# Nose Color ?



## hozy (Apr 24, 2008)

Hello, my German Shepherd will be 2 years old in a few months. His nose was solid black and now it is turning pink. Is this normal or should I call the vet and have him looked at ? We do ot feed him out of a plastic dish so that isn't the problem ..


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## mkennels (Feb 12, 2008)

i say it is a snow nose some dogs get that (mainly seen that on huskies) but as it warms back up it should turn black again


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

Can you take a picture of his nose? Is it spots or patches? Maybe look like he rubbed the skin off it?

My female gets sun burn spots (aka collie nose) - sun is brighter in the winter especially if it's glaring off the snow. Looks like a patch where she's rubbed the black off her nose. Doesn't bleed or anything but it does look raw. 

If it's what my girl has, you could try putting chapstick with sunscreen on his nose before he goes outside. They can't lick the chapstick off like they can sunblock.


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## grmnshpd21 (May 5, 2005)

What kind of bowls do you have for your dog? Plastic or stainless steel? I've heard plastic bowls can discolor a dog's nose so I switched Molly from plastic to stainless steel when she was a puppy. But I have noticed that during the winter Molly's nose still turns pink in between her nostrils. So I'm assuming she gets the snow nose that the previous poster mentioned. It goes back to black when the weather warms up.


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## hozy (Apr 24, 2008)

I can take a pic if some one can tell me how to upload/attach it


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

Create an account at photobucket.com

Upload your pictures. After you've uploaded them, there will be text under the picture for message boards. It will start with http://

Just cut and paste that into your next post.


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## hozy (Apr 24, 2008)




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## MayzieGSD (Aug 28, 2006)

Cute dog!







His nose looks like my Mayzie's nose in the winter. In the summer it darkens up but not completely black... I don't use plastic bowls either so I just guessed it was snow nose.


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## Myamom (Oct 10, 2005)

Exactly what is going on with my Ava...who is also 2. Her nose was black and now looks identical to the picture! No plastic bowls here either..

So...snow nose is nothing to worry about? Anything that can be done to prevent it? Why do they get this?


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## hozy (Apr 24, 2008)

I'm glad thats nothing to worry about, I am also a little worried about something else that he has been doing.. sometimes he takes his left paw and paws at the side of his nose . not sure if it is the side of his nose or his paw, because he always licks his paw after he does it


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

It could be "snow nose" where the pigment on their nose fades in the winter and comes back in the spring. It could be just pigment fading which will spread and not come back (can be caused by a number of things including just genetics) or it could be caused by an infection or illness.
My Golden's nose got like that one summer, with a spot in the middle of faded pigment. Before that all her pigment was totally pitch black. After that it spread and her nose and eyelid pigment all turned reddish pink. It never went back to black. I started calling her my monochromatic dog because she was then a red Golden with a red nose and red nails!


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## wrenny (Sep 20, 2007)

What if its just pink in spots(little spots) rather then a general area turning pink?


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

> Originally Posted By: wrennyWhat if its just pink in spots(little spots) rather then a general area turning pink?


Morgan gets little spots, not like the dog shown above, hers are more like patches. With Morgan it's sunburn so when I notice it breaking out, I use a spf 50 chapstick on her nose and it goes away after a few days.


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