# Dog nose getting progressively lighter

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-nose-getting-progressively-lighter/162136>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 17, 2003, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-nose-getting-progressively-lighter/162136 "2003-03-17T23:14:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![monica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@monica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monica)\
**Post date:** [March 17, 2003, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-nose-getting-progressively-lighter/162136/1 "2003-03-17T23:14:09Z")

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My dog, Mia, is 2 years old (as of last Thursday) and of the [Coton de Tulear](http://members.aol.com/cotonnews/) breed. (This is basically a mix between a Maltese and a Bischon Frise. When she was a puppy, her nose had some pink pigment in it, but then it turned almost all black. More recently, however, her nose has been turning progressively pinker, and is now even almost white in places. (Not just scarred places.) I know that having dogs eat out of plastic bowls can cause this to happen, but hers are ceramic.

So, can anyone tell me why this is happening? Could it be a problem? Should we take her to the vet about it?

Thanks in advance!

~ monica

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**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2003, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-nose-getting-progressively-lighter/162136/2 "2003-03-18T10:28:42Z")

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Sometimes it’s due to the dog’s habits. If a dog spends a lot of time pushing toys and rocks around with her nose, the pigment can’t keep up with the wear.

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**Author:** ![monica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@monica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monica)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-nose-getting-progressively-lighter/162136/3 "2003-03-19T02:07:09Z")

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Thanks, **AskNott**. My dad theorized that because she licks her nose all the time, some of the weak acid from her saliva has been gradually wearing the pigment away. Is this possible?

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**Author:** ![cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cynic)\
**Post date:** [March 19, 2003, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dog-nose-getting-progressively-lighter/162136/4 "2003-03-19T03:11:24Z")

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I really don’t know anything about dogs, but I believe what you’ve described is called “[snow nose](http://www.canismajor.com/dog/nose.html)”.

> [@](#):
>
> Snow nose causes the nose to fade to brown in winter; normal color returns as summer approaches. Snow nose occurs mainly in white-coated breeds; the color change can become permanent in older dogs. It is not associated with disease.

I’d mention it to your vet, though, just to make sure it isn’t a sign of vitaligo or some other condition.