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My puppy has tear stains and won't eat. How much should he eat?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Toy Poodle | Male | unneutered | 5 months and 8 days old | 7 lbs

My puppy is a Havapoo and he has constant tear stains, is this something to be concerned about? I’m also curious as to why he doesn’t ever finish his food. I currently feed him the package recommend amount of Wellness Core puppy food but he doesn’t seem to ever finish it throughout the day. How much should he actually be eating?

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on January 22nd, 2018

Certain breeds of dogs are more prone to tear stains than others, and it can be caused by health issues, the shape of their eye, blocked tear-ducts, puppy teething, ear infection, and allergies. In addition, they can get yeast infections from overproduction of tears, so I would have Rooster checked out by a vet for this problem. The vet can discuss with you the cause of his tear stains, if he has a yeast infection or not, and can discuss cleaning methods to prevent tear stains. I would take him into the vet this week. As for him not eating his food, he may not like it. Wellness Core is a grain free food, and there is absolutely no reason to feed a puppy a grain free food unless they have a proven grain allergy. Grain allergies in dogs are actually very rare. Only 5% of dogs with allergies have a food allergy, and the majority of those food allergies is due to protein. He should be eating the recommended daily amount on the food package, but since he is going to the vet anyway for his tear stains, mention that he isn't eating his food. Him not eating it could also be due to teething (painful to eat) or a health issue. It would be good to get that checked out to be safe. As for food, I'd recommend a brand like Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Purina ProPlan, or Iams. They may be more to his liking. Good luck, I hope this helps!

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