# Has anybody tried Naturvet Tear Stain Supplement?



## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

Just wondering, anyone tried Naturvet Tear Stain Supplement? 

It's this stuff: http://www.petco.com/product/109348/NaturVet-Tear-Stain-Dog-and-Cat-Supplement.aspx

And the ingredients are...

Cranberry extract, Vitamin C, Oregon Grape Root, Marshmallow Root, Dried Whey, Natural Flavoring, Non-Fat Dry Milk, Silica Aerogel and Stevia.

Pros as far as I can see...non antibiotic unlike Angel's Eyes. Some positive reviews out there, but not many. Much cheaper than Angel's eyes, too.

Possible cons: Pretttttyy sure milk doesn't agree with most dogs. Why does my doggie need Silica Aerogel? Stevia?

Will be taking it to my vet tomorrow to ask about it as I have to bring Bryco in for well puppy check =) 

But...any experiences anyone can share?


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## 18453 (Feb 6, 2010)

Not me, but i'll bump it up.. i hate it when loads of people read and no one answers!!


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

Thanks Daisydoo & Sarah =) I have never even heard of it before I was at the shop the other day. Just wondering if anyone has even heard of it working? Oakley's face is clear now and I'd like to keep it that way!


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## Terri (Aug 21, 2009)

I havent heard of it.
I would like to get something to help with Daisy's staining though.
I wipe them with eye wipes everyday, some days they are less noticable than others.


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

Terri said:


> I havent heard of it.
> I would like to get something to help with Daisy's staining though.
> I wipe them with eye wipes everyday, some days they are less noticable than others.


I did use angel's eyes with moderate success after my vet gave the blessing haha. Said one bottle wouldn't do any harm. Now I am looking for a more natural non antibiotic formula for maintenance. Guess I'll be writing a review for this one too!


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## Guess (Sep 23, 2009)

If you find anything that works miracles, DO let us all know!!

my Versachi, although not cream/white or even a light shade, has HORRIBLE tear stains, and I've tried the generic, topical crap you can pick up at every pet store but they haven't really done much of anything.

My other two don't really have it, maybe once a week they'll get something in their eye and it will water and tear just below, but they dont have any stains.

My poor chichi has stains running from the corners of his eyes to the sides of his muzzle! He looks like a cheetah - lol!


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

Guess said:


> If you find anything that works miracles, DO let us all know!!
> 
> my Versachi, although not cream/white or even a light shade, has HORRIBLE tear stains, and I've tried the generic, topical crap you can pick up at every pet store but they haven't really done much of anything.
> 
> ...


If you are willing to use a more expensive product that has antibiotic in it in very small amounts, Angel's Eyes *DOES* work. In 2 months it cleared about 70% of Oakley's horrible staining and we stopped using it and have just been using topical and her face has stayed clear. I wrote a review of it here:

http://www.chihuahua-people.com/showthread.php?t=50859&highlight=angels+eyes+review

But now I'd like to try this new product to see if it works also as it has no antibiotic. I am just really unsure about the Stevia in it.


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## Guess (Sep 23, 2009)

Hmm, yes I've heard a lot about Angel eyes, and even seen a bunch of their photos online on their website.

I've always been too afraid to try it, and it is rather pricey! I've seen tons of stuff about eye envy, it's a lot cheaper, but once again they have the antibiotics/antibacterial in it. They have a 'herbal' one too, but they say that it should be used for maintenance only.


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## dean (Jun 2, 2010)

flippedstars said:


> Just wondering, anyone tried Naturvet Tear Stain Supplement?
> 
> It's this stuff: http://www.petco.com/product/109348/NaturVet-Tear-Stain-Dog-and-Cat-Supplement.aspx
> 
> ...


Hi there,

I use another natural product but I do know some people with St Bernard's that use the Naturvet stuff.

They are happy with it, besides you cant get Angels Eyes in Europe anymore since it was banned.

With regard to the ingredients:

Silica Aerogel is a binding agent- without it the ingredients would separate in transit. 

Dried milk- not sure why this is used but the quantity is very low.

Stevia- this is a natural sweetener, there are lots of people raving about its potential use in human foods at the moment, better and safer than real sugar or artificial sweeteners.

If you are in the USA I believe that all of the Naturvet products have a money back guarantee, not sure if this applies outside of the USA.

I do use some of their other products such as the glucosamine and overall I rate them as an ethical and upfront company.

Please do let us know how you get on.

Warmest regards


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## dlynn (Sep 27, 2010)

I am definitely interested in trying this, as far as the stevia goes, while the flavor might be the main factor of this ingredient, this herb has great naturally occurring ANTI BACTERIAL, anti fungal, anti- inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-yeast, properties. Super for brushing teeth.

Angel Eyes does definitely help, but I stopped it too early and have to start the process over again, if I can use something more natural and budget fitting that would be great!


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## cprcheetah (May 4, 2009)

I do not know if they've determined if Stevia is safe for dogs yet or not, I know if you google dangers of Stevia it comes up with things that it can cause Reproductive Issues, Blood Pressure issues & Cancer, but not sure, my Dr told my hubby and I it was safe to use and not to use Agave as a sweetener. I did read where it can lower their blood pressure in a dog with kidney failure, but not sure if it would have adverse affects on 'normal' dogs?

STEVIA REPORT-HEALTH BENEFITS, WARNING, AND USES
DOG Stevioside (from the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana) also showed significant hypotensive effects in renal hypertensive dogs, in a dose-dependent manner and its hypotensive (blood pressure lowering effect) mechanism may be probably due to inhibition of the Ca(2+) influx.

Also there are a lot of complaints with it causing Hypoglycemia STEVIA Side effects where our little chi's are already prone to that, not sure if I'd take the risk.


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## Babi.Greenwood (Sep 27, 2010)

I used to have a Bichon with horrible eye staining. I did use the baking soda paste when we first adopted her because she was in rough shape. I tried the vinegar in her water but she wouldn't touch the water (smart dog! Yuck!) I didn't try any "bought" products but the one thing that we found by "mistake" was that the tap water was causing her stains. We always drink bottled water and started giving that to her and her staining stopped. I didn't believe it was the water that kept the staining from happening so I gave her tap water again and the staining came back. So, she got bottled water from then on. Our Chihuahua doesn't seem to have any staining but her eyes water sometimes.


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## ILoveLucy (Oct 7, 2010)

I just bought this, Stevia is not listed in the ingredients list. What I bought is a powder to be added to food.


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## widogmom (Mar 23, 2011)

It sounds like it just acidifies the pH of the tears, which might counteract amylase staining. You'll be acidifying the pH of the whole dog, though, which, while it might help prevent UTIs, may have other unintended consequences. Always best to ask your vet, as you said.


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## ILoveLucy (Oct 7, 2010)

widogmom said:


> It sounds like it just acidifies the pH of the tears, which might counteract amylase staining. You'll be acidifying the pH of the whole dog, though, which, while it might help prevent UTIs, may have other unintended consequences. Always best to ask your vet, as you said.


Are you talking about the NaturVet? What ingredient do you think causes acidification? Thanks


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## widogmom (Mar 23, 2011)

Well, the cranberry for sure (I've used that to acidify my dogs for years; keeps the UTIs down) and possibly the calcium ascorbate, which is the calcium salt of ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Calcium ascorbate is what they put in Fruit Fresh to keep your bananas from turning brown, which is probably how it works on tear stains.


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## Tink (Oct 14, 2009)

Tango's white and tear staining was an ongoing problem. But like many of you, I had NO interest in giving him a product with an antibiotic in it. I haven't heard of the product the OP was asking about, but what *I* use and it has been very successful is Eye Envy. It's all natural, a 2 part application, wash with the liquid, and pat on a powder afterwards. It's not quick, but it's very effective. 

If I can find them easily, I'll dig up some before and after photos of Tango. One eye is worse than the other, and he had an ongoing dime sized stain under one of his eyes, while the other was less affected. I don't remember now how long it took for the Eye Envy to work, but it DID work, and he became stain free. I don't use it all the time, (I could, it's all natural ingredients) but when I notice staining starting to build up under that one eye, I use it for about a week and the stains go away again. 

It's very effective with NO crap ingredients. 

Go here for info

Edited To Add: I'm kind of a Nazi about them ingesting stuff, or adding anything to their food that isn't all natural. It's one thing to dab a bit of fish oil on their kibble, but another entirely to add something to their water or kibble that has chemicals in it. Which is another reason why the Eye Envy worked for me. They didn't have to *ingest* anything!


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## Shamelle (Jan 20, 2010)

I bought it to try but when I read about the stevia I stopped using it. Instead I read that if you use bottled water of filtered water the tear stains would disappear so I started filtering the water, even the water I cook their food in and within 1 to 2 months the tear stains were all gone.


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

I never even ended up using the product...since I switched them to a raw/natural diet, we stopped having trouble with tearing...but, I too have heard using bottled water is effective.


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## Shamelle (Jan 20, 2010)

> I never even ended up using the product...since I switched them to a raw/natural diet, we stopped having trouble with tearing...but, I too have heard using bottled water is effective.


I don't know if it works for us because we have hard water or if it would work for everyone but the fact that diet change has worked for you would suggest that there is more than one cause of tear stains.


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## jesshan (Sep 15, 2005)

Try using contact lense cleaner, its safe for human eyes therefore safe for dogs.


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