hoping to get some insight to an issue one of my girls has.

will start with a timeline, just in case you think it has something to do with the problem.

10 weeks ago one of my 4 year old bitches came in heat.She had one breeding at 2 yrs, skipped this heat as well. 4 weeks in she "looked" bred, mammies filling and girth filled out a bit. I knew there was no way she got with a male, but just to be sure did a witness test at day 32.......negative.

She was in a false pregnancy state, never really got bigger but got picky on food, digging holes to China, etc. (not normally a digger or picky eater) Pretend due date came and went, still digging and she started humping the other dogs ( no one in heat) I figured it was her hormones readjusting.

Notice today that her pigment on nose and front lip area is disappearing, almost polka dot like affect.
no change in food, no other skin or allergy like issues.

So my original question is...what would cause loss of pigment on a dark chocolate? AND what can I do to restore it?

thanks

Off-hand I'd guess it was from all the digging she's done. Just a thought.

could be skin infection ?

if vet says no infection, then try Icelandic kelp

I would first check to see if the dog has access to anything plastic. Plastic bowl, water bucket, toys. If so, remove them. I am not sure why and my vets were useless, but dogs can have sensitivities to the plastic and it will cause a temporary loss of pigment.

It could also be a form of vitilgo or an autoimmune issue. Thyroid can cause it too. I have an older bitch who suddently lost spotty pigment in lips, eye rims, pads, toe nails. Being on thyroid medication helped a bit, but it never came back all the way. She's been spayed for YEARS, and healthy as far as any tests can show, so we just ignore it.

Something is up in the body though. I would probably not breed this bitch again though.

Is there any chance your girl could just be rubbing her nose and lips on carpeting, in dirt, on kennel fencing etc.? Sometimes this can really do a lot to the skin and can also remove pigment temporarily.

Don't be an extremist and listen to "Me" about never breeding her again. Without the full scoop that is ridiculous.

It could be something very simple and will resolve itself on it's own or it could warrant further investigation, but by no means should someone tell you not to breed your bitch at this stage of the game. A visit to the vet for a skin scraping & culture might be the easiest place to start.

Rubbing skin off due to digging in the dirt should be easily identifiable. You don't just get "missing pigment" you get super exfolliated skin. and not in random dots, but rather in large broad patches. You can see the difference. If you can't tell the difference between skin loss and plain pigment loss, go to the vet. If the dog is losing pigment, there is an internal issue in the body systems. Call me extreme, but you are looking at an autoimmune issue or a thyroid issue. I see too many people focused on breeding breeding breeding oh yeah and breeding again. If a bitch is having a systems issue causing pigment loss, by all means figure it out. If it's non-serious, fine, but if you need to medicate the dog out the ass to fix it, I would prefer not to have puppies out of that kind of bitch. PERIOD.

"I would first check to see if the dog has access to anything plastic"

Yup, the black on the lips of my yellow girl gets spotty and light when she's been exposed to plastic. A judge at a show pointed it out to us and said not to use plastic water bowls or food dishes, etc. For us, it was plastic chew toys causing it.

Yes, check for plastic, but also wait until summer is in full swing to see if sunlight improves it.

thanks for the suggestions.
It truly could be dirt since she has been a miner for the past 4 weeks, we are not talking a crater here and there, she can dig deep and fast!

I really noticed it when I was putting ointment in her eyes that have become irritated from the sand. Hopefully this pretend hormonal employment will end soon.

no plastic dishes, but new black rubber tire toy she plays with a lot?