Severe Eye Staining

[wildchild]

Done a google search and can not find anything that is informative, so I thought I would ask here as a general question.

What causes severe eye staining in Siberian Huskies? Siberian Huskies are not a known breed for eye stains?

In put from other breeds welcome

Thanks in advance

[wildchild]

and no, this is not a question regarding one of my dogs it is a general question

[~Myschafis~]

I would be curious of a huskies drainage angles, if tilted incorrectly.

I would be interested to see the result of a gonioscopy eye test also on such a dog.

[poodlefan]

Eye staining can be a sign of depressed immune system. More often than not this can be demonstrated by a decrease in eyestains after treatment with antibiotics. It can be a symptom of tooth or gum disease. I'd be starting there. Some dog foods with artifical colourings are also considered to contribute to it.

[rudie]

we find feeding apple cider vinigar helps a lot with eye staining on the lemon Beagles!

[~Myschafis~]

Do you know what causes the eye staining though?

[rudie]

Do you know what causes the eye staining though?

No

It seems to come and go though. We have noticed in the last couple of weeks sinc the weather has gotten colder it has been worse, not just on our dogs.

[Poodle wrangler]

My understanding is that the colour is caused by the growth of bacteria/ yeast/ fungi in a moist environment.

Our apricot standard poodle had some eye staining which improved with more raw food added to his diet i.e. from 5% to about 30-40%. Improved the poo situation as well .

My smaller, black poodle has minor grass allergy which cause his eyes to get a clear discharge from time to time. I just wipe each day with a wet tissue.

Vet checked the tear ducts by using a dye. Blocked tear ducts would cause a similar problem.

Has vet checked for eyelashes growing on the inside of eyelid etc.?

[wildchild]

Has vet checked for eyelashes growing on the inside of eyelid etc.?

Not my dog (or any dog in particular) it was just a general question about the breed (and other breeds to see if they can enlighten this phenomena

[Ali Baba]

Eye staining in general can be caused by blocked tear ducts most commonly found in breeds such as the maltese, bichon, etc etc. I have never heard of sibes having blocked tear ducts but that is not saying that they are not prone to this. Sometimes eye staining can be caused by conjunctivitis. I do know that sibes can be prone to glaucoma.

[Hotwyr]

I would be curious of a huskies drainage angles, if tilted incorrectly.

I would be interested to see the result of a gonioscopy eye test also on such a dog.

I would really doubt very much that the Gonio results would have any bearing on eye-staining whatsoever.

Both my older sibes (15 & 12) have poor and moderate drainage angles and NEITHER has had any staining at all ever - one is a silver/grey, the other an agouti. In fact BOTH have perfect eyesight!

Rae

Edited May 6, 2008 by Hotwyr

[Stirling]

Check for extra eyelashes (distichia) or eyelashes growing the wrong way (ectopic cillia) (neither if which are common in Siberians, but can be seen in some in Staffs and Goldens and other breeds) , also absence of lower tear ducts (punctal atresia).

The drainage angle (measured on gonioscopy, and sometimes poor in Siberians), will have NO bearing on tear production/staining. The drainage angle is INSIDE the eye and has nothing to do with tear production/drainage, it refers to drainage of aqueous (fluid in the front chamber of the globe).

All the best

S.

[Stirling]

You will need to see an eye specialist who has the equipment to thoroughly check for all of the conditions I listed.

[ice]

hi,

i have shiba inu he gets the staining on the eyes but not all the time, when he gets this he does sneeze as well his problem is allergies at certain times of the year, there is nothing wrong with his eyes it is like humans your eyes run if you have an allergy to something.

[~Myschafis~]

Interestingly enough I have seen a husky that failed eye testing and has severe staining.

[SilverHaze]

Interestingly enough I have seen a husky that failed eye testing and has severe staining.

And yet i know of one with severe staining in just one - and passed all eye tests when he went to see the opthamologist about it (turned out to be allergies - not much that can be done). This would then indicate the two aren't related, but can occur together.

[Hotwyr]

Interestingly enough I have seen a husky that failed eye testing and has severe staining.

And I'll bet you that there is NO correlation at all between the two - just coincidence.....

Rae

[ice]

Interestingly enough I have seen a husky that failed eye testing and has severe staining.

are you saying that failed eyes and staining go together, because if you are god there are a lot of dogs with bad eyes,

as i said before i reckon it would be allergies, or some other irritation. what condition would cause an eye to stain that would be picked up by the eye clinic. i have noticed that dogs such as maltese and poodles that have pink around their eyes are more prone to it.... put me right anybody

sue

[Tutumaiao]

Excessive tear staining is a result of a medical condition called Epiphora.

Properly formed tear ducts connect the eye area with the naso-pharyngeal area and provide a drainage between these areas.

When the tear ducts are closed, shallow, or narrow, the tear ducts overflow because there is an inadequate (or closed) channel for the passage of fluids.

This excessive fluid causes staining.

Like Stirling said earlier: The drainage angle of the eye ball itself (measured on gonioscopy), has NO bearing on tear production/staining. The drainage angle is INSIDE the eye and has nothing to do with tear production/drainage, it refers to drainage of aqueous (fluid in the front chamber of the globe).

There is no correlation at all b/n tear staining and hereditary narrow drainage angles in the Siberian at all.

Regardless of whether a Siberian failed a eye exam, the tear staining of that particular animal is totally unrelated.

Tear Staining in Siberians is not common, it is not a issue in the breed.

It will show in animals who are sensitive and suffer from allergies, other conditions that can cause tear staining are foreign irritants to the eye causing excessive tearing to clear out the foreign irritant, or, conjunctivitis.

However, allergies, foreign irritants or conjunctivitis can occur in any breed, it is not isolated to the Siberian.

There are also some Siberians with very unfortunate facial markings of which can give an illusion of tear staining, especially in red siberians, examine the dog closely and one will find its coat markings.

Hope this helps.

[ice]

thanks for that informative reply to this question and i have to say i agree with you totally. in fact on investigation of my red dogs face from a little way away it looks like she has a little eye stain, she does not though.

sue