What causes tear stains under a dogs eyes?
Excessive tearing, technically called epiphora, can occur as a result of irritation to your dog’s eyes or because your dog’s tears are not draining properly. Just as your eye waters if a speck of dust blows into it, dogs’ eyes will make tears when irritated to flush away anything harmful. When the eyes are continually irritated, this can lead to chronic tearing that produces stains. Conditions that might irritate the eye include dog eye infections, glaucoma, and eyelash or eyelid problems. In a normal dog eye, there are small holes that drain tears away from the eye and down the throat. A variety of dog eye problems can affect this drainage, causing excessively watery eyes. These conditions include: • Shallow eye sockets. If the eye sockets aren’t big or deep enough, tears can spill out onto the fur around the eyes. • Eyelids that are turned inward. If the eyelids roll in toward the eyeball, the drainage holes for tears (called puncta) may become blocked. • Hair growth around the eye.
