I have an all yellow litter of nine that just turned 8 weeks old. Two puppies have major tear staining - mornings eyes look fine, throughout the day on and off I see red stains/wet. This just started in the last week. Pups were seen on Thursday and vet examined eyes and stated they look totally normal - no entropion, no squinting, etc. I examine them myself and I know what entropion/ectropion look like. Thoughts? Of course they are due to go home next week at 9 weeks.

What is their living environment like?

They have 6 X 10 inside area half filled with pine shavings but also spend a few hours morning and afternoon outside in a large 20 X 20 "puppy area" which is mostly grass and some pavers. I don't notice a difference where they are - eyes are better in the morning after having access to the shavings all night. They don't scratch, rub, or squint in any way. Lids look normal. Just wet under the eye at times and stained? I don't know what to tell the new owners? Could be entropion that hasn't come on fully but I just don't know. I hesitate to take them for a CERF since my vet is very knowledgeable about eyes and can spot most problems a mile away. She said it could be developing intermittent entropion that they will either grow out of or need tacking in the future (nothing needed now since there is nothing abnormal). I just don't know what to do - not let them go to their new home? Freak the families out with too much information?

Some puppies have partially blocked tear ducts - this prevents tears from draining normally into the sinuses. I believe there is an irrigation procedure to correct this if it doesn't go away on its own.

One of my black girls had blocked tear ducts, and yes there is a flushing procedure, done by my regular vet. He followed it up with some eye drops has pred in it. Prob too much for a young pup though.

It could be a partially blocked tear duct, possibly due to hay fever type allergies. If that's the case it may disapear entirely in a new environment. I have also heard a theory that adding Vitamin C to diet may help with tearing and staining. Might be worth a try to give each puppy a tiny amount of a Vit C tablet (chewable) and see if that helps.

Have they possibly had coccidia? Sometimes the first sign is tearing if the immune system is otherwise handling the parasite. Check stools and/or treat for coccidia.

If it were totally cosmetic, some folks use Tylan powder in other breeds for adults, or Angel Eyes or something like that for the breeds with big round protruding eyes where there is more eye surface exposed and they tear. Not sure it wouldn't throw off the pups GI environment.

A cosmetic fix for cleaning the area around the eyes is Eye Envy but it must be refrigerated. Even wiping with saline solution helps. No matter what, start cleaning the area around the eyes at least twice daily, then blot dry.

Hope it gets better soon.

I use Pine Shavings and some of the litters are more sensitive to the oils in the shavings. Urine also reacts with the shavings causing more fumes, and some shavings have more dust than others. Their eyes would look better in the morning because they have not been open all night. I think it is the shavings since that is what I experienced before. If you can find popple shavings they work the best.