My Chihuahua has some serious tears. I clean around her eyes with a tear stain remover, rinse with water, and dry. 1 hr later and the dirt and crap is all around her eyes again. I cleaned her eyes twice daily and it kept coming back. On Sat she has an appointment with the vet for the last of her puppy shots and I will see what they say. This can't be normal tears. It's black and comes off like greasy dirt. Her ears get black crap in them as well. I cleaned her up yesterday and today the dirt is back in her ear. She's an indoor dog.
Eyes What !?
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What does she eat? Sometimes this can be a symptom of a food or ingredient allergy.
Reggie and Delilah had awful eye gunk that I would have to clean off several times a day until I switched them to grain free food. It, too, would be black and like greasy dirt. I noticed a week after starting the grain free food that I didn't need to do it any more. And Marmalade no longer has tear staining on her white fur.
I fed Orijen/Acana up until this summer, Lion still had a lot of tear staining and gunky eyes. His eyes are better now after switching to raw/ZiwiPeak, but it still isn't completely gone.
I have Nature's Recipe right now. I didn't like that it had pumpkin in it, it makes their poops kinda soft. But I tried Blue Buffalo Wilderness grain free and it gave Bouncer and Smoke bad gas and Isis got a rash on her stomach. So we are back to the Nature's Recipe again. Still looking for a better food that I wouldn't have to buy online, but I may have to go that route.
Maybe check which ingredients are different between the two and that may be what Charlie is allergic to. That's how I found out Gonzo is allergic corn and wheat and Billy is deathly allergic to corn and barley. I never did figure out what caused the eye junk, but the changing to grain free worked for me. I have switched through many foods trying to find somthing they all could eat. It's a never ending search, it seems. 
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Pam can you get Taste of the Wild? It''s a pretty affordable option which I'm sure is a consideration with all those mouths to feed!
I hadn't thought to do that. That's a good idea. Thanks for the suggestion.Maybe check which ingredients are different between the two and that may be what Charlie is allergic to. That's how I found out Gonzo is allergic corn and wheat and Billy is deathly allergic to corn and barley. I never did figure out what caused the eye junk, but the changing to grain free worked for me. I have switched through many foods trying to find somthing they all could eat. It's a never ending search, it seems.
I am lucky here as far as availability. There are two stores in town who carry some of the better brands of dog food, another store about thity minutes away that carries several more and another store an hour away that has everything including frozen raw. But I only have two to feed. I ordered the Ziwipeak because I got that Groupon. I' m only feeding two dogs though. I'm sure it gets more complicated when you are feeding several dogs.
Okay, I will switch up her food. Come to think of it, this problem started when she got off her old puppy chow and I had to buy new stuff. As far as her ears, they have gotten better. The left has the most problems. I cleaned them out a fey days ago and they are still fairly clean.
I suggest you try Instinct, no grain or fillers, or soy. No corn, either. Very high in protein, really good quality. Ember won't eat anything other the that. I also suggest Natural Balance, Prairie, Innova, and Wellness (Certain types do have grain, though). Hope this helps.
If it's really awful, you can also try feeding a homemade limited ingredient diet for a week or so to see if it improves. Something like cooked chicken and rice or beef and potatoes or some such. If the eyes improve, then you can try a kibble with those things as a base without any other grains.
Also, definitely ask the vet about her eye guck. Long-term allergies can also lead to secondary infections, if your dog does a lot of rubbing or itching. A change in food could alleviate the original problem, but you'd still have issues until you resolved the secondary infection.
Also, definitely ask the vet about her eye guck. Long-term allergies can also lead to secondary infections, if your dog does a lot of rubbing or itching. A change in food could alleviate the original problem, but you'd still have issues until you resolved the secondary infection.
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