jak

I have been thinking lately about pigment...
to me, it seems that some 'Winter Nose' is just bad pigment.

I know to some degree, in Winter, the pigment will fade, but I see a lot of dogs that completely lose pigment in the winter... and do not seem to get it back, and that to me just seems like bad pigment...
I also see dogs who are not even very old, 6 months to 2 years, that have 'Winter Nose' that is too young to have such severe winter nose really..

flyingduster

I agree.
'winter nose' is just varying degrees of poor pigment... True black pigment stays black throughout winter without fading. My terrier has had a black nose since she was a pup, she's now 11 and her nose is still as black as it ever was and it never fades in winter or gets darker in summer; it's truely black pigment, there is no variation of it!

If it fades in winter, especially if it's quite noticable and as a young dog, it's not what I'd call good pigment.

Marian

Teddy's nose has bad pigment, but because of his colour, it doesn't look out of place to the casual observer. One lady we met even commented about how much she loved his "chocolate nose". LOL

ArreauStandardPoodle

I do not agree that it is bad pigment in most cases. I can have a puppy in California where their winters are not harsh and this pup does not get winter nose badly. Out of the same litter, we have pups who live in harsher climates who do get it very bad. Another very well known breeder of reds told me it is caused from lack of vitamin D because of the lack of sunlight. Makes sense to me when you think of all of the ways humans suffer in the same situation. Apparently fish oil and vitamin D can help solve the problem. The harsher the winter the worse the winter nose.

Marian

Hey, I take 2000 units of vitamin D every day--doctor's orders. I was deficient, apparently. I wonder if I should put a tiny amount in Teddy's food every day. I'll check with my vet.

Thanks for the suggestion, Cherie!

plumcrazy

After bloodwork conducted by my health care professional, they upped my daily dose of 5,000 units of vitamin D to 10,000!!!! Apparently I'm very D-deficient! I had been taking 5,000 for several months but my numbers were still quite low.

Lucy's nose lightened a bit this winter, but it's already darkened noticeably just since the sun started getting stronger in our part of the world. I've also been giving her fish oil for several months (YUM! ) Hubby commented on her black nose just yesterday!

Jillian

I am sure there are cases of bad pigment, but Winter Nose does exist. Especially for dogs that are outside a lot during the harsh, dry windy winter. I am not sure what elements are involved, but I have found that while living up north, some winters the dogs will get winter nose terribly and some winters they won't or will get it just barely. In every case, they black up again.

ArreauStandardPoodle

I have seen this too. If a puppy of mine went to Florida, it would likely not get winter nose at all. But living here in Ontario or North Dakota like Lucy where winters are harsh and sunlight is sorely lacking, it can be brutal. Just depends where you are if you get it all or how badly you get it.

ArreauStandardPoodle

Just be careful Marian. Vitamin D is one that we do not pee out like vitamin C so we can overdose on it. Check with a vet how much a wee dog like Teddy should have. I wouldn't want to see anything bad happen to him!

ArreauStandardPoodle

Ahhhh...but will YOUR nose turn nice and dark now that your dose will be doubled?? LOL!!!