Did you know that the Maltese breed is amongst the oldest-known dog breeds dating back over 2800 years?
The Maltese is a stylish toy dog breed that is reputable for its silky, thick white coat that covers its entire body. This straight and thick coat falls all the way to the floor and a muscular Maltese seems to float underneath this coat as he moves.
This dog breed has no undercoat, so it only sheds a little. As such, many canine fanatics consider the Maltese to be hypoallergenic. Being a cute, intelligent, and loyal dog makes the Maltese a good family pet and an effective watchdog.
Sadly, this dog breed is susceptible to tear stains, a condition that blemishes its wonderful silky white beauty. Some foods have been related to this condition and it demands plenty of time grooming, which is why you need to feed your Maltese with high-quality foods. If you are looking for the best food for Maltese to prevent tear stains, you have come to the right place.
Table of Contents
What are Tear Stains on Maltese?
Tear stains are a discoloration of hair around or under your Maltese’s eyes that turns the silky white hair pink, brown, rust, or red. Some dog owners assume that these stains are a color change as their Maltese ages, but that is not the case.
Have you tried treating tear stains on your Maltese and they come back again? If yes, there is a problem with the diet you are feeding them.
The Maltese dog breed, however, can develop yellow and tan hairs, but these hues only grow on their ears. Those are alternate colors not tear stains.
6 Maltese Dietary & Nutritional Needs
Each dog breed requires something different when it comes to dietary and nutritional needs and the Maltese dog breed is not an exemption. As a pet parent, you must feed your Maltese with the correct micronutrients to ensure optimal health.
- Proteins
Like any other dog breed, protein must be the first ingredient in your Maltese food recipe. For optimal health, the protein should be animal-based (meat). Ensure that the meat has low saturated fats and high mineral content, such as salmon.
- Omega Fatty Acids
To ensure that the Maltese silky white fur remains lustrous and has healthy skin, their diets should include omega fatty acids. They are also handy in promoting healthy eyes and brains.
- Carbs
While carbs are essential in providing energy after proteins, make sure they are not starchy so as to avoid excessive weight gain.
- Fiber
Fiber is known to promote regular bowel movements. As such, ensure that the dog food you are feeding your Maltese is rich in fiber content.
- Vitamins & Minerals
Vitamins and minerals are vital in boosting the immune system. As such, your Maltese’s diet should include these components. Vitamin A & beta carotenes help keep your dog’s eyes strong, while electrolytes such as potassium & sodium prevent excessive watering of the eyes.
Calcium, together with chromium & selenium, are handy in coat health. These ingredients should be balanced in your Maltese diet for optimal health.
These healthy bacteria are handy in providing healthy digestion which makes them an essential addition to your Maltese diet. They create an environment where microorganisms can thrive.
If you are wondering how high-quality dog food can prevent tear stains, you should consider the 6 nutritional needs mentioned above when shopping for the best food to prevent tear stains.
5 Best Foods for Maltese to Prevent Tear Stains
Here are our 5 best foods that help prevent tear stains in your Maltese. Each of these dog foods is all-natural and includes limited ingredients and pure & animal-based protein sources.
- Lucy Pet Limited Ingredients Duck & Potato Dog Food
- Halo Holistic Wild Salmon & Whitefish Recipe: Small Breed
- Blue Buffalo Basics Limited Ingredient Turkey & Potato Dog Food
- Canidae All Life Stages Dog Food
- Wellness Complete Health Natural Wet Canned Dog Food
Reviews of the 5 Best Dog Foods for Maltese to Prevent Tear Stains
In this review, we have included all-natural dog foods that help improve your Maltese’s overall health, plus their pros & cons from honest client reviews. This should help you find the best for your canine friend.
Lucy Pet Limited Ingredients Duck & Potato Dog Food
Our excellent candidate for the best food for Maltese to prevent tear stains is from Lucy Pet. This dog food features limited ingredients with duck & potato recipe and has no fillers such as corn, synthetic coloring or preservatives, wheat, and soy.
This recipe includes all-natural meats from duck as the first ingredient and a high-quality protein source that supports your Maltese’s healthy muscles. Suitable for all life stages, this dog food contains L-carnitine that promotes heart health with USA and France-sourced ingredients. It also contains prebiotics and balanced fiber products that support healthy digestion.
Flaxseeds in the recipe are incredible sources of omega-fatty acids that help keep your Maltese’s skin healthy and a lustrous coat. From Maltese pups to senior dogs, Lucy Pet has a recipe that suits your canine buddy needs.
Pros:
- Ingredients from trusted countries
- Excellent taste
- Promotes digestion health
- Grain-free
- Ideal for picky eaters
Cons:
- Reported inconsistency in batches
Halo Holistic Wild Salmon & Whitefish Recipe: Small Breed
Do you want to feed your Maltese with a complete blend of healthy whole meat recipes? Our runner’s-up on the best food to prevent tear stains from Halo Holistic is an excellent choice. This dog food recipe includes wild salmon & whitefish as the first ingredients as sole sources of high-quality protein.
This protein-rich crunchy dog food has palatability that your Maltese cannot resist and helps build and maintain lean, strong muscles. Other ingredients include non-GMO fruits and veggies for improved digestibility and L-carnitine to support metabolism. This grain-free quality dog food helps prevent tear stains.
To ensure your adult Maltese maintains healthy skin and shiny coat, this dog food includes omega fatty acids.
Pros:
- Supreme quality
- Palatable
- Good for sensitive stomachs
- Suitable for senior Maltese
- Consistent poops
Cons:
- Clients unsatisfied with the new formula
- High price tag
- Reported inconsistency in batches
Blue Buffalo Basics Limited Ingredient Turkey & Potato Dog Food
Blue Buffalo is a reputable brand in the dog foods arena. If you want to feed your Maltese with recipes that include single-sourced high-quality proteins, you can never go wrong with this. You can choose between salmon, turkey, lamb, and duck recipes.
Their limited-ingredient regime prevents your Maltese from bad food reactions that cause tear stains. This recipe, for instance, has real turkey as the first ingredient and sole source of protein for lean, robust muscles. Potatoes are carbs that help improve your canine buddy’s digestive health and excellent nutrition.
This grain-free dog food features flaxseeds and fish oil which are excellent sources of omega fatty acids that give your Maltese a healthy skin and radiant coat. If your dog has food sensitivities, this dog food is an incredible choice.
Pros:
- Perfect for sensitive stomachs
- Great value for money
- Excellent palatability
- Ideal for picky eaters
Cons:
- Inconsistency in batches
Canidae All Life Stages Dog Food
Our fourth-best food for Maltese to prevent tear stains from Canidae offers the simplicity that your canine buddy benefits from. Do you want to stick to what your Maltese appreciates and desires? The all life stages dog food is a fantastic option.
From Maltese pups to seniors, this recipe offers optimal nutritional requirements with multi-protein sources, with chicken, turkey, and lamb meals as the first ingredients. Dog food contains flaxseeds which are terrific sources of omega-3 & 6 fatty acids. This helps keep your Maltese’s skin healthy and maintains a lustrous coat.
To ensure your Maltese has a healthy immune system, this dog food includes antioxidants and probiotics to support a healthy digestive system. It contains no fillers, corn, soy, or wheat. If you prefer feeding your canine friend with vet-prepared, nutritionally dense dog food, this is a perfect choice.
Pros:
- Excellent ingredients
- Attractive price
- Quality multi-protein sources
- Perfect for all life stages
Cons:
- Inconsistent quality in batches
- A reported excessive ground meal in bags
- Reported bowel problems
Wellness Complete Health Natural Wet Canned Dog Food
Wellness Natural Pet Food is yet another reputable brand in the quality dog foods arena. Our fifth-best food for Maltese to prevent tear stains contains only quality, all-natural ingredients. If you want to feed your canine pal with whole and balanced nutrition, it is an ideal option.
The complete health natural wet canned dog food includes high-quality protein from premium chicken and salmon as the first ingredients. This provides your Maltese with lean, strong muscle tissues, DHA for a healthy brain, and eye development to prevent tear stains.
To ensure your Maltese maintains healthy skin and a glossy coat, this quality dog food contains omega fatty oils from canola oils and ground flaxseeds. A healthy blend of fruits and veggies also help in digestion health.
Pros:
- Reasonably priced
- Super healthy
- A perfect supplement to dried food
- Rich ingredients
Cons:
- Inconsistency in batches online
I hope this review helps you find the best food.
Maltese Feeding Chart
Nothing is as vital to your Maltese’s overall health that feeding guidelines and that must apply to any dog breed. This is especially crucial when it comes to calorie requirements as it varies with age, from pups to seniors.
You can discuss it with your dog’s vet and always check the manufacturer’s label.
| Age | Calorie Requirement | Serving Sizes |
| New Born Pups | Canine breast milk | Requires breast milkIntroduce solid food at 8 weeks |
| Puppies | 400 | 2 or 3 cups separated into three servings |
| Young Adults | 350 | ½ cup separated into two servings |
| Adults | 300 | ½ cup separated into two servings |
Best Food for Maltese Puppy
During his growing stage, your Maltese pup requires a nutritious, balanced diet that provides the essential energy he needs. As such, it should consist of all-natural, human-grade ingredients so that you can protect your doggie from allergic reactions.
Like adult Maltese, the best food for pups should include high-quality protein for lean, strong muscles and omega fatty acids for healthy skin and lustrous coat. It should have zero filler, and artificial additives, and be specially crafted for pups.
We found the chicken & brown rice recipe from Blue Buffalo Puppy Food to have all these qualities, plus DHA & ARA that supports your Maltese pup’s eye and brain development. This recipe is specifically made for smaller jaws and maintains teeth cleanliness by supporting tartar removal.
4 Ways to Prevent and Remove Tear Stains on a Maltese
You, like me, would like to have a healthy, nice-looking Maltese without tear stains. But this requires commitment. Preventing and removing tear stains on your Maltese is easy as long as you understand the causes.
Follow these methods:
- Avoid feeding your Maltese with inferior or low-quality dog foods as it contains fillers and synthetic preservatives.
- Stick to grain-free or limited formulas.
- Maintain regular facial cleaning – wipe your Maltese’s face at least 2-3 times daily.
- Avoid plastic feeding your Maltese bowls and stick to stainless steel ones.
TIP: Avoid non-specific meat sources, by-products, and foods that are made overseas. Ensure that you feed your dog with dog food brands based in countries with strict food safety rules. These countries include the US, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the EU, and Ireland.
3 Ingredients That Can Cause Tear Stains on your Maltese
Honestly speaking, any ingredient in your Maltese dog food that your canine pal is allergic to can lead to tearing stains. As such, watch closely to how your pooch reacts physically to new dog foods and consult your dog’s vet.
Typically, substandard dog foods include plenty of horrible ingredients that cause tear stains as compared to high-quality dog foods.
- Synthetic Additives & Colours
While these ingredients make dog foods enticing and delightful, they can trigger allergic reactions and tear stains. As such, stick to all-natural dog foods with limited ingredients.
Your Maltese will thrive well with a simple diet that is rich in proteins without fillers such as grains. And while fillers are essentially harmless, pooches with a sensitive stomach will react badly to them leading to substantial tear stains.
Artificial preservatives are common in most commercial dog food products as they help improve the kibble’s shelf life. Unfortunately, your Maltese can have allergic reactions to them leading to excessive watering and subsequent tear stains.
Additional Tips to Reduce Staining
Apart from regular and early cleaning of tear stains, here are two additional tips on how to reduce tear stains in your Maltese:
- Your Maltese’s tear stains can result from environmental irritants such as chemicals in domestic cleaning supplies and dust mites that trigger allergic reactions. If your dog is scratching too much, check their common habitats for these irritants and use alternative cleaning methods.
- Be careful about the treats you reward your Maltese with and ensure that they are all-natural as well. Poorly prepared dog treats could also trigger allergic reactions and result in tear stains in your beautiful Maltese’s face.
I hope that makes caring for your Maltese better.
FAQs
How Do I Prevent Tear Stains On My Maltese?
To prevent tear stains on your Maltese, you should stick to all-natural dog foods with little or no fillers and rich in high-quality proteins. Also, you can wash and the hair around or below the eyes on a regular basis.
How Can I Get Rid of My Dogs Tear Stains Naturally?
To get rid of tear stains in your dog naturally, you can increase his body pH by adding a teaspoon of white vinegar (purified) to your dog’s water every day. Doing this also boosts alkalinity in your pooch’s body and prevents chronic yeast toxicities or bacteria.
Apple cider vinegar also does the pH increase trick.
Do Maltese Have Food Allergies?
Yes, just like all dog breeds, Maltese are prone to food allergies, especially food intolerances. That explains why they are fussy eaters. Feed them with grain-free diets, if possible.
Wrap-Up
A healthy Maltese is a happy pooch! This dog breed makes good family dogs that are fiercely loyal, protective, and intelligent. And because they are predisposed to tear stains, feeding them with a nutritious, all-natural, and quality protein diet is handy in promoting excellent health and reducing tear stain cases.
Now that you understand the appropriate diet and nutritional requirements for the Maltese, I am double sure that you will make informed decisions.
Ciao and success with your Maltese as you take strategic steps towards giving him the healthiness he deserves.
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Hi there! My name is Ben Domb, an owner of two pets and I am one of the co-founders of OurPets HQ. I have several years of experience as a pet care professional in the New England region having spent time in various roles including a stint at a veterinary hospital in Upstate New York, Syracuse area. I am a certified pet care professional and mostly spend my time researching pet nutrition and sharing my thoughts in various blogs and columns. With quarantine and COVID restrictions, I have been spending a lot of time a lot with my dogs and cat and loving it! I also run a small consulting business providing advice to parents on pet nutrition, and especially safe homemade options to try. You can reach me at ben@ourpetshq.com
