Why does a puppy's nose change color? Cooper (almost 2 years old) had a black nose when he was a puppy but, at around 6 months old he started losing the black and it is now a pinkish brown.....Is this something that happens normally? I notice on the Forum photos of our dogs that there are those that have black noses and others with the brown/pink color. I am more curious than worried since Coop is a healthy, energetic, crazy, lovable companion! Anyone know why this happens? Thank you!
We call it "snow nose" because it often happens in winter. Sometimes when the weather warms up the colour intensifies back to black but sometimes it stays pink. It doesn't happen in black Labs though my last girl's nose did fade to very dark gray as she got quite old. Chocolates can fade too. It's not a health concern but I have read of people feeding certain supplements to try to keep the black nose on a yellow dog. Maybe someone else knows what those are and can tell us if they had any success. Why does it happen? Sorry, don't know.
I have read that the cause of the depigmentation can be many, and could be a sign of serious problems. But if you see your dog's nose getting lighter in winter and dark again in summer then I have read that: "it is thought to be a breakdown in an enzyme called tyrosinase, which is what makes melanin. (Melanin is what gives color, or pigment, to the hair, skin and parts of the eyes.) The enzyme is temperature sensitive and gets weaker with age." I must add that I have not checked the source and have taken this info at face value. Our yellow boy has a black nose that might get a little lighter (dark brown) in winter, but in hot weather it is back to black. He's four years old.
Maisie's nose has changed from black to pale brown and sometimes pinkish brown. It did darken a bit during the summer, but did not go back to black. I've noticed that lots of yellow labs have "pink" noses. I'd also read that it's caused by changes to the melanin in cooler weather.
Gypsy's and Twiglet's started to go pink at 7 months old Gypsy's is proper pink now - Twiglet's is half way there. Gypsy - .
Yup, Shadow had a black nose as a young pup but it turned brown and, at the moment, it quite pink. I've heard that tyrosinase production slows down with age, as well as with cold weather, so that's why they end up lighter. I need to take some more photos. It really is light now
My last Lab was a yellow girl , her nose changed from black to brownish pink , depending on the season , I thought it rather lovely
Holly's nose started black but turned pink very early and stayed pink. It gives me an excuse for posting a puppy picture
Took photos of Cooper today to show the color of his nose.....But I see from all the wonderful replies that this is quite common. I just loved that black nose, though!!!! Now realize I have no idea how to include a photo!! Sorry.....
Yvonne, check out the Technical & Help section. You need to upload your photos to a host site such as Imgur, Flickr or Photobucket..... We would like to see your photos! Click Here to see how to post photos from Photobucket
Here is a huge photo of his nose.....sorry, can't figure out how to minimize it, but will give you an idea. I did upload to Imgur and this is the nose......will go into it again later...but the hose is huuuuuuge....sorry.....
This is Cooper today....nose and all. But much smaller photo I hope.....have been fooling around with Imgur.....fingers crossed.
That's a lot of nose!! I was talking to DH about this earlier on. It's something he'd read about some time ago when Shadow's nose first started lightening. He read that some people get their dogs' noses tattooed black!! That's awful!!
