My dog is loosing pigmintation on nose, why?

Question

Shep 1.5 yrs. she has a buddy and they playfight all day.
I think it is just wore off but she does have/had a slight infection in one eye.
Any ideas ?

The nose was all black and now has blotches of pink.

Answer 1

probably snow nose.

check here.

http://www.canismajor.com/dog/nose.html

Answer 2

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.

So the bottom line is that I can't answer your question about whether loss of nasal pigment due to hypothyroidism is reversible because I'm not sure that loss of nasal pigment is a sign of hypothyroidism at the present time, even though I am pretty sure that I too have heard that this happens sometimes.

Answer 3

I've read that using plastic bowls for feeding and water can cause this to occur. If you're using plastic try switching to metal or ceramic. Not sure if the color will come back but I've read it won't get any worse.

OK after being given the big "thumbs down" I went back and found this info listing many of the possible reasons for this condition. You can click on the second listing of "Depigmentation of the nose" to read the following response from a DVM:

"Answer: K-

There are a number of possible causes for depigmentation of the nose.

plastic or rubber food bowl contact allergy- some dogs are sensitive to plastics or rubber and their nose depigments due to contact with these substances..."

Answer 4

What do you mean exactly by losing pigmentation? If the nose is pink or white then it never had pigmentation to begin with. Pigmentation doesn't just wear off. We need more info to be of any help here.

Answer 5

a friend of mine said that if the dog is cold, or is kept in the cold, the nose will lose the pigmentation. other times i think it's jst the way the dog is.

my beloved dog, had a pink dot in the middle of his left nostril. looked like a pink booger.

Answer 6

No.........