Ph And Saliva Stains - Anything New?

[Guest whitefawn]

Hi everyone,

 

I know there are a few threads on this topic, including one I started myself, but I wanted to reach out and ask people if they have any new suggestion as to what to do with this issue.

 

Winnie has been having reddish saliva staining/crusting issues on and off for the past three years, and I'm still not entirely sure what the culprit is. This new bout of staining has been lasting for about two months, though I haven't recently changed anything in her diet. I understand there are several theories on what causes saliva staining -like a red yeast overgrowth, bacterial infections, porphyrin oxidation, etc- but it all seems to boil down to a pH unbalance in the dog's saliva. However, I'm unsure if, if this is actually the case, I should work on making Winnie's saliva more alkaline or more acidic and if there is a safe way to do it. My gut feeling is that this is not just a cosmetic issue, and that it points at a systemic unbalance that may not be serious but should be addressed all the same.

 

There's been a lot written on how adding low doses of supplements containing tylosin (such as Angel's Eyes) quickly fixes tear and saliva staining. Using an antibiotic long-term for cosmetic reasons seems to me like a very stupid and irresponsible thing to do, but might be confirming the idea that using other means to tweak the dog's saliva pH is the way to go. I've also read that stress can sometimes make the staining worse, which people attribute to the dog licking his/her mouth more out of anxiety, but I was wondering if the real cause might be that stress actually acidifies saliva.

 

I was wondering if anyone had worked on using supplements to alkalize their dog's saliva, which I understand can have beneficial effects on oral health, bad breath, etc. I think I read somewhere that adding wheatgrass to the dog's food could help for that.

 

As a side note, Winnie does have IBD, and is a quite anxious dog. We also just went through a major relocation, which she's apparently handling quite well, but who knows what's going on in her tummy... Also, gently rubbing her face with a little baking soda does help a lot with the crusting and staining, but I feel I can't really do that on her everyday without risking to damage her skin... Any thoughts? Thanks everyone!

[macoduck]

I found this article which addresses some of your questions: http://www.leospetcare.com/a-veterinary-guide-to-tear-stains/

 

And this one too: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2014/11/12/pet-tear-staining.aspx