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I'll try to post pictures soon, but I swear Uma's nose is changing color. It was jet black until recently. Now it's slightly pink at the tip. At first I thought it was weird lighting or my eyes wre playing tricks on me, but I swear it's really turning pink.

Is this possible? She's almost 20 months old. My lab/rottie mix had a tongue that gradually changed from pink with black spots to all black. Can it happen to a nose too?

Thanks guys!
 

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It's called a snow nose, see 3 below...

From Dr. Mike Richards:

The various causes of loss of pigmentation of the nasal planum (the usually black portion of the nose) that I can find good references for are:

1) Dudley nose -- loss of pigment seen in a number of breeds for unknown reasons in which the nose is black when dogs are young but fades to brown or sometimes even white as the dog ages.

2) A transient form of the above condition may exist or it may be something else, but some dogs do lose some pigment and then recover the normal coloring of their nose over time.

3) Labradors, Golden retrievers, Bernese Mountain dogs and Siberian huskies may have seasonal variation in the color of the nasal planum, usually lighter in the winter and darker in the summer. The cause of this is not known, either. Some vets refer to this as "snow nose".

4) Vitiligo can cause loss of pigment of the nose and it may also be part of a syndrome of immune mediated disease in which hypothyroidism also occurs, so perhaps this is the link to loss of color of the nose and hypothyroidism but if it is, the hypothyroidism is thought to occur after another disorder causes the color change. Dogs with vitiligo normally have development of patches of white hair or white hairs scattered in the hair coat. I don't think that loss of pigment in the nasal planum only is likely with this condition.

5) Contact dermatitis can cause loss of pigment in the nose -- some dogs are reported to be sensitive to the plastic that is found in some feeding bowls, for instance. Continual irritation of the nasal planum from a cause like this might lead to loss of pigment. Usually the lips are also are inflamed or may have pigment loss if they are dark, too.

6) We see dogs with discoid lupus and with phemphigus that have loss of pigment of the nasal planum, usually patchy but sometimes most of the planum is involved. There are also usually skin sores around the edges of the nasal planum, on the bridge of the nose, around the eyelids or places like that.

7) I have seen cats with squamous cell carcinoma lose the pigment in the nasal planum as an early sign. I am not sure that this same problem occurs in dogs but I wouldn't want to totally rule it out.
 

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Sandy has snow nose - I panicked and took him to the vet in fear that it was one of the other things Jac listed.... but its not!

 

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Marley is one of the snow nose dogs too. His nose was blackish brown but just recently we had noticed that is lighting up considerably. We just chalked it up to him still being young and changing. Just a couple weeks passed seven months. We will watch....maybe its because he is burying his nose in the deep snow about 80% of the time when we go out. :shock: :?
 

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Does Breezy eat and drink out of plastic bowls? She could have an allergic reaction to the plastic called Plastic Dish Dermatitis. Check the skin around her chin for irritation or even pustules. (We saw this a lot back when I was a vet tech, I use glazed ceramic bowls; I don't like the way our hard water coats stainless steel.)

Discoloration can actually be the result of many things so I'm glad you're taking her in. Keep us posted and doodles hugs!
 

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FYI Flutter - having been where you are I know for a fact that mixing bowls from the cabinet work great, too! (Goodwill usually has them for cheap so don't go spending a fortune, even when the job come through.)

Yea, I got yer back, sister!
 

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Breezy's dishes are stainless steel. In all honesty I picked them because they (were surprisingly cheap at TJ Maxx) are flip-proof. When she was smaller...her preference was to paw her water instead of drink it. Her appointment is less than a week away I'll definitely return with the results! Thanks for the doodle hugs...I hope it's nothing serious.
 

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I can't remember the exact age, but I think it was around 9 months or so when Juneau's black nose started flaking :shock: His cute little black nose started to turn beige/pink. We took him to the vet, who then informed us that there was nothing wrong.

Now, Juneau is 2.5 years old with a very cute 'black around the part touching his fur pink on the inside' nose and it hasn't changed since.


And I didn't know that thing about the plastic dishes! We have always used glazed ceramic at home but do have plastic dishes at the lake....I'm thinking it's time for a change.
 

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My neighbor's cat was allergic to his stainless steel bowls, but it presented as a rash around the mouth and nose.

It seems as if doodles are constantly changing in color and texture. Thank goodness this forum offers a good place to ask these questions because I might go crazy othewise.
 

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Breezy is okay. We have our eyes peeled for any worrisome symptoms. She hasnt presented any yet. Her nose is actually getting darker again. Didn't quite get an answer from our vet as to why Breezy's nose is changing color. I was surprised by the number of reasons why a dogs nose changes color. So as long as Breezy stays symptom free...she's good! Thank you for all of the great info!
 
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