TEAR STAIN Obsession

Note from Mama MO:    Please note that these opinions and perspectives that we share are based on much research.   Mama MO has many years working as a professional chemist, pharmaceutical researcher and has a a great deal of experience working in the pharmaceutical industry (specifically as it relates to oral and IV antibiotics).    Mama MO, while currently MALTESE OBSESSION, has her professional past life as a scientist.     We appreciate you visiting us and we send our LOVE and WET NOSE Kisses to all of our Maltese and dog friends.

 

Tear Stain Obsession Part 2:    Day 1 and Day 12 of Cleaning

Tiny 3 lb Summer came to us with very long nails, mats all over and chunks of hair cut out in her legs and body due to mats.    On day 12, we thickened her coat and blew dry her to try and work with the very little hair that was left on her legs.    We spent some time working out the mats all over her body and as we wait for the bald spots to grow in, we will continue to try and even out the remaining hairs that she has.

 

For a dog like Summer with a very cottony dry coat, with very little hair …. we chose to use Pure Paws Amplify Shampoo with a splash of White Magic to help whiten her coat.    We also used Pure Paws Amplify Conditioner with a dollop of Star Line Silk Conditioning Cream mixed in.    Summer soaked in a bath and again in a conditioning bath to allow every strand of hair to be cleansed and conditioned properly.

 

Summer is a maltese mix and her legs are very thin and long.    Allowing her leg hair to grow out longer would help allow us to give her overall appearance  some balance.    Summer’s face is NOT structured ideally for a Korean styling as she has a longer nose on a very small face, paired with a very long torso and super long skinny legs.     Korean style is not always the best look for every dog,  so we’ll be working towards more of a cute teddy bear anime look for her.

 

 

Active Ingredients that Fight Tear Stains

Witch Hazel & Boric Acid

The Artero Pretty Eyes’ active ingredient is Boric Acid, though the bulk of the bottle is water.   They also include Thyme, Rosemary and Chamomile extracts to soothe skin.

The Pure Paws Love My Eyes active ingredients ARE Boric Acid and Witch Hazel.

Witch hazel is naturally flowering shrub whose leaves, bark and twig are high in tannins.    Witch hazel helps reduce swelling and also fights BACTERIA as does boric acid.

Witch hazel is one hundred percent natural and smells clean.    Properly distilled witch hazel is a fantastic natural ingredient to fight tear stains.   Witch hazel is also helpful in balancing pH levels, thus it is often an ingredient for ear solutions to combat yeast infections.

Boric Acid is used to treat yeast infections in dogs and in humans.    Boric acid also helps to balance pH levels due to its acidic nature, thus a wonderful ingredient to combat EAR, EYE and SKIN infections where YEAST is the culprit.

  • Yeast and Fungus can NOT thrive in a neutralized or acidic environment so having BOTH Boric Acid and Witch Hazel around inhibits yeast growth.
  • Bacteria is attacked and killed by BOTH Boric Acid and Witch Hazel extract
  • Itchy and Inflamed skin is calmed and naturally healed by Witch Hazel extract

Boric Acid:   Antimicrobial, Anti-Yeast, Anti-Fungal and pH balancing properties

Witch Hazel:    Natural plant based, Natural healing properties, Antimicrobial, Anti-Inflammatory, Anti-Yeast, Anti-Itch, natural astringent odor eliminating properties and pH balancing

Active Ingredients in ALL 4 Steps! A complete healing, cleansing and treatment for the culprits of tear stains (bacteria, yeast, fungus). Please always take care in making sure product does not go into the eyes.

With PURE PAWS LOVE MY EYES, you get 4 steps with ACTIVE INGREDIENTS!

Step 1:   Foaming Cleanser has Boric Acid + Witch Hazel + Deodorizer + Optical Brightener

Step 2:  Debris Cleanser has Boric Acid + Witch Hazel

Step 3:  Protective Cream has Boric Acid + Witch Hazel + Sunflower Seed Oil  

Step 4:  Absorption Powder has Boric Acid and Natural Minerals

When used correctly, the chances of success with this LOVE MY EYES KIT is far higher then using ANY other solution on the market that just adds random amounts of boric acid.

The added bonus is that Step 1 the Facial Foaming Cleanser also has their wonderful odor eliminator and color brighteners that are in their other shampoo lines.

 

 

 

 

Absolute things to AVOID

when it comes to clearing up Tear Stains

While there is NO ABSOLUTE one thing that will guarantee tear stains being cured, there ARE ABSOLUTE things to AVOID

  • NEVER NEVER bleach ….so so dangerous
  • NEVER NEVER … permanently damages the shafts and health of the hair, making the hair stain easier
  • NEVER use home made boric acid solutions … can cause permanent eye damage
  • NEVER give LIFE MEDs of powdered or treat form of antibiotics that claim to have tylan or tylosine in it
  • PLEASE NO toothbrushes on them tender eye tissue, unless the toothbrush is made of something softer then rabbit fur or mink … the tissue around the eye is so so tender, especially for tearing babies
  • Please NO paper towels on the eyes to dry them … the softest kleenex or the softest cotton gauze please
  • NEVER use random quality of Witch Hazel made for humans.   The distillation process and qualtiy of the Witch Hazel extract is very important.    Low quality or random extractions of witch hazel can be DANGEROUS when used around the eyes

 

Last thoughts…

HONESTLY there is no one thing you can do NOR one product that can 100% claim to clear up tear stains.    There are so many varying factors that can determine whether a dog or puppy stains or doesn’t stain including:

  • genetic disposition
  • dental health
  • diet
  • physical health
  • ocular health
  • water quality
  • food quality
  • environmental factors
  • grooming and hygiene

There are a sea of products that would like to claim 100% efficacy for clearing up tear stains BUT no one product nor routine can claim this….. sadly… but this is the truth….

 

We can however do as much as we can as dog owners to help eliminate tear staining as much as we possibly can by proper hygiene and grooming, working with our groomers/stylists and working with our veterinarians.

 

Thanks to Summer and her mommy for working daily to help give Summer a cleaner, cuter look!    Special treats for Summer💕

 

Good LUCK and Happy Grooming to all of our friends as we continue the battle against them tear stains.

 

 

 

 

Drying Powder

 

2×2 Gauze Pads pack of 200 – our favorite gauze to clean ears and to clean around eyes

 

 

Dolce’s Winter WHITE Spa Bath – Pure Paws White Magic Foam, Amplify Shampoo, Silk Basics Shampoo

Dolce’s Winter Spa Bath 

Pure Paws Spa Smoothie  – WINTER

 

WINTER SNOW WHITE is how we love our Team MO girls to look, but with fresh cooked foods and our mud and crud outdoors, it can take some great key products to achieve the WHITE we love.    We let Dolce’s face go dirty and naturally stained for awhile to test out the new Pure Paws Whitening Foam.   Her face stains from fresh cooked foods and from her saliva.    We do NOT use the Pure Paws Whitening Foam near the eyes.
Tear stain products will be reviewed in a future Blog / Vlog.
Our newest favorite product for spot whitening of the long beard or stained paws is Pure Paws Whitening Foam. It is far more effective at whitening the stained beard then all of the previous products we have showed you. Whitening Foam and White Magic are very different applications.
If you need a product to break up the protein stains in the paws, Pure Paws has a Bio-Ensymatic Pretreatment Spray that safely removes protein stains.

In the video we share one of our WINTER WHITE Pure Paws Spa Smoothie mixtures.   The winter can bring drier coats for our girls so we mix Amplify Shampoo with Silk Basics Shampoo, or we sometimes use Silk Basics only.     We will add a TINY amount of WHITE MAGIC about once every 3-4 baths to help brighten and whiten the girls coats.
The STAR LINE Brightening Shampoo is also a good alternative to the WHITE MAGIC.    You can use this alone diluted 1:10 or 1:12, or you can mix this Star Line Brightening Shampoo with the SILK Basics, Amplify or Reconstructing Lines from Pure Paws.
NOTE:    Please test on a small patch before using any of the whitening products by Pure Paws.    Heavier then normal conditioning is also recommended after using any of the whitening line products.

MINK OBSESSION:  New Minky MO Bows

 

The White Magic:    

A few drops or a 1/4  cap or  1/2 cap can be added to a bath smoothie mixture to give the coat an extra boost of brightening and whitening. 
PurePaws.net Information on White Magic
With our White Magic Shampoo, any dog with white hair that needs to look a little whiter and a little brighter is in luck. Pure Paws White Magic Shampoo is a coloring shampoo. It is important to know that when using any bluing shampoo, the coat should be very healthy.If the coat has been altered with any products that pull color such as enzymatic shampoos or bleaching products, the hair shafts with remain open and absorb color more rapidly. Another thing to remember is that the shampoo must be diluted to the point that the suds turn white rather than blue: White Suds=White Coat and Blue Suds=Blue Coat. Also for DOUBLE COATED breeds or other breeds with absorbent coats, the colors take effect much sooner and with more pigment. White Magic is a true whitening shampoo. This shampoo is a semi-permanent color, with a plant derived sufactant base. This whitening shampoo adds shine, controls frizz and prevents tangles and will NOT dry out or damage the coat! NOTE:If this is your first time using the White Magic, we recommend a slightly higher dilution ratio of 10 or 15 parts water to 1 part shampoo. DO NOT let the product sit in the coat until you are more familiar with the product. remember that every coat type has a different porosity and will absorb differently.

The Whitening Foam:

 
The Whitening Foam is designed to safely remove protein based stains utilizing enzymes, titanium dioxide and violet colorant.
NOTE:   Please test patch before using directly on your dog
We at MO like using the Whitening Foam on long beards that are stained and on stained feet.    This is NOT MADE for tear stains, so PLEASE AVOID THE EYES.

LOVE MY EYES for TEAR STAINS

We recommend the LOVE MY EYES KIT or the LOVE MY EYES FACE WASH made for TEAR STAINS.   We hope to soon shoot a video tutorial on how we use this product.   A professional line to eliminate tear stains.

Travel Kits

A Great Way to Try the Whitening Lines

A great way to test out the different PURE PAWS lines is by trying out their TRAVEL KITS.    Remember that these are professional products and that you should dilute the shampoos 1 part shampoo to 10-12 parts warm water.   The travel kits can last quite a good amount of shampoos with the required dilution.
Silk Basics Travel Kit
Reconstruction Travel Kit
Oats & Aloe Travel Kit
WHITENING KIT
Amplify Line Travel Kit

Blow Drying Brushes Used

Blow drying can make all the difference in how the dog will ultimately look.   It is especially important to blow dry correcting before any trimming or clipper work.    A great blow dryer and great brushes help make blow drying results great.     We LOVE the Chris Christensen wooden pin brush and the wooden slicker brush (Mark II Small Slicker Brush).     The wooden pin brush helps avoid any injury when drying around the face.     The Mark II Small Slicker brush is AMAZING at pulling the hair straight.    Pure Paws also had a slicker brush, which I also LOVE, but they are sold out at the moment.


Just Food For Dogs Turducken Recall

JFFD RECALL
As we posted during Thanksgiving, the girls of TEAM MO enjoyed the JFFD Turducken special holiday food.
On Christmas, the girls began eating a NEW BATCH of the JFFD Turducken, which caused all four of the girls to experience some vomiting and bloody diarrhea. We took the girls off of this food and put them on clear rice porridge to heal up their tummy’s. We tried to identify this first mild illness to either the food or their JFFD treats. We took the girls off of all treats.
 
When they tried this same new batch of Turducken, they again suffered vomiting and diarrhea again. This time all four girls also suffered from bloody diarrhea. We took this batch of Turducken back to JFFD for testing and this is what they found. (see below)
 
Team MO as you saw from our LIVE feed yesterday are all better now. We had settled their digestive system on warm asian rice porridge for a few days and we slowly introduced them back to their normal JFFD Venison and Squash recipe as well as our home cooked foods. The JFFD treats were next introduced back into their diet.
 
December: We notified JFFD and returned the batch of food to them
January 12th: The letter attached went out to their customers after the JFFD Veterinarian first consulted with us of their findings.
January 15th: A subsequent letter went out as the Listeria, which is what caused Tweety, Cosette, Dolce and Pinky to become ill, was isolated to the human grade green beans.
 
We are sharing this with you as we have been supporters of JFFD for many years now. We also enjoy home cooking for our girls. Tweety was very ill 6 years ago and was suffering from IBD/ IBS. Home cooking along with JFFD has definitely prolonged her life and improved her quality of life.
 
Maltese Obsession is a maltese grooming and lifestyle page, where we love to be in positive uplifting community with fellow maltese owners. We now share our story as it relates to this situation.
 
Tweety, Cosette, Pinky and Dolce are the little angels, who have helped uncover Listeria monocytogenes found in the human grade food supply of green beans.
 
Hugs and Wet Kisses from
Team Maltese Obsession

Preparing for a new Puppy – Puppy Villa – Puppy Condo

Congratulations on your New PUPPY!

Heaven on Earth is to LOVE and BE LOVED by a Maltese” ❤️

 

We will shoot updated ‘TEAR STAINING REMOVAL & CARE’ tutorials, so look for them on our Youtube channel in the future months.  

We also plan on doing a POTTY TRAINING series of videos.

  • Tropiclean Bluerberry Facial Scrub
  • Chris Christensen Happy Eyes Tearless Shampoo
  • Oatmeal Sensitive Skin Shampoo from any line, but we favor Pure Paws Oats and Aloe
  • Butler Schein Tear Stain Remover (take care not to get into eyes)
  • Artero PRETTY EYES Tear Stain Eye Cleaner (please avoid getting into eyes)
  • CET Vanilla Mint Toothpaste and CET Tiny Toothbrush
  • Madan Pin Brush, face comb and steel tail comb from Toplinepet.com
  • Chris Christensen  Wooden Pin Brush
  • Bone Snap Clips from our MO Bling SHOP
  • Elastic Hair Bands from Toplinepet.com
  • Tiny Comfortable Harness (we carry XXS sizes for new puppies or teeny tinies)

 

Bone Snap Clips
Pretty Purples Bone Snaps
Beautiful Blues Bone Snaps
Pinky Pinks Bone Snaps
Extra Extra Small XXS is perfect for puppies and teeny tinies
PINK SNOOD for grooming or holding the hair back during meals
Madan Pin Brushes
Madan Combs
SNOOD in BLUE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Effective Dec, 18th — We carry Pure Paws travel kits with more items to be added soon.    You can order from us or from PurePaws.net

AMAZON LINKS:

If you prefer Chris Christensen over Madan for brushes and combs, the Chris Christensen pin brushes, slicker brushes, wooden pin brushes and metal combs are excellent:






Amazon:

 

A great less expensive alternative wooden pin brush that I love for both myself and my dogs are:

 

VIDEO

Maltese Puppy Villa Supplies

  • Pee Pads from COSTCO or from AMAZON
  • Puppy Pee Pad Tray or we use a washing machine tray from HomeDepot or Lowes
  • X-Pen aka Excercise Pen
  • Water Bowl
  • Puppy Teething and Play Toys
  • Puppy Bed(s) … will have accidents, so you’ll want to pick up a few
  • Puppy Blankets (where you can rub your human scent on so the puppy can still smell you when you are not with them)
  • Plastic Shower Curtain to lay underneath the Puppy Villa




Some pee tray ideas. Check the size and you’ll want a pretty low lip so that the puppy can easily hop in to go potty. For boys you can get a little fire hydrant and place in the middle of the tray.  The tray replacements for the wire crates work well.

 

WARNING: This Laundry Machine Tray is HUGE, but I wanted to leave you a link … it can be found at Home Depot or Lowes. We love these as we have multiple dogs.

 

Costco Pee Pads … they are typically around $14.99 depending on your local Costco Pricing
Laundry Machine catch tray from HomeDepot or Lowes … these are large and awesome for multiple dogs.
Extra Extra Small TINY Comfortable Vest Harness with a matching Leash

 PUPPY FOOD AND TREATS

There are so many amazing choices in what to feed your new puppies.    Generally you’ll want to keep the puppy on the same food as what the breeder had them on.    You can transition to a new food slowly to ensure that you won’t be having to clean up a mucky wet sick poop.   Experiment with foods that your puppy will enjoy as well as one that will help produce nice clean stool.   Runny poops for consecutive days may mean that the puppy does not tolerate the food or treat.

We have experimented with kibble, raw and a variety of premium dog foods.   Tweety had an illness that required her to be on either a prescription diet or a limited ingredient grain free diet.   We chose to bring Tweety back to health by home cooking a grain free diet for her.   Currently we still either home cook or we purchase food from JUSTFOODFORDOGS.com     The girls also enjoy the JUSTFOODFORDOG treats.    They LOVE the food and they have maintained and overall great health.

Puppy Preferences

Puppies are pack animals and love sleeping and hanging out with their humans.    We recommend getting a BIG HUMAN bed.    We started training our girls by having them sleep inside their puppy crate in the middle of our bed.    I woke up in the middle of the night several hours apart to let them out to potty on the pee pad in our bathroom.    We did our potty sessions with low light and zero conversation to keep the puppy relaxed and to let them know that night time was for sleeping.   After a quick potty break they were put back in their little crate for more sleep.    The puppy quickly learned to not potty until morning and they were eventually able to sleep through the entire evening without a potty break.

Some families prefer the puppy to sleep alone in their puppy villa.    If possible it is best to have a separate puppy villa as close to a human family member as possible so that the puppy can not be alone and scared.    We recommend having a ticking clock near the puppy to allow the puppy to hear the pulse of mama’s heartbeat.    A huge comfort to the puppy when then they can’t be right next to their humans is clothes or blankets that have the human scent on them.   We like to throw our sweatshirts or t-shirts in with the young puppies to allow them to nest in something soft that smells like us.   Puppies have just been separated from their Mama and pack so they will be grieving the loss of their loves, but they will absolutely bond and love with their humans.

 

HUGS and WET KISSES to all the new forever furry kiddos you’ll be welcoming into your hearts and homes!

 

Items you can buy on our MO SHOP or on AMAZON:


 

The GIANT Waterproof liner that we put underneath the pen is great, though we do suggest putting a thick clear shower curtain as the very bottom layer, can be found on Amazon. Links below:

GROOMING OBSESSION: Maltese Grooming at HOME – Body Trimming and Face Shaping

 

 

 

We will soon list the items that we used in this video so that you can find them on Amazon to purchase.

Bone Clips
Snood
Dolce FLIP TOOL

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 








NAIL Obsession: Using an ELECTRIC Nail Grinder to shorten nails

 

 

 

 



 

BATH – How We BATH a MALTESE DOG at Home

We have several ways to bath our dogs.    We often use soaking tubs to have the dogs SOAK in Shampoo as well as Conditioner.

DSC_6949BlogBathtub IMG_7713BlogBathtub

 

 

 

 

Soaking tubs are great for deep cleansing and conditioning.   You can find these drink tubs at Michaels during the summer months.   Foot soaking tubs that we have linked below are also great bath tubs for maltese less then 5 pounds.

 

 

 

 

Tweetybathtub

SHAMPOO OBSESSION:

We use a variety of products on the dogs that we groom.    When we bath puppies or dogs with sensitive skin issues, we like to use PURE PAWS OATS and ALOE.

FACE SHAMPOOS USED:

Tropiclean Blueberry Facial Scrub — rinsed thoroughly and condition afterwards as it can cause hair to dry out if left in too long.

Chris Christens HAPPY EYES, Tearless Shampoo — Sulfate Free === This was a first time using this product.   I like how safe it is for the face.

I also used the SHOW PREMIUM PET PRODUCTS  ROYAL TREATMENT Shampoo on Dolce’s face.   THIS product is NOT made for the face as it is a body shampoo, but I enjoy the way it smells on the dogs faces.   I am very careful not to get this product in the eyes as it is NOT a Tearless shampoo, albeit it is a SLS free product.

BODY SHAMPOOS USED:

PurePaws SILK BASICS Shampoo

PurePaws RECONSTRUCTING CONDITIONER mixed with PURE PAWS SILK CREME Conditioner

PURE PAWS is available at PUREPAWS.net or in our MO SHOP for cheaper shipping.    Amazon has some but the prices are very high!

 

DolceBath5

 

 

 

 


 


After we bathe the dog, we immediately clean out the ears.   We also clean the ears weekly if possible to prevent ear infections.

 

 






 

 


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