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Bichon with Pink Nose – Pigment Loss

Bichon with Pink Nose

Bichon with Pink Nose

Bichon with Pink Nose – Is your Bichon’s nose turning pink? And you are wondering why it is happening to my lovely Bichon?

Then this post is especially for you.

Pink nose occurs when a Bichon’s normally dark nose loses pigment and becomes noticeably lighter in color.

If your Bichon nose is changing its self from black to pink, there could be many causes loss of pigmentation, any medical condition, and other times a dog nose turning pink is a completely natural part of aging.

Bichon with Pink Nose - Pigment Loss 1
Bichon with Pink Nose

What is Pink Nose in Bichon Frise?

The black cute nose is a loved canine feature and it’s the most common color you will see. But just like different coat colors, your dog can have different nasal tones.

There are five main nose variations: black, liver (pink), blue, Dudley and butterfly.

The nose of the Bichon Frise is very distinctive and always black in color.

A dark beautiful nose of Bichon will turn into brown or pink color. Sometimes noses may still have a darker stripe across the nose. The outer edges of the nose, however, will remain dark.

Why is my Bichon nose turning pink?

If your fluffy Bichon Frise changes his nose color than you can think what may be the reason his nose color has changes.

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Bichon with Pink Nose

There is a number of reasons causing pink nose in your adorable Bichon such as:

  • Genetics causing a pink nose
  • Cold weather causing a pink nose
  • Old age
  • Injury
  • Infection
  • Pemphigus
  • Discoid Lupus
  • Allergies
  • Butterfly Nose
  • Vitiligo
  • Skin Cancer
  • Plastic Bowl

Now we will discuss these reasons in detail.

My Bichon frise Nose

Genetics causing a pink nose

If your Bichon beautiful black nose is turning into pink then it may be due to genetics.

Do you know the physical appearance of any individual is determined by the genes present in the chromosome?

So, here the culprit is a mutation of TYRP 1 gene which cause the pink nose in Your Bichon Frise

TYRP1 gene actually affects the synthesis of the pigment that causes dogs’ noses to be black.

The DNA sequences of the two alleles present at any gene locus may be identical (homozygous) or different (heterozygous).

This condition occurs when your Bichon is homozygous genetically or has two recessive alleles after the mutation.

This means both parents could have black noses but be carriers of the mutation and so have pink-nosed puppies.

If you are a Bichon dog breeder then you are not encouraged to breed Dudley-nosed dogs, unless DNA testing is carried out.

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Bichon with Pink Nose

This is how Dudley’s nose can spread to puppies among pure-bred dogs.

Cold weather causing a pink nose

Does your lovely Bichon have a pink nose at times? Or does her dark nose become lighter in winter and fade to brown?

If you are living in a cold area with your beloved companion and your adorable Bichon is turning its nose from black to pink than it is sometimes called “winter nose” or “snow nose.”

The condition often affects white and light-coated dogs, but any dog can lose pigment on their snout.

Snow nose in Bichon is directly related to the temperature and is harmless to the dog.

When the temperature of your Bichon living is cols then enzyme called tyrosinase is thought to be a breakdown.

It will affect the melanin. Melanin is what gives color, or pigment, to the hair, skin, and parts of the eyes.

The tyrosinase enzyme is temperature sensitive and gets weaker with cold weather.

Dog snow nose does not change the nose’s texture or moisture—it only affects the color, typically in the central part of the nose.

This is not an alarming condition, you should keep in mind that complete depigmentation does not occur in this condition, Bichon nose will turn black when the weather gets warmer.

If your Bichon Frise is continuously rubbing his nose, or if the nose has sores, complete changes in pigmentation, changes in texture or moisture, or is crusting, bleeding or itching, then you should discuss these symptoms with your veterinarian.

Old age

If your beloved BichonAnother reason comes to your attention for this condition is known as Dudley Nose, which is a situation in which there is an impulsive de-pigmentation in a dog nose without any apparent reason.

If this is the case, there is no need to be alarmed, not only is the melanin-producing enzyme Melanin-producing enzyme tyrosinase also gets weaker with age.

That’s why the enzyme becomes less efficient as the dog ages, causing the nose to fade from black to brown or pink.

Injury

When your adorable Bichon has scraped or rubbed its nose on something abrasive sometimes a layer of skin is removed which changes the color of the nose until it heals.

This may be due to sniffing the pointed objects or they can hurt their nose while playing in parks bushy areas it can result in a pink appearance as it heals. The pigment will usually return after a while.

Infection

If your Lovely Bichon has a bacterial infection, it may visible on the nose. Look for a lighter color along with an inflamed, crusty, and otherwise unhealthy appearance.

The nose may not only lighten in color changes its color to pink but may look inflamed, sore, crusty or otherwise unhealthy.

Bichon with Pink Nose - Pigment Loss 4
Bichon with Pink Nose

Pemphigus

It is an immune-related skin disorder of dogs and cats that typically begins in early middle age. It causes pustules and crusting on the skin surface.

The skin under these crusts is raw and may be painful. The condition is treatable and a vet should be seen.

Discoid Lupus

The discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE), also known as cutaneous lupus erythematosus, is an autoimmune disease that affects the skin causes sores around and on the dog’s nose.

The condition can get worse when the dog is exposed to the sun.

Allergies

If your adorable Bichon nose is turning pink and he or she seems healthy otherwise, there’s probably no reason to worry.

However, if you think your dog may be sick with an infection or allergic to something they come in contact with.

If this is the reason, Bichon’s nose and surrounding area will appear lighter and may seem inflamed or sore.

Butterfly Nose

A butterfly nose is defined as randomly located patches of unpigmented (pink/liver) and black spots that resemble the wings of a butterfly.

This gorgeous and exceptional nose is mostly associated with merles but also breeds like the Bichon and Boxer.

Vitiligo

Vitiligo is defined as an immune disease that affects the skin by blocking healthy, pigment-carrying cells by attacking them with antibodies.

The problem with Vitiligo is that it can actually affect the nasal planum. Definite signs of this condition are the dog’s nose turn into pink, loss of pigment on other areas of the body, turning the coat white either in scattered hairs or patches.

The disorder can get worse over time turning a once dark dog white.

There are no treatments that have been made available to help treat this condition. So, the best thing that you can do is to apply some sunblock to the nose when the dog is exposed to the sun.

Skin cancer

Some types of cancer affect the skin and nose causing color changes, redness, bleeding and scabbing. These wounds usually have difficulty healing.

VKH-like syndrome or Uveodermatological syndrome (UDS) is an autoimmune disease where one’s own defense against infection (T-cells) attacks the melanin-forming cells (melanocytes) in the body of your beloved dog.

Melanin is what gives color, or pigment, to the hair, skin, and parts of the eyes.

Plastic bowls

 Sometimes certain materials can be irritating to a Bichon nose. Plastic food and water dishes can cause scabbing and bleeding on the nose of sensitive dogs and the continual irritation will cause the nose to turn pink; the lips will also become inflamed.

But this problem can be easily solved by changing the bowl. You can rule this out by feeding your dog from a stainless steel bowl instead.

Point to be noted

Idiopathic is a condition that can make a dog’s nose, lips and eyelids lose pigment. The cause is unknown.

If your Bichon has a pink nose, then he or she is more prone to sunburn and precautions should be taken.

You may need to apply sunscreen before letting your Bichon outside.

In most cases a Bichon whom’s nose has changed colors is not a cause for concern, however, sometimes when your beloved Bichon feeling anxious continuously rubbing his nose, having a complete change in pigmentation, texture or moisture of nose is changed, bleeding or itching.

Be sure to contact your vet to make sure it is not due to a health-related issue

 These types of issues can be an indication of something more serious, such as cancer, lupus infection or an immune disease known as vitiligo.  

There is nothing about prevention from a research point of view. The actual cause of the pink nose is not known yet. The pink nose is a cosmetic change and most color changes return to normal.

If you don’t see any other changes in your dog’s nose and suspect this to be a problem, you can switch to a dog bowl.

Article FAQ – Bichon Frise – 81 Frequently Asked Questions

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