Dry Cracked Nose

[gone]

Off to the vet tonight but if anyone else has had the same thing, maybe you can help put my mind at ease

My samoyed has had a dry nose that I had been putting some paw paw ointment on.

The past week or so it has gotten worse and last night it was a bit cracked and looked pink and raw on one side

I have known dogs to get skin cancer on the nose, have any of you had an alternative diagnosis, are there other illnesses that he could have?

im stressed out about it !

[RuralPug]

How did you go at the vet? Skin cancer most often happens on ear tips or smooth muzzles where these are white with pink skin underlying.

I would have said the paw paw ointment was a good thing to use, or bag balm or lanolin.

Sometimes if they like to dig about with their muzzle, it can lead to a dry nose.

[gone]

cortisone steroid / antiseptic cream first for 5 days and then if no improvement, blood tests and biopsy

I think its the loss of pigment that is concerning

Thanks RuralPug he has done a bit of muzzle digging but usually when hes burying a bone - which he hasnt done for a while ( hes come to the conclusion that theres no point as the other one digs it up immediately !)

[Stitch]

Could be nothing serious or it could be something like discoid lupus erythematosis which is an immune system disease.

Has the nose surface become smooth and lost its 'crazy paving' look?

[gone]

hard to tell at the moment Stitch as its still quite crusty looking - the side where its turned pink is smooth

no improvement yet from cream but may be too early to expect it

[Stitch]

Really hard to put cream on the nose as they lick it off as soon as it is applied.

Try holding the mouth closed for as long as you can ie. at least 3 minutes

When looking at the architecture of a normal dog nose you can see it has that really small 'crazy paving' structure on the surface.

With DLE the nose loses that architecture and becomes smooth.

If this is the case try to keep the dog indoors as exposure to sunlight really aggrevates DLE.

[Mystiqview]

The vet will best guide you.

Some dogs will lose pigment in their noses during the winter months. That may be "normalish". Sometimes referred to as "Snow Nose" or "Collie Nose"

The crustyness is what is more concerning. As Stitch said, it could be lupis. Give the cream a bit longer and you may have to get that biopsy done. Only really way to tell if it is lupis or not.

[koalathebear]

gone - same thing was happening with Hoover's nose - Hoover's my red and tan Kelpie. I was really worried about it because it was depigmenting and bleeding a little bit at the time. The cracking and bleeding is gone but the depigmenting is still happening. His nose is normally a dark brown/dark red but now parts have gone very pale. The tests showed that it was not cancerous and the vet said that all we could do was try to put sunscreen on - which is hard because he licks it off. They said even if we can make him keep the lotion on for a few minutes that helps so I put the lotion on and try to distract him with a cookie :) Hope it helps.

[Mystiqview]

If it is just the pigment that is concerning you.

There is a product called "Colourmax" which is available at a variety of show vans and Pet Network.

It contains the stuff that makes pigment. Add to the dogs. food.

Taken from VetnPet website.

Colour-max is designed to provide the natural substances necessary for your dog to synthesise the pigments responsible for giving colour to eyes, hair, skin, gums, lips and nose. The result is an intensifying of the natural colour of the animal. Colour-Max does not contain dye and uses only natural ingredients to realise animals full potential. The ingredients in Colour-Max are also important for healthy hair and can result in a shiny and lustrous coat, thus improving overall appearance.

Colour-Max is suited to the following coat colours:

Tri-colours

Reds

Browns

Tans

Fawns

Brindles

Black/Tan

Red/White

All other coat colours that may be of reddish-brown pigmentation or any combination of the reddish-brown and black pigmentation.

Colour-Max Black is suited to the following coat colours:

Pure Black

Pure White

Black/White

Grey/Silver

Blue

Blue Merle

All other coat colours that may be of black pigmentation.

[gone]

Thanks Mystiqview - interesting stuff !I dont think its a snow nose ( winter nose) as I have seen them before and this looks completely different

i dont mind how he looks as I dont show him, I am more concerned about the reasons behind the cracking, bleeding, crustiness and the depigmentation,

health wise

I may very well have to supplement with something he is missing.

He does have a fairly good diet, premium kibble with added sardines, tuna, salmon, mackerel, chicken frames, roo meat, barf patties,and occasional yoghurt, eggs, carrots etc

its back to the vet tomorrow for a check

the crustiness seems to have subsided but the depigmentation seems to have spread rapidly from the side to all over the nose.

thanks Koala the Bear ... did the vet say why the cracking and bleeding was occurring on Hoover ?

fingers crossed

[RubyStar]

Another one here with the same problem. Started out as a severely dried/cracked nose (cause unknown, as she came to me as an adult already like this). Biopsy performed, no diagnosis given, but that piece taken from her nose for biopsy left a pink mark, which rapidly spread and soon the entire nose was pink - still is. 2 vet opinions later, still no diagnosis.

I just bought some Invite brand Vitamin E oil, it's in a sticky liquid which is meant to help with cell regeneration, dried/cracked skin, scarring, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I'll give it up to 6 months to see if it works - I'm not that hopeful and have sorta come to accept it, but I thought I'd give it a shot :)

Edited June 29, 2012 by RubyStar

[Wyn]

Off to the vet tonight but if anyone else has had the same thing, maybe you can help put my mind at ease

My samoyed has had a dry nose that I had been putting some paw paw ointment on.

The past week or so it has gotten worse and last night it was a bit cracked and looked pink and raw on one side

I have known dogs to get skin cancer on the nose, have any of you had an alternative diagnosis, are there other illnesses that he could have?

im stressed out about it !

Google nasal parakeratosis, this is an hereditary problem, seen in Labradors and husky breeds, The nose get dry and cracked around the top and almost raw looking where they can lick it, there is no known cure or treatment, but vitiumn E cream or oil or petroleum jelly does help alot and you will notice the difference. It is inherited but just how they don't know, I have one with it, yet his mother,sister,father, half brothers and sister ( same mother) in fact all reletives I can think of are not affected at all and his didn't show any sign's of a problem until he was at least 9 months old. I have never seen any thing like it. Hopefully I have attached a photo, not of my dog but of one I found on the internet.

[koalathebear]

thanks Koala the Bear ... did the vet say why the cracking and bleeding was occurring on Hoover ?

We still don't know The top half of his nose is all depigmented and because of the cold, it's gone dry and cracked. The vet says it's collie nose so he has an ointment to put on it. It's not cancer and nothing serious - but as he gets older, it might become problematic. I don't think it happens in black and tan Kelpies.

[Dame Aussie]

Had the same problem with my Aussie. Vet said he thought it was just a bit of dermatitis which can be made worse by the sun. We put cream on and it got a lot better but it's still a tiny bit crusty at times.

I don't think her pigment has changed as she already has a butterfly nose with bits of pink. I put sunscreen on but as had been said I dont really know how long it's effective for as she licks it off *roll eyes*