Pigment In A Show Dog

[*Jay*]

Well, when I say show dog, I mean Disney so I use the term very loosely

He's got really good pigment for an orange (even if I do say so myself but I've noticed a pinky sliver on the side of his nose that certainly wasn't there before. Its not very big but it is noticeable - assuming this is loss of pigment and not the silly beggar scuffing his nose on something, how heavily penalised would that be in the ring? Anything I can do to get rid of it or is it irreversible?

[Pammy]

it could be just a scrape Gill.  Buddy had one on his eye when he was younger and I thought that was it for him - but it healed and now there's no sign of it. It didn;t look like a cut though - just a loss of pigment as you describe - so hopefully it's the same for Dizzy boy

[sweetie]

just wondering,,you know when you want to show your dogs,do they have to be spot on,,or can you get away with a little ??
i don,t show,,but i,m interested in what the limits are xx

[Pammy]

Ziggy - you can show anything  - but it all depends how seriously you want to take it and how well you want to do. It's not a cheap hobby so showing anything just for the sake of it is not going to be the best thing as you're likely to get disheartened with the lack of placings etc. But a well chosen puppy from a well bred and chosen litter should be able to be shown without it wasting too much time and money if you know what I mean.

What you can get away with though really comes down to the judge and how well they know the breed standard and what their preferences are in the breed anyway.

Getting the right dog is relatively easy - she says with tongue firmly in cheak, but the hard work is training, grooming and learning how to best show each dog.

Ignoring the breed standard and showing what may be a lovely pet but a mile away from the standard - say a neutered fully clipped Cocker will not go down well with the judge as they will feel you are wasting their time.

But with a reasonable amount of effort you can have enough success to make it an enjoyable hobby. Choose your shows carefully and set your expectations to a reasonable level and it can be great fun

[sweetie]

ooh i would never even go there,,as i,m just not experienced enough,,but i,m just really interested in knowing how it all works i like to know what i,m talking about when peeps ask me sometimes
just wondered really how you all get there,,as it were

thanks for that  pammy xxxx

[Kim]

If it truly is a loss of pigment, which is quite common in Orange Roans & also Goldens, go to www.dorwest.com they have some natural & herbal remedies, for that kind of thing  

[Becky]

Ollie isn't a show dog, by anyone's standards (well maybe waggiest tail ) but he is a black pigmented orange and his nose is almost entirely pink/brown.  I assumed it was just another of his little freakisms.   Didn't realise there was anything that might 'correct' it.

[Penel]

Tilly is orange and white, and she lost her black pigment to brown at about 18 months old.  Whether I add kelp powder or not - it doesn't return - but I love her little brown chocolate nose anyway !

[Becky]

Ollie's nearly 1 and has always been like this, but I won't do anything about it, it's cute and unusual.

[Cayley]

Do you have a recentish picture of Disney I could see   .

[Jane S]

Gill, Ruby's nose often goes brown at particular times of the year but when she was a puppy, she did develop a little pink patch on her nose which was different to the hormonal/seasonal pigment changes. We were a bit worried about it at the time but assume she must have just scraped it as eventually the pink disappeared so hopefully it will be the same for Disney. I doubt he will be penalised for it in the show ring if it's very small - I don't think most judges even noticed Ruby's little pink patch

Jane

[*Jay*]

Thanks for that Jane. I've just checked it again and it isn't as noticeable as it was before.  I should have known really as Vegas' nose has gone brown but this mark is fleshy pink.

Phew - panic over

[*Jay*]

Sorry for resurrecting this topic but just wanted to ask how long does it normally take for pigment to return (if it is going to) when using some of the herbal stuff? Disney's pigment has totally gone apart from a thin line at the top of his nose

[Jane S]

Herbal remedies do take time to work but generally you would see an improvement after a few weeks, specially if the lack of pigment was due to the skin being scraped or something like that. Not sure why Disney's nose still hasn't improved - it's not so common to have lack of pigment in the summer months. Trust Disney to be different

Jane

[*Jay*]

Thanks Jane.

I didn't bother trying anything the last time as it was just that one little patch, but i got my seaweed kelp today from Dorwest Herbs so will be starting that tomorrow