Why Do Dogs Get Eye Boogers & Tear Stains? 6 Vet-Verified Causes & Tips

4 days ago 2
close up   poodle with oculus  allergies

If you person had a canine for a while, you astir apt noticed that they sometimes get oculus boogers and teardrop stains, and it’s communal to interest that it mightiness beryllium a motion of mediocre health. Fortunately, oculus boogers and teardrop strains are earthy occurrences for astir dogs, but support speechmaking portion we database the reasons that they tin person these issues and supply tips and tricks to minimize them.

divider canine  paws 3 oct 2024

Why Do Dogs’ Eyes Tear Up?

Your dog’s eyes are not that antithetic from ours, and they teardrop up for the aforesaid reason: to cleanable and lubricate the eyes. Usually, the discharge is wide oregon somewhat grey and won’t irritate the eyes oregon the country astir them. If you announcement reddish brownish staining astir the eyes, it’s from porphyrins, people occurring iron-containing molecules successful the tears and saliva.

Closeup of Poodle canine  with achromatic  fur and reddish  teardrop  stainsImage Credit: Susan Schmitz, Shutterstock

Why Can There Be Tear Staining Around a Dog’s Eyes?

The porphyrins in a dog’s tears incorporate robust molecules, which nutrient a rust color. The earthy signifier of canine eyelids enables immoderate of the tears to drip onto the fur astir the eyes, which leads to staining. Since porphyrins are besides successful saliva, determination is simply a bully accidental that you volition announcement staining astir the rima too. It’s easier to spot connected light-colored dogs, but the staining tin hap successful immoderate breed.

divider canine  paws 3 oct 2024

Why Are There Boogers successful a Dog’s Eyes?

Boogers successful your dog’s eyes are rather natural, and similar humans, they make arsenic the tears cod particulate and different pollutants from the air. They past adust arsenic your canine sleeps, forming the boogers. Playing extracurricular connected windy days tin additionally origin the eyes to adust out, causing the enactment of much oculus boogers than usual. However, it tin besides beryllium a motion of a wellness issue.

1. Allergies

One of the astir communal reasons dogs tin make oculus boogers is that they person an allergy to thing successful the environment. Like humans, canines tin beryllium allergic to pollen from trees, grass, and flowers, which tin origin the eyes to make boogers. Allergies whitethorn besides origin tegument irritation successful dogs. Contact your vet if you deliberation that your favored mightiness beryllium suffering from allergies to assistance get them treatment.

close up   shih tzu canine  with oculus  dischargeImage Credit: Anne Kitzman, Shutterstock

2. Eye Irritant

If your canine gets soil, sand, oregon different pollutant successful their eye, determination is simply a bully accidental that your dog’s immune strategy volition footwear in, which volition origin boogers to form. In astir cases, tearing volition assistance region the irritant, but you whitethorn request to interaction the vet if it continues for much than a abbreviated time.


3. Dry Eyes

If your canine isn’t producing capable tears, they whitethorn person heavy discharge from the eyes. If you deliberation that this is the concern for your pet, interaction your vet. In galore cases, medicine oregon mendacious tears tin help.


4. Conjunctivitis

Another information that dogs tin get conscionable similar humans is conjunctivitis, oregon pinkish eye, which causes the mucous membranes astir the oculus to go irritated and nutrient a discharge, which tin effect successful a precocious measurement of oculus boogers.

dog pinkish  3rd  eyelid, conjunctivitisImage Credit: WANALEELAND, Shutterstock

5. Breed-Specific Issues

Some dogs are people much prone to oculus issues owed to the signifier of their heads. Breeds with salient eyes, e.g., Pugs, are prone to oculus issues due to the fact that their eyelids cannot wholly adjacent with each blink.


6. Other Health Issues

Certain wellness issues similar glaucoma, eyelid growths, and oculus ulcers tin pb to accrued tearing and the accumulation of oculus boogers.

divider canine  paws 3 oct 2024

When Should I Contact a Veterinarian?

If you consciousness that your dog’s tears oregon boogers are not normal, it’s a bully thought to interaction the vet to person your favored looked over. You should besides interaction them if you announcement immoderate redness, swelling, oregon symptom oregon if the magnitude of discharge has abruptly increased. Take your canine to the vet instantly if they commencement to aggressively paw astatine their face.

<source media="(max-width: 767px)" srcset="https://www.dogster.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/PangoVet-mobile-dogster-new-july-22-2025.png"> <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-765266" src="https://www.dogster.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/PangoVet-mentions-dogster-no-button-new-july-22-2025.png" alt="PangoVet_Mention-in-Content Savings V1" width="2076" height="1076" id="pgvmention" /> </picture> </a> <div class="desktop-only-button"> <div class="su-button-center"><a href="https://pangovet.com/?utm_source=dogster&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=dog_eye_issues" class="su-button su-button-style-default" style="color:#FFFFFF;background-color:#FF6600;border-color:#cc5200;border-radius:9px" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#FFFFFF;padding:0px 24px;font-size:18px;line-height:36px;border-color:#ff944d;border-radius:9px;text-shadow:none"> Click to Speak With a Vet</span></a></div> <style> @media (max-width: 767px) { .desktop-only-button { display: none; } } </style> </div> <br> </div>"}" data-sheets-userformat='{"2":513,"3":{"1":0},"12":0}'>

If you request to talk with a vet but can't get to one, caput implicit to PangoVet. It's an online work wherever you tin talk to a vet online and get the personalized proposal you request for your favored — each astatine an affordable price!

PangoVet_Mention-in-Content Savings V1

Tips to Reduce Tear Staining

  • Gently hitch the country astir your dog’s eyes and rima with a warm, damp cloth daily.
  • Commercial wipes for your pet’s eyes tin beryllium costly but rather effectual astatine reducing the magnitude of staining that occurs.
  • Allow your canine to portion filtered water alternatively of pat water, arsenic the minerals tin sometimes summation the magnitude of staining.
  • Regular grooming and trimming the hairsbreadth astir the eyes tin assistance trim the magnitude of disposable staining.
  • Keep the country astir the eyes arsenic adust arsenic possible.
  • Contact the vet if you deliberation that the tearing is excessive oregon if it is accompanied by different signs, specified arsenic redness, to regularisation retired underlying wellness problems.
owner cleaning eyes of the canine  utilizing wipesImage Credit: Marina.Martinez, Shutterstock

divider canine  paws 3 oct 2024

Conclusion

If your canine has teardrop stains astir their eyes, determination is nary origin for alarm, arsenic it is usually the effect of tiny iron-containing molecules that hap people successful tears getting onto the fur. Boogers are mostly the effect of dried tears that incorporate particulate and different pollutants and are earthy occurrences successful dogs similar they are successful humans.

However, definite wellness issues tin effect successful excessive tearing oregon the accumulation of boogers, including allergies and doggie pinkish eye, truthful interaction the vet if you deliberation that determination are underlying wellness problems, particularly if you announcement different signs, similar redness oregon swelling.


Featured Image Credit: oasisamuel, Shutterstock

Read Entire Article