts
Bulldog(s) Names
Lamb Chop
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  • #7
I dont think high protien would be a problem unless there was already a kidney problem?
 

Vicaroo1000

"Slug Assassin" and PBS Gardening Dweeb
Jun 23, 2011
5,775
389
Mukilteo, Washington State
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Beefeater's Buxom Beatrice and Lord Harrington's Bodacious Beauregaard
Bea was on Origen her first year and she didn't have a solid poop once. Not once. And she was grossly overweight too. For Bea it wasn't the right food.
 

LariP

..........
Aug 4, 2010
8,293
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Milwaukee, WI
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USA
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(HRH) Her Royal Highness Princess Gracie & Princess Amelia Pond (Amy)
Any number of things could be causing the new tear stains. Seasonal allergies would be my first guess. But I wouldn't rule out the heat. Many women get acne and other skin issues "that time of the month" so I would imagine it could be the same for a dog in heat. Keep it clean and dry as possible. There are a ton of threads with suggestions on treatments/remedies. I have decided I'm going to try the witch hazel idea on HRH's very minor tear stains. Just from reading another thread recently about the stains where it was suggested. As for the food. There are many really good brands and many varied needs for our bullies. No one food seems to be perfect for every bully.
 

cowsmom

..........
Apr 27, 2011
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Virginia
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usa
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Sarah aka cow
actually sarah had some tear stains on one eye last month and she never has them. i just put some powdered lotrimin on a q-tip and put it in her fold. she was good in like a week of doing that. actually orijen is excellent food but it maybe to much for a non active bully as they can get overweight. it is more for active dogs. but some bullies are ok some not. high protein food is not for all dogs. thats why they have acana as it is lower protein. good luck.
 
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Bully Ma

Bully Ma

New member
Oct 11, 2011
23
1
Massachusetts
Bulldog(s) Names
Lamb Chop
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  • #12
Thank you everyone! I will try some of the remidies, but I think I will be going back to the raw diet and see if that helps.
 

cowsmom

..........
Apr 27, 2011
6,996
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Virginia
Country
usa
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Sarah aka cow
Well raw is the way to go I hear and several here swear by it so good luck and let us know how it goes
 

anatess

Well-known member
Jul 26, 2011
1,758
398
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Bullie (RIP) & Angus (RIP)
I have a bichon frise who went through tear staining so I have researched this thing far and wide before.

Tear Stains are caused by excessive tearing which becomes a breeding ground for yeast and bacteria which shows itself as stains. So, your first concern is why your dog is producing excessive tears. As far as I know, heat cycles don't cause excessive tears. Allergies can - but if your dog has been on Orijen for a long time, it is highly unlikely that the excessive tearing is caused by a food allergy.

Another cause for excessive tears is if the dog is teething. I'm not sure how old your dog is - but if she's on her first heat cycle, then chances are she's also cutting teeth. This stage of teething causes the jaws to bite differently which changes the skeletal structure putting pressure on the tear ducts.

And then there is the Ear Infection that could also cause it and there's blocked tear ducts.

And one more thing - this can be caused by minerals in the water as well. Minerals in the water also cause the area around the mouth to stain even if the dog doesn't show tear stains.

So, what to do - first if your dog is drinking city water, try changing to filtered water or bottled water. If your dog is teething, you really have not much choice but to wait it out - just wipe her face a lot and apply cornstarch to keep it dry or you can use Angel Eyes (controversial - I used this for my bichon when he was teething. Definitely not something you use if your problem is not a temporary case like cutting teeth). Rule out ear infections and block tear ducts by vet check. Rule out environmental allergies.

And one thing is for certain - high protein doesn't cause allergies and doesn't cause excessive tears. What's high protein to a carnivore? A carnivore processes protiens a lot differently than omnivores so that omnivores cannot efficiently process high protein and therefore would give excess work for their kidneys. A dog, though, is genetically a carnivore even if we have made them into omnivores in the pet trade. What is harmful to a carnivore is excess carbhohydrates because they don't have the enzymes to break down carbs - all carbs have to be broken down by their pancreas which is not designed to process a lot of it. So that, a dog food with low protein content would almost always have higher carbs content. If your dog has a low activity level and is getting overweight, don't exchange proteins for carbs, feed him less instead.
 
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