Dog With Brown Tears in the Eye: Common Causes and How to Clean Without Irritating

Brown tear stains or brown crust at the corner of a dog’s eye are usually dried tears (often pigmented by porphyrins) plus trapped debris. This guide explains common causes, how to clean gently with minimal irritation.

TL;DR
Brown “tears” are usually dried tears (porphyrins?) that stain the fur, plus normal debris, most commonly in light-coated flat-faced dogs. If your dog’s eye is red, squinty, swollen, and/or producing thick yellow or green discharge, or if suddenly they’ve started tearing just one eye, please don’t try home remedies; it’s time to call the vet—eye problems can progress rapidly. For brown staining or crust that isn’t red or sore, soften the crust with a warm compress for a few minutes, clean around the eye with sterile saline on a piece of gauze, and dry the area thoroughly. Never put hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, essential oils or “whitening” chemicals anywhere on or near your dog’s eye; contact as these substances can cause serious burns. Long-term improvement usually results from treating the root cause—whatever is causing the hair to rub, an allergy, conformation of the lids, decreased drainage, or infection of the eye.

What do brown tears mean?

For the most part, “brown tears” really means one of two things:

• Brown staining on the fur below the eye (i.e., the tear stained areas)
• Brown crust (or gunk) on the inside corner of the eye (i.e., dried tears mixed with mucus, oil, dust, skin debris)

A small amount of light brown colored crust (especially after sleeping) is normal, provided it’s fairly consistent and eye appearance is normal (open, clear appearance, not red). “The rusty brown color is probably due to a natural pigment found in many tears known as a porphyrin.” When tears overflow and dry on fur, the pigment can oxidize and leave a reddish-brown stain that’s more obvious on a white or light coat.

Common causes of brown tearing or tear staining

Brown staining is a symptom, not a diagnosis, and the key is figuring out why are tears overflowing (found your epiphora yet?) or why is discharge increasing? The most common, practical causes are:

• Normal anatomy / breed tendency: Flat-faced (brachycephalic) dogs and some toy breeds may have tear overflow because the tears have a difficult time draining through normal anatomical structures; often facial folds around the mouth can “wick” moisture into the fur as well
• Hair rubbing near the eye: Long hair, to give one example, tight facial folds, or abnormal eyelashes rubbing the eye surface can cause irritation that generates reflex tearing
• Allergies and irritating substances: Pollen, dust, smoke, toiletry shedding, grooming products, and seasonal allergies may cause watery eyes and resulting staining
• Conjunctivitis or mild infection: May have that same appearance, perhaps with a bit more red rim though. In some way it adds to tearing and discharge
• Prior or existing blocked or narrowed tear drainage (nasolacrimal ductok, wear notifed): Normal production of tears and the resulting build-up, but impaired drainage so spilling out onto the face
• Eyelid shape problems, e.g., entropion, ectropion: Where lids roll in or out might impact drainage (also might be rubbing the eye)
• Corneal injury/ulcer: Often likely painful; squinting, pawing warily at the injured area, and increased tearing will be evident
• Serious eye disease: With tearing, pain and possibly redness; urgent to evaluate
• Secondary skin irritation/infection under the eye: Constantly dampened, wee soaked, under-fur can irritate skin, and allow overgrowth of normal bacteria/yeast. This may stank, redden irregularly with a kind of rash.

Diagnostic tip: one eye or both?

If just one eye starts weeping or crusting more rapidly, it raises the degree of suspicion for a localized problem (foreign body, scratch, a blocked duct on that side, injury, infection); if both eyes are affected, it’s likely allergies, irritants, or breed anatomy (though infections can involve both eyes too). Here are a few common scenarios brown-eyed dogs may present with, with no rubbing of the eyeball, so the area becomes less likely to be inflamed:

• Light brown crust in the corner after sleep; eyes clear; same amount daily = normal “sleep” (i.e. dried tears + debris). Wipe gently and monitor; bring up at next routine vet visit if increases
• Wet fur under eyes with rusty stains; dog seems comfortable = porphyrin tear staining from overflow (often due to anatomy, hair rubbing, mild irritants). Start a gentle daily cleaning + drying routine, trim hair, and monitor for changes
• New or worsening tearing; one eye more than the other = foreign body, scratch/ulcer, blocked drainage, early infection. Call your vet for guidance (same day is ideal)
• Red eye, squinting, pawing/rubbing, light sensitivity = painful eye problem (e.g. ulcer, injury, glaucoma, severe infection). Require urgent vet/emergency visit—don’t wait
• Thick yellow/green discharge or swollen eyelids = infection/inflammation (of the eye/in eyelids, often requiring prescription treatment). Vet visit soon, and avoid random home chemicals and “whiteners”
• Wet fur + odor + red, irritated skin under the eye = moist dermatitis/secondary skin infection from chronic wetness. Vet visit recommended, and try to keep clean and dry until seen.

How to clean brown tears step by step (low irritation):

The goal is simple: remove the buildup without rubbing the eyeball, and keep the area dry so the skin doesn’t stay inflamed. If your dog is squinting, or it hurts him when you try to clean, do not apply pressure! Call your vet instead.

What you need

• Saline (or other vet-approved pet eye rinse)
• Cotton rounds or soft squares of gauze (leaves less lint than cotton, though both are okay)
• A dry towel
• Clearing mat (optional: try a fine-tooth comb to help separate the stained fur, but be careful to not comb across his eyeball, only the fur in the area)
• Blotting scissors or blunt-tip grooming scissors (don’t try if you’re not confident—ask a groomer or vet instead)

Steps

1. Wash your hands well. The eye area is delicate, and you want to avoid introducing any pathogens from your fingers.
2. Soften first, and don’t scrape! Hold a warm, damp gauze pad against the crusty area for 20–60 seconds to help loosen any debris. If your dog is particularly wiggly, you may need to do several “mini-compresses” (hold for 15 seconds or so).
3. Damp-gently wipe to the outside from the inner corner area. Dampen a fresh gauze pad of saline and moisten it. Wipe in a straight line from inner corner to outer edge; be careful not to rub directly across the eyeball, and use minimal pressure.
4. Use a new pad for each pass, and for each eye. Avoid reusing to a new part; you’ll just be returning gunk to a different area of the face, and may further irritate the second eye you attempt to clean.
5. Dry him completely. Now a biggie! With the dog’s face dry, wrap a clean towel around your fingers and pat the fur of the undersurface of the eye to ‘dry’ it as best you can. This step is about as important as cleaning and, unfortunately, chronic dampness is the cause of skin irritation and staining.
6. Repeat once or twice daily during flare-ups. For many dogs predisposed to staining, a quick once-or-twice daily clean-swipe-clean sweep will eliminate the probability of gunk build-up better than deeper cleaning – about once or twice every ten days or so. Even a small splash into the eye can be dangerous. Also avoid vinegar, essential oils, alcohol, and bleach and other harsh “whitening” agents around the eye area.

How to clean without making tears worse

• Temperature – use lukewarm only; hot compresses can anger tissue and send your dog into avoidance.
• Number of Wipes – shorter wiping sessions (5–10 seconds) repeated tend to be better tolerated than one long session.
• Surface – Attempt to wipe the fur and eyelid margins, not the actual eye surface.
• Pawing at the Eye – If your dog paws at their eye afterward, STOP the routine and consult your vet—cleaning may be aggravating another problem.

What NOT to do (stupid, common mistakes that cause my irritation!)

• Do NOT pick or scrape off crust with your own fingernails, which can pull hair out, break skin, and create a bigger mess.
• Do NOT use your own “redness relief” eye drops unless your veterinarian specifically tells you it’s okay to do so. The wrong drops can make some conditions worse.
• Do NOT try to “flush” a painful eye at home if your dog is squinting hard or can’t even open that eye—this can delay treatment of ulcers and glaucoma.
• Do NOT use peroxide, bleach, or any type of whitening creams near the eye. If they get into the eye severe injury can result.
• Do NOT assume a brown staining issue is benign just because it’s new or worsening—oddities and sudden changes deserve a vet check.

How to gradually reduce tear staining (prevention that actually works)

Tear stains may never disappear completely, especially when face shape impacts drainage. But many dogs respond well to routine that reduces irritants, and keeps the area under the eye dry.

• Trim hair around the eyes. Long hair gives tears a ramp to run down, and can poke the eye. If you’re not comfortable trimming, ask a groomer (and ask that she use blunt-tip grooming tools, and approach at a calm pace to keep stress low).
• Wash wrinkles (for wrinkly or flat-faced breeds). Make sure to gently clean the crease that moisture gets stuck in; if moisture is trapped, it can breed dermatitis.
• Limit irritants. No smoke, heavy perfumes, or shampoos that run into the eyes. Be sure to rinse well after bathing.
• Look for patterns. Write a quick note if you notice things get worse after walks? After visiting the groomer? In the spring? This will help your vet narrow down allergy or environmental triggers.
• Cure the problem. If there’s entropion, or abnormal eyelashes rubbing, blocked ducts, or chronic conjunctivitis, cleaning alone won’t fix it.

When to call your vet (don’t wait on these)

Because different eye problems can look so similar at a distance, it’s a good idea to get some help rather than waiting until things are no longer mild, consistent staining.

• Squinting or keeping eye closed, eye pain (obvious pain)
• New or worsening redness of eye or lids
• Swelling at or near the eye, third ‘eyelid’ visible, clouding
• Thick discharge (yellow/green), bleeding, rotten smell
• Sudden onset of watery eye, heavy tearing from one eye
• Known history of eye ulcers, glaucoma, trauma
• Rubbing/pawing of eye (this may require an e-collar prior to evaluation to prevent self injury)

What the vet may do (so you know what to expect)
Depending on examination findings, a vet may start with a careful eye exam, ruling out any painful/vision loss potential issues. Then, sometimes corneal ulcers can be identified, with fluorescein staining as one helpful tool. Tear drainage may be evaluated. If the tear ducts may be blocked, they may sometimes be washed out while the dog is under sedation or anesthesia. The treatment will focus on the underlying cause: allergy treatment, infection treatment, eyelids corrected, eyelash position corrected, etc.

How to monitor, and “confirm facts at home”

1. Picture the area in the same lighting, 2-3 times/week. Dog tear stains tend to evolve slowly, but pictures will help show real trends
2. Check the tear in association with sleep, outdoor time, overall grooming and bathing
3. Compare both sides, seeing if it is symmetrical. Usually, one sided changes are of concern
4. Peel back the stain and look at the skin underneath: if the skin is still pink/red, wet, smelly, or your dog squints/drifts away when you touch it, it’s likely that if you haven’t done so already, you should get your dog in to be examined.
5. If anything hasn’t improved on its own after this gentle cleaning and drying for a week or 10 days, or is obviously worse at any point during that time, go see your vet.

Frequently Asked Questions