# pigmentation eyes and nose



## iansgran (May 29, 2010)

Is there a correlation between eye color and nose color--with good pigmentation they say you have less snow nose. Jaro's eyes are almost entirely black as is his nose (almost 10 months). My Subiaco's eyes were brown, dark but nothing like Jaro's black ones. Subie had snow nose. Jaro's fur is light, Subiaco's was medium gold.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Jaro is too young to tell if he's going to have snow nose, I believe it normally doesn't show up until the winter after they turn 1.
Tito has very dark eyes and excellent pigment around his eyes, but he does get snow nose. So far, every spring it darkens back up again.


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

Hank had snow nose his first winter (born in July). It turned back to black in spring. He has dark pigmentation around his eyes and is medium gold (darker now than in the avatar pic).


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## Enzos_Mom (Apr 8, 2010)

Enzo has dark pigmentation around his eyes and his nose was coal black, but he has snow nose in a major way.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

Yes, the more pigmentation, the less chance of snow nose. The dark pigmentation would also be seen in the toe nails, and paw pads along with the eye liner. Thhis happens with other breeds too.

My kids and I were comparing Brady's and MacKenzie's eyeliner last night and their noses. Brady's nose has remained black, while MacKenzie has a snow nose. My daughter said that it looked like Brady "overdid his eyeliner" compared to MacKenzie.


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## Enzos_Mom (Apr 8, 2010)

cubbysan said:


> The dark pigmentation would also be seen in the toe nails, and paw pads along with the eye liner.


Enzo also has super dark paw pads, but has the WEIRDEST toe nails I've ever seen. His are the light ones, but with black stripes down them. We call them his "racing stripes" since he's named after a Ferrari. lol


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

hotel4dogs said:


> Jaro is too young to tell if he's going to have snow nose, I believe it normally doesn't show up until the winter after they turn 1.


Flip had snow nose his first winter (funny to call it snow nose when they aren't around any snow). I was afraid that he was just going to have a light nose but it did darken again in the spring, and then turn light again this winter.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

From our experience with our other goldens, you will have a good idea about whether your dog will have a pink or black nose by the time he is 3. You will definitely know when the dog is 6.  

I don't mind pink noses, but I've been holding my breath that Jacks' nose stays black. I even put him on salmon oil for that reason (don't judge me for my vanity). So far so good. He's made it to age 3 with a pretty black nose. 

He does have eye allergies in fall and winter and I suspect that has had an effect on his eye liner. It's not as dark as his nose. It used to be pretty dark. 

For what it's worth, he has dark pigmentation on his eyes (it looks like the colored part of his eyes had leaked into the whites). He also has black boy dog parts. Very black foot pads and black toenails. Oh - and he has black gums, which makes checking his gum color for health problems somewhat interesting.

Oh, his eyes aren't black or super dark or not to the extent of our previous goldens (the pink nosed ones)' practically-black eyes. They are like dark melted chocolate. You can tell in his pics, but dark honey gold on his back and light gold everywhere else.



ETA - The eyeliner note reminded me... our Sams had both a pink nose and pinkish eyeliner as he got older. Danny's nose was pink from the time he was 3 or 4, but his eye liner remained very black. We used to joke about him getting into my makeup bag. He also was the one who had black splotches all over his tongue.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

Yes, the tongue is also a place that the pigmentation shows up. Brady has a treat spot too.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

Scout has very good pigmentation--dark eyes, lips, nose. She does not get snow nose.


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## GoldenJoy (Jul 30, 2009)

Joy has the darkest eyes of any Golden I know - and a lovely snow nose! Her nose was black until last January (her first winter) and started to turn then. I really thought it would darken up with all our outdoor time this summer, but no. Oh well! She's still GORGEOUS to us!


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

I have an 8 1/2 year old girl with jet black pigment year 'round, her brother also has black pigment, but gets a "snow nose." They have a brother with a pink nose year 'round. One of my girls had a jet black nose until 2 1/2 years.... definitely lighter in general and lighter in Winter. Her 6 1/2 year old mom still has jet black nose leather.


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

I have possibly a stupid question. Would/could a dog living in a non-extreme winter environment (i.e. San Diego) get snow nose?


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

goldenjackpuppy said:


> I have possibly a stupid question. Would/could a dog living in a non-extreme winter environment (i.e. San Diego) get snow nose?


 
According to my internet search - yes! Isn't that weird???


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

cubbysan said:


> According to my internet search - yes! Isn't that weird???


Totally weird!


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

it's called snow nose, but it's really due to lack of sunlight, so it's possible anywhere.


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## GoldenJoy (Jul 30, 2009)

I guess once a dog has snow nose it can just stay? I thought our sunshine this summer would turn Joy's nose black again, but it didn't. Is this a health issue? I just thought it was "one of those things."


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## iansgran (May 29, 2010)

I grew up in San Diego and now live in Indiana. San Diego does have winter, just not cold. The days are shorter, the angle of the suns rays is different in winter and summer. I believe it is about exposure and not temperature.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

hotel4dogs said:


> it's called snow nose, but it's really due to lack of sunlight, so it's possible anywhere.


Ok....so does that mean you can avoid it by exposing your dog to more light in winter?


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

I believe so!




GoldenSail said:


> Ok....so does that mean you can avoid it by exposing your dog to more light in winter?


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## Lisa_and_Willow. (Dec 18, 2007)

Willow has snow nose for the first time this winter. She is 3. Previous years her nose has stayed black.


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## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

Friends of mine believe they can predict retaining pigment by looking at the roof of the mouth. If the roof is totally jet black, they believe that the nose leather will stay black.


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## bioteach (Nov 13, 2010)

Hi,
I'm not sure that sun exposure is a good predictor, because here in Phoenix we get sunlight to spare. In our neighborhood there are 10 other GR besides our Nugget, and about half of them have very light noses despite being outside a good part of the day. 

Our guy is just four months old so it's too early to tell - but his dam has a light nose and he looks a lot like her. Does kelp really make a difference? Where does one buy it?


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Sally's Mom said:


> Friends of mine believe they can predict retaining pigment by looking at the roof of the mouth. If the roof is totally jet black, they believe that the nose leather will stay black.


That gives me hope, because I'm pretty sure Jacks' mouth is getting to that point. He's the first dog I've ever had who has black gums. I mean, is that even normal? :uhoh::


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