Did you notice a white spot on your dog’s nose? Is the color of your puppy’s nose changing to pink? Don’t stress over it, because there are a couple of reasons behind it.
The process in which your dog’s nose begins to lose its black color is known as depigmentation. It can be caused by some reasons ranging from allergies, autoimmune diseases, skin cancer, and may also be a result of malnutrition. However, you have to be informed of the possible causes of depigmentation in dogs so that you can prevent it in your dogs.
Sources claim that one of the most common reasons for nose depigmentation in dogs is skin cancer. However, there are several other common causes.
It may also be caused by genetic reasons. However, in this case, all you need to do is to protect the nose of the dog from too much exposure to sunlight. This special attention is needed by dogs with genetic irregularities.
Now, let’s talk about nose depigmentation in dogs.
Nose Depigmentation in Dogs
Apart from genetic reasons, the other common causes of nose depigmentation are either allergies or malnutrition. Just as humans, melanin is responsible for the regulation of skin color. So, it is also incorporated in the dog’s meal.
There are numerous indications of malnutrition in dogs which include apathy, loss of hair, loss of weight, mood swings, and nose depigmentation. Dry skin may also result from dehydration (inadequate water). Therefore, you must always ensure that you feed your dogs with quality foods and give them adequate water to avoid discoloration of the nose.
You can feed your puppy with dry food combined with canned food and also some of the home-made foods in a balanced ratio as recommended by canine food experts. When you feed your dog in a balanced ratio, your dog will have a healthy body and skin, including a black nose.
What May Cause Pink Nose in Puppies?
When a dog has a pink nose, we may say that the dog is suffering from an allergy if it started losing its black color slowly. The best way to know if it is an allergy is to examine the changes that have frequently occurred. For instance, what you recently fed the dog, or changed the dog’s feeder and drinker. It may also be that you recently got a new toy for the dog that may have caused it to suffer from the allergy.
When this happens, you must withdraw these recent changes from the dog, and visit the vet for a proper diagnosis. Otherwise, this allergy may result in a change of color in the dog’s nose. If not taken care of, it may also result in a change in the color of the lips.
Genetic-Related Reasons
In a case whereby the depigmentation happens gradually and you haven’t observed any symptoms like weakness or any form of cut on the dog, then, it is probably natural. You do not have to worry because it does not affect the health of the dog. Such type of depigmentation occurs majorly in puppies at their young age.
However, we still advise that you seek advice from vets online. You can then be informed on whether it is an autoimmune disease that you should be worried about or something you shouldn’t fret over. Autoimmune disease always proves stubborn, and so you may need the help of a vet to combat it.
Dogs that are suffering from autoimmune diseases exhibit other symptoms apart from the color change in the nose like fever, cuts, and even depigmentation of other parts of the body with no traceable reason. Therefore, if you notice a change in the color of your dog’s nose, then let its overall health be re-assessed. However, if there are no traces of cuts and injuries whatsoever, you have nothing to fret over.
It May Also Be Caused By Lack of Sun
There are some breeds of dogs that experience a change in the color of their nose during the winter. This is because around October, the days are cloudier and there may not be adequate sunlight. The lack of sunlight may cause depigmentation of the nose. All you need to do is to examine its body, as long as the dog does not exhibit other symptoms, and more especially, it is the winter period, then you may not have to worry, as it is just nature.
Conclusion
Depigmentation of the nose may be caused by many reasons. Apart from the reasons listed above, it may also be due to skin cancer. If you examine it, and you observe that it has lost some pounds, or looks exhausted and tired unnecessarily, and also exhibiting some other symptoms, then we can talk about skin cancer. Whichever it is, ensure to consult a vet as soon as possible.
