Coloured tears

cefe13

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When wiping Castor's face I've noticed that sometimes the tear fluid is not transparent but brown/red. He doesn't have any visible tear stains as his fur is dark round the eyes, but I'm wondering if the coloured tear fluid is normal or something we should consider?
 

bullmama

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It could be the dyes in his food, what food are you feeding? Good thing no staining yet but eventually it will probably start.


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cefe13

cefe13

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Thanks for your input. He has been on Acana puppy and junior almost since we got him (he's six months old now) but we are considering a switch to Orijen six fish. One week ago we started giving him salmon oil but the tear fluid was coloured before that too. Are there any food ingredients we should avoid that are known to cause this discolouring?
 

bullmama

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Thanks for your input. He has been on Acana puppy and junior almost since we got him (he's six months old now) but we are considering a switch to Orijen six fish. One week ago we started giving him salmon oil but the tear fluid was coloured before that too. Are there any food ingredients we should avoid that are known to cause this discolouring?

Beets I've heard, and if there is any dyes listed. Those are the only ones I've heard of. Treats too can have dyes in them.


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cefe13

cefe13

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Thanks; no beets in his food (I take it you mean beet root?), but I will look into the list of ingredients more closely!
 

2BullyMama

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Interesting, I never heard of this before.... Going to watch so I can learn
 

izstigspunks

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So has this always happened or did it only start recently? Never heard of it before.
 

Jennifer Clark

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I haven't heard of this not to say it doesn't happen I'm going to watch this thread as well so I can learn.
 

bullmama

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Thanks; no beets in his food (I take it you mean beet root?), but I will look into the list of ingredients more closely!

It's powdered beets or something like that, cannot remember exactly.

EDIT: dried beet pulp


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cefe13

cefe13

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No beet pulp in his food!

I've now read up on porphyrin, which is produced in the body when red blood cells break down. This porphyrin is apparently what causes the discolouration from tear stains, and I suppose that is also what we see on the kleenex when wiping Castor's face. His eyes have always been a bit red (we've been told that is common in young dogs as they build up their immune system) and he does not seem to have any problems at all, so I suppose we needn't worry but just keep his face clean. The coloured tear fluid has probably been there all along but as his fur isn't white around his eyes I only noticed the coloured tear fluid quite recently when starting to wipe his face on a daily basis.
 

Scueva

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Duchess eye doctor said basically its a reaction to the tear coming in contact with oxygen that cause the rust color.
 

Opie CHL

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I got Chumley at 8 months old and he had no tear stains. He started getting them about a year old and I noticed whenever I wiped his nose rope or cleaned his tail pocket it was red or rusty like you said. His tear stains kept getting worse so I tried the remedies suggested..corn starch and.peroxide ..daily wiping with duoxopads ...but they didn't improve all that much. I had changed his food from natural balance for an unrelated reason this past July and 2 months later they were gone..now they rarely tear and when they do it's clear. Since switching his food..I use Fromms now..the issue is completely gone!
 

ZeusCsmommy

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When I clean Zeus tear stains the towel/wipey is usually brownish. Very light. But there is some color to it.. He is all white so he does have tear stains and they are obviously not white or clear or else they wouldn't be visible. Idk if that's what u mean. Most tear stains I've seen looks like my dogs so I was assuming tear stains look like that.
 

EmmittPylate

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Emmitt is also white, when I wipe his tear stains they are brownish color also. Maybe he has tear stains you just can't tell because he is brown?


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cefe13

cefe13

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I got Chumley at 8 months old and he had no tear stains. He started getting them about a year old and I noticed whenever I wiped his nose rope or cleaned his tail pocket it was red or rusty like you said. His tear stains kept getting worse so I tried the remedies suggested..corn starch and.peroxide ..daily wiping with duoxopads ...but they didn't improve all that much. I had changed his food from natural balance for an unrelated reason this past July and 2 months later they were gone..now they rarely tear and when they do it's clear. Since switching his food..I use Fromms now..the issue is completely gone!

Interesting! May I ask, is the new food the same source of protein or is there a change?
 

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