Nose Changing Color

[wildbunch]

Hey Everyone,

Alright strange question!

Willow (Malamute) has been having problems with his neck. Having x-rays after Christmas. He can't lift his neck too high without yelping. We have him on aspirin until we figure out whats going on.
I'm a little worried now because in the past month his nose has been changing color. It was solid black but now has a pinkish strip down the middle and the around the nostrils. Anyone else ever dealt with a nose changing color this late in life? He will be 5 next August.
I appreciate all advice.

[Guest roo]

Try to get him up to see a chirapractor(sp)
ASAP. they can do wonders for a lot less money.
the nose?
Roo

[Guest Anonymous]

I have heard that cold weather can actually lighten a dogs nose, sometimes even to the point of making a black nose pinkish. I don't know if it's true or not. Obviously, something more serious is wrong with Willow, but I thought you may be interested . Hope he gets better.

Connie

[Guest Anonymous]

Regarding the neck, he could have a slipped disc or Wobbler's..need to get some X-Rays on the poor guy.

As far as the nose, well we lived in Phoenix and our Standard Poodle's nose went from pure black to pink! I used to joke that we'd rubbed the black off! I have no idea the cause, but it happens.

[yellowlabsrule]

Winnie's nose went from pink to black to brown in her lifetime so far. Maybe next it will be pink or purple! :lol:

[eric]

Its called "Snow Nose".

My GSD Travis goes through this every year. Durning the summer, his nose will be more or less solid black. But come winter, he develops a lighter colored vertical strip between his nostrils.

We took him to our vet the first time it happened because we got freaked out. She looked it up in this big reference book and they had a picture that matched exactly what Travis had.

Its just pigmentation. It supposedly quite common in a number of breeds.

[Hobbit]

[quote name='Anonymous']I have heard that cold weather can actually lighten a dogs nose, sometimes even to the point of making a black nose pinkish. I don't know if it's true or not. Obviously, something more serious is wrong with Willow, but I thought you may be interested . Hope he gets better.

Connie


Connie that is true.

The tyrosinase enzyme responsible for producing the dark nose pigment is unstable at low temperatures. Low temperatures causes the tyrosinase enzyme to stop the chemical reaction, and tyrosine conversion to eumelanin in the skin will occur at a much slower rate. Thus, pigment will fade.

[bk_blue]

I have heard that a dog's nose will turn pink if you let him eat/drink out of platic bowls, but in my experience it's never happened....? Is there any foundation to this theory?

[yellowlabsrule]

Winnie drinks out of a plastic bucket, and eats out of a plastic bowl and her nose is brown.

[Guest Anonymous]

It is called a "snow nose" the pigment changes from a blakish/brownish to a pink- you see this more often in Yellow labs. During the winter, their nose will either have small pink spots or sometimes- even turn mostly pink.

Its nothing to worry about. The pigment does go back to its original color. :)

[yellowlabsrule]

Why doesn't Winnie ever get a pink nose???

[ILoveLabs]

??? Where do you live? Does it get cold where you live (like very very cold?)

I live in Maine- and the winters get pretty cold, the past few days it has been below zero- I am also a part of another board (www.justlabradors.com)- I call them my forum family, wonderful board for anyone who has labs...and I never knew what a "snow nose" was until I found that board. All of those who lived where winters got really cold posted pictures of their yellow labs with snow noses...so that explained why my yellow got a snow nose:) It really does have to do with the temperatures...

[Hobbit]

[quote name='ILuvelabs']It is called a "snow nose" the pigment changes from a blakish/brownish to a pink- you see this more often in Yellow labs. During the winter, their nose will either have small pink spots or sometimes- even turn mostly pink.

Its nothing to worry about. The pigment does go back to its original color. :)


Caused by tyrosinase enzyme.

[bk_blue]

:lol: I think purple texta would look smashing!

Seriously: there was a thread some time ago (by koolie I think) where someone coloured their dog's nose in (a bull terrier) with black texta as protection against the sun... :-?

[Cheetah]

I wonder if some breeds (such as the lab) are more prone to snow nose than others? I'm in New Hampshire and obviously, its pretty cold up here (nice Christmas blizzard we're having right now!) but my dog's nose stays black year round. Or maybe some dog's tyrosinase enzyme is just more unstable than others...whatever, either way - snow nose is harmless, but hopefully Willow's neck injury isn't too serious!