Epiphora is the medical term for excessive tearing or overflow of tears from a dog’s eyes. You’ll notice it as wet, damp fur beneath the eyes, sometimes with reddish-brown staining on lighter-colored coats. While it can be purely cosmetic in some breeds, epiphora often signals an underlying problem with tear production, tear drainage, or eye irritation that needs attention.
What Causes Excessive Tearing
Tears in a healthy dog’s eye drain through two tiny openings near the inner corner of each eye, flowing down through a narrow duct into the nose. Epiphora happens when something disrupts this system, either by producing too many tears or by blocking the drainage path so normal tears spill over.
Overproduction of tears is usually a response to irritation. Anything that bothers the eye surface triggers the tear glands to ramp up. Common culprits include corneal scratches or ulcers, foreign material like grass seeds or dust, eyelashes growing inward (a condition called distichiasis), eyelids rolling inward so fur rubs against the eye (entropion), allergies, and infections of the eye’s outer membrane (conjunctivitis). Glaucoma, which raises pressure inside the eye, can also cause tearing along with more serious symptoms like a cloudy or enlarged eye.
Blocked drainage is the other major category. Dogs can be born with tear ducts that never fully opened, or their ducts can become clogged by debris, mucus, or scarring from past infections. Inflammation from chronic eye or sinus infections sometimes narrows the duct over time. In some cases, the tiny drainage openings are present but positioned slightly wrong, so tears don’t flow into them properly.
Breeds More Prone to Epiphora
Flat-faced (brachycephalic) breeds are especially susceptible. Bulldogs, Pugs, Shih Tzus, Pekingese, and Boston Terriers have shallow eye sockets and prominent eyes, which changes the angle of their tear drainage and makes overflow more likely. Many of these dogs also have slightly rolled-in lower eyelids that prevent tears from reaching the drainage openings at all.
Small white or light-coated breeds like Maltese, Bichon Frises, and Toy Poodles are famous for reddish-brown tear stains beneath their eyes. The tearing itself may be mild, but the staining makes it highly visible. That discoloration comes from porphyrins, iron-containing pigments naturally present in tears and saliva. When these compounds sit on fur and are exposed to light, they oxidize and turn a rusty brown color. The staining is cosmetic, not harmful, but it often prompts owners to investigate the underlying cause.
Cocker Spaniels, Golden Retrievers, and some other breeds are predisposed to abnormal eyelash growth, which causes chronic eye irritation and secondary tearing.
Signs to Watch For
The most obvious sign is persistently wet fur around one or both eyes. In mild cases, you may only notice dampness. In more pronounced cases, you’ll see visible tear tracks running down the face, matted or discolored fur, and sometimes a mild odor from fur that stays perpetually moist. That damp environment can also lead to skin irritation or bacterial and yeast infections in the skin folds beneath the eyes, creating a cycle of redness, itchiness, and more tearing.
Pay attention to whether the discharge is clear and watery or thick and colored. Clear, watery overflow is classic epiphora. A yellow or green discharge points more toward infection. Mucus-like discharge can indicate dry eye (where the eye compensates with a different type of secretion) or other inflammatory conditions. Also note whether the tearing affects one eye or both. One-sided tearing is more likely caused by a foreign body, a blocked duct on that side, or a localized injury, while bilateral tearing suggests allergies, conformational issues, or systemic causes.
How Epiphora Is Diagnosed
A veterinarian will start with a thorough eye exam, often using a magnifying lens to check the cornea, eyelid margins, and eyelash line for abnormalities. A fluorescein stain test is standard: a drop of bright orange-green dye is placed on the eye surface. If a corneal ulcer or scratch is present, the dye pools in the damaged area and glows under a special light. The same dye also helps evaluate drainage. After a few minutes, the vet checks whether the dye has traveled through the tear duct and appeared at the dog’s nostril. If it hasn’t, the duct is likely blocked or underdeveloped.
A Schirmer tear test measures tear production by placing a small paper strip inside the lower eyelid for one minute. This helps distinguish between eyes that are producing too many tears and eyes that may actually have low tear production with compensatory overflow. Pressure inside the eye can be measured with a painless handheld device to rule out glaucoma. In cases where duct blockage is suspected, a veterinarian may attempt to flush the tear duct with saline using a small catheter to see whether fluid passes through.
Treatment Options
Treatment depends entirely on the underlying cause, which is why diagnosis matters more than treating the tearing itself.
If an irritant is responsible, removing it resolves the problem. Foreign bodies are flushed out or carefully extracted. Abnormal eyelashes can be removed through various methods, though they sometimes regrow and require repeat treatment or a minor surgical procedure to permanently destroy the affected follicles. Entropion, where the eyelid rolls inward, is corrected with surgery to reposition the lid so fur no longer contacts the eye surface. Recovery from eyelid surgery typically takes two to three weeks, and results are usually excellent.
Eye infections and conjunctivitis are treated with medicated eye drops or ointments, often containing antibiotics or anti-inflammatory agents. Allergic causes may respond to identifying and reducing exposure to the trigger, along with anti-inflammatory eye drops during flare-ups. If allergies are seasonal, the tearing may come and go predictably each year.
Blocked tear ducts can sometimes be opened by flushing them under sedation. The vet passes saline through the duct under gentle pressure to clear debris or mucus. This works well for acquired blockages but may need to be repeated. Dogs born with ducts that never fully formed may not respond to flushing, and surgical creation of a new drainage pathway is possible but rarely performed because it carries a limited success rate.
For flat-faced breeds whose epiphora is primarily conformational, meaning it results from their facial structure rather than disease, the tearing may be a lifelong reality. Management focuses on keeping the area clean and dry. Wiping beneath the eyes once or twice daily with a damp cloth or a gentle eye-safe cleaning solution helps prevent skin irritation and reduces staining. Keeping the fur trimmed short around the eyes minimizes moisture retention.
Managing Tear Staining
Tear staining is the cosmetic side of epiphora that bothers many dog owners, particularly with white-coated breeds. Because the reddish-brown color comes from porphyrins that oxidize on contact with light and air, the key to reducing staining is minimizing how long tears sit on the fur. Daily wiping is the most effective approach. Some owners use diluted hydrogen peroxide or specialized tear stain removers on already-discolored fur, though these should be kept well away from the eyes themselves.
Products marketed as tear stain supplements, often containing tylosin or other low-dose antibiotics, have been used by some breeders and owners. However, routine antibiotic use for a cosmetic issue raises concerns about resistance and is not recommended by most veterinary professionals. A more practical approach is addressing any contributing factors (diet sensitivities, water mineral content, underlying low-grade infections) and committing to consistent daily cleaning. Switching from plastic food and water bowls to stainless steel or ceramic can help, as plastic bowls can harbor bacteria that worsen facial irritation.
Staining that has already set into the fur won’t disappear with cleaning alone. It grows out over time as new, unstained fur replaces the discolored hair. With consistent management, you’ll typically see a noticeable improvement over four to six weeks as the clean fur grows in.