Tear stains are a common problem
in the Bulldog breed.
Most short faced and wrinkled breeds
will need daily care for their wrinkles.
Most of the time a soft tissue will clean
the wrinkles from any dust or dirt.
But sometimes the stain will not go away
and the wrinkles can become irritated.
The wrinkles will become a red/brownish color
and their fur will be wet.
Important
A very important sidenote on this subject:
In a lot of cases the wrinkles are not just dirty
from playing outside or from active tear glands.
They can be irritated from eyeproblems,
(like cherryeye or entropion),
minerals in the water or allergies
(like polls, grain or other food allergies).
In these cases no cleaning or cream
will solve the problem.
So if you are in doubt or when
the methods mentioned below don’t work
make sure to visit a veterinarian for advice.
Daily Cleaning Routine
So the first thing to do, is to adress the source
of the problem and than you can begin
to clean and prevent the tear stains.
Clean the wrinkles with an eyecleaner daily,
get all the filth out those wrinkles
and really rub your fingers trough their wrinkles,
wipe away from the corner of the eye.
When the filth is gone, there will still be a stain
make sure to completly dry the area
after you cleaned it, this is really important!
Some people rub ointment on it after cleaning
but my advice is to only do that when the wrinkles
are clean and stainfree already
and or when the fur needs to grow back.
When their wrinkles are still irritated
it is better to keep the area dry and clean.
Intensive Cleaning
When a general eyecleaner doesn’t work
you can try a eyecleaner with antibiotics in it,
make sure to ask your vet for advice.
You should only use cleaners with
antibiotics for a short period of time.
Use it to remove the stain and than
proceed with a general eyecleaner and
unscented cleaning wipes to keep it clean.
These methods can also be used
for irritated nosewrinkles.
If your Bulldog does not have any medical reasons
for the tear stains they will be easy to remove
with a couple of cleanings.
I clean my dogs daily with unscented wipes
(their ears, nose wrinkles and corners of the eye)
and they have no tear stains or dirty wrinkles.
When we get Bulldogs in the Rescue
that have serious infected wrinkles,
I use the wipes below I get from the vet
and clean their wrinkles up to 3-5 a day.
Once the infection is gone
I use the regular cleaning routine.
Summary
• Make sure the tearstains do not have a medical reason
(like eye problems or allergies)
• Clean your dog’s wrinkles on a daily basis
• Always keep the wrinkles dry, you can do all the cleaning
but if they aren’t kept dry it will not work!
• Consult a vet before to exclude any medical reasons
and before starting any kind of treatment
I also asked our members what their experiences
were with cleaning tear stains.
Since I have no experiences with the methods
mentioned below I can not vouch for these methods
Here are some of the tips our members shared with us:
Thea van Oosten van der Wulp, Ali Bourdeau:
Douxo pads
Sherri Holman-Griffin:
I use baby wipes daily and
a little hibiclens if they get irritated.
My two love to lick each others faces and ears,
so sometimes it’s twice a day cleanings from mom
to get the extra slobber off.
I also use coconut oil orally and topically
Michelle Allison:
Diluted hibiscrub washed in the channels
everyday keeps bacteria at bay
Kelly Adamchak Durdan:
I thought i would never get rid of my Guys tear stains.
I tried every thing under the sun,
till my vet gave me Pharmaseb wipes..
these wipes have been heaven sent
they cleared up there wrinkles took away the tear stains
no more stinky faces..love these wipes
Dorinda van Kessel:
Just a cottonball drowned in milk.
It’s a wonder!
Betty Davey:
I used plain old desitin for diaper rash.
Carry Vrolijk:
I use Malaseb shampoo (available at the vet),
Anointing pure, leave for 10 minutes
and then clean with water (so get off)
Then a thin layer sudocreme
So I do it with my bulldog Ozzy, and it works
Paula Waterbeek:
The stains can you remove with cooked water
and betadine shampoo.
The stains by the eye dont clean more than twice a week
because when je remove the stains daily
the tears production activaded its a normal proces off the eyes
When the stains are verry wet ,
only dry tthe stains and clean only 2 times in a week.
Sebastián Trujillo:
My bully had bad tear stains and a very bad
soaring inside the wrinkle over his nose.
I tried everything until a vet told me to use Savlon liquid.
I used it once a day cleaning gently with cotton.
Those tear stains disappeared.
Kimberly Simmons Daily:
Antifungal wipes work best for us
Vanessa Hinojosa Eubank:
Mal-A-Ket Wipes by DermaPet works wonders!
Inedabully Million:
I use stridex medicated pads
under the nose stock and for the tear area.
The stridex kills any fungus, yeast and bacteria.
I use it daily if there is a problem and then
a couple times a week after that or as needed.
Sian O’Brien:
Sensitive baby wipes, allow to dry
then sudocrem or sensitive diaper rash cream,
careful to avoid the eyes.
Irradiates the yeast, soothes redness, smells good,
reduces the swelling and works!
Shannon Haley-Anderson:
Apple cider vinegar in their drinking water
helps with tear stains also,
but the root of the problem stems from what the dog is fed.
Sandra Bryant:
Filtered water in a stainless bowl is what
I used and Annabella’s tear staining disappeared.
I clean her folds, ears and entire body
with unscented baby wipes daily
Vonny Robertson:
I bath my babies with Douxo antiseptic shampoo,
plus have the Douxo pads.
Tear stains are just from active tear glands,
which can be that way from wind/dust/
my one puppy had tears already at 6 weeks old.
Just got to keep the face clean firstly,
but more importantly -dry.
If you keep putting ointments or wet creams on,
it’s just going to create a bacterial infection
in the facial wrinkles.
My bulldog vet says his motto is
“clean and dry, clean and dry!”.
Can’t make the tear production stop.
Just got to keep it clean and dry
Jenna Adriaenssens:
I use baby wipes to clean and baby powder to dry.
Jennifer Palacios:
Baby wipes on the daily.
Fragrant free of course.
And I make a solution of part vinegar (small amount)
with distilled water and clean the areas
if needed once a day when it calms down
every other day to weekly using a cotton ball pad.
Christina Smith:
I also put couple tablespoons of braggs raw
apple cider vinegar in my bullies water.
Annah V. Luker:
I have a cat that cleans them daily!
Highly recommended to get your bully a pet cat.
For companionship & cleanliness. They are good friends
Have a question or
want to discuss this topic
with other members?
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