I have a question for anyone...

Pixie is very white on the face ... her main problems is under her left eye has pink skin and of course she has a pink nose.

It has been suggested to me to get the nose and under the eye tattooed.

Anyone's thoughts??

No vet up here does it but if necessary we would travel ... I most certainly don't want her to end up with skin cancer later in life, but I also need to know if it is successful or not.

She does still wear her hat and sunscreen, but have abandoned the doggles.

I've heard of it being done with cats in the past, although not so much lately. Maybe because it's now more normal and acceptable to keep cats exclusively inside. Haven't heard of it with dogs, though.

Yes I have heard of it, it was suggested to me with my last dog Zorro. Border collie x bull terrier. So he had a pink nose and one ear. I used sunscreen or zinc to help protect his nose. This did work no abnormalities with his nose at all. Mind you he looked a right site with blue zinc on his nose.

The reason I didn't go with the tattooing there wasn't a vet who would do it in my area.

There are arguments for and against tattooing, some say it works and protects your dogs, while other say that after a while the tattoo falls off and your back to square one.

From experience I know tattoos can and do fall off dogs.

This is what I was told by a very smart Koolie breeder when buying my first Koolie from him, when I voiced my concerns over her pink nose.
"Be sure to keep her out of direct sunlight for the first year of her life, in that time the melanin in her nose will grow and she will never have any problems."
Now I followed his advice and I never have had problems.
I have two almost white, deaf Koolie’s which have pink everywhere, I followed his advice and though their noses peel in really hot summers they have never had problems.

So does keeping them in a shaded area for the first year of their life work, I don't know, I have never been able to obtain any medical proof as to why it should work.

Angus that Koolie breeder was 60 then and has probably passed on by now, but he was very confident about his advice, and though I have not had a terrible lot of pink nosed Koolie’s to try it out on, I still offer the same advice to owners with the pink issue.

Zink works, hats work, shade works, all protect the pink, I don't have a lot of faith in tattoos.

Ok just a thought... I probably would have to tattoo her whole tummy as she likes to sunbake laying on her back with her tummy up!!! They have a mega shady yard so usually isn't a problem, just when we go on outings.

You know I had forgotton that my dad's Koolie has a pink nose!!! He approached the vets about a nose tattoo only to be told to use black shoe polish. He did and it has worked really well.

Pixie is so particularly beautiful that it would seem so sad to tattoo her, although that's not as important as her health, of course.

She copes well now with the odd crusty nose, and we deal with sunburn cream and her modified hat at this young age, I just worry about her older age. I get so very attached to my dogs that I would hate for skin cancer etc to arise in her future through my lack of care as a teenager!! (and I do think also that she would look odd with a black nose and mascara, but if it was for her future good then I would seriously consider it.)

We have always used "Kelp" (Seaweed) powder or granules in our dog food. The iodine in this product supposedly helps the pigmentation come thru. We used it on Bryce, who had an extremely pink nose when we first got him, and now there is only a very small amount. Could be just coincidence, but we also used to use it when we had Dobes (red & Tan & Fawn & Tan) The fawn and tan needed it as she was borderline with thyroid problems, helped keep her nose coloured as you could see it fade without the use of Kelp and darken again when using Kelp.

jtkoolie

i will have to remember about the seaweed that may come in handy one day

Thanks JTKoolie I will give it a try, I always have Kelp on hand for the horses so is no hardship to give to Pixie as well

We successfully had our dog's nose tattooed by a Vet in Melbourne, and never had any trouble with it

Hi Jackie H,

As an ex-registered nurse, I'm not at all convinced tattooing will offer sun protection.

I'm not being racist here - just stating fact - but Africans are not troubled by sunburn the way we white folks are. The reason is the dark skin which gives better sun protection than fair skin due to the high melanin content.

A tattoo will colour the nose but won't add melanin. Your dog may still get sunburn (and the associated risks), but you won't notice it so much because of the dark colouring.

My youngest dog, Ziggy, has a very pink nose and the vet recommended zinking it with 'Filta-Bac' which is readily available from most vets. When they lick it off, just apply more.

Filta-Bac is a zinc cream especially formulated for animals because they have a tendency to lick it off. With repeated application of regular zinc creams they can get a high dose/overdose of Zinc. Filta-Bac has Titanium Dioxide in it to lower the Zinc content so they don't risk overdose.

I've been using Filta-Bac regularly on Ziggy's nose and around his right eye and while he does look pretty funny with a snow white nose, it seems to work pretty well.

Cheers,

Michael.

Pheonix is also very pink around the nose and eyes and I have been putting suncream on him (the kids one).

Just a question about the kelp, where would I get it from to give it a go?
Could I just get it from a pet shop or stock place?

And how much to you add to their food???

Thanks

I currently use the doggy zinc, she has a modified cap etc and all is well except if we have had a really bit day swimming and had washed it all off then she will get a crusty nose.

I have just started her and all the others on the seaweed meal beacuse they all like it so much and will see how it goes. I get it from the stockfeed shop, I also feed it to the horses.

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Hi All

I am finally back on the net thanks to the giv't braodband guarantee.

To JackieH

I can tell you that what you are describibg is a very wide problem among many breeds.
It is genetic and degenerative condition that worsens over time.

I can further say that it is passed from generation to generation as I have found out.

I have sorted this out in my own dogs and have changed by breedplan so that it never happens again.

The condition is called PEMPHIGUS FOLIACEUS

It is common in koolies and if not fixed could destroy the Koolie Breed
Hope this helps.

I will no longer breed with any dog that has this problem and have told the breeder that I obtained the original dog with this problem from what the problem was called and hope that this will be sorted out as this breeder sells alot of pup's each year and if they all have this problem the progeny could destroy the Kolie Breed.

Jack @ Wilja Koolies

"The condition is called PEMPHIGUS FOLIACEUS

It is common in koolies and if not fixed could destroy the Koolie Breed"

Interesting. I looked the disease up on Wiki

I thought the pink nose effect was due to the merling effect. I notice with my dogs that their noses, while pink and black when they were younger, have become increasingly black pigmented as they got older. Are we talking about the same thing?