Puppies Beard

Grooming is an important part of looking after your Schnauzer. Regular grooming will help keep your Schnauzer healthy and comfortable and you will spot potential problems early. Whether you decide to clip or strip your Schnauzer, help is on hand. Schnauzers are generally a non-shedding breed and will require a fair amount of grooming to get rid of dead hair.
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Charlieboy1
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Joined: 18 Dec 2017, 22:33
First Name: Lesley

Puppies Beard

Post by Charlieboy1 »

Hello fellow Schnauzer friends.
Thank you for letting me join this group, I'm sure this is a subject that has been discussed in the past but I couldn't find anything. I already have Ruby a Pepper and Salt Schnauzer who is eight years old and after losing her mate earlier this year we decided to get another puppy, Charlie (Black and Silver) who is now 6 months old. Ruby's beard and feet are quite orange from licking and I have been trying Angel eyes to keep it at bay but I now notice that Charlie's beard is also starting to discolour.
I give them filtered water and they are both on Wolf Tucker raw dog food.
Any ideas would be grateful.
Many thanks
Lesley
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schnauzer
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Re: Puppies Beard

Post by schnauzer »

Could be the food that is staining or her saliva, I managed to get rid of my last girls brown beard by giving her probiotic yoghurt (teaspoon) every day also 2-3 charcoal biscuits daily. Have before & after photos for proof. Lost her in April & now have Gino who is coming up for 9 months. He's had his yoghurt daily since we brought him home it's good for their digestive system just this week he's getting a couple of charcoal biscuits as there is no way that I want a tinge of brown on it. His breeder also recommended the yoghurt but I already knew about it from being a previous schnauzer Mummy.
Christine & Gino (Siglette Shadow (born 9/5/17 ---

Suzi (15/5/04---13/4/17) (Sugarbabe) RIP loved you to the moon & back, miss you so so much precious girl
Fergus
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Re: Puppies Beard

Post by Fergus »

I just had a thought about that Christine.
Are most adult dogs ( and most adult mammals) lactose intolerant?
Oscar 12345
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Re: Puppies Beard

Post by Oscar 12345 »

Colin

Yes they are. Following an email conversation with Christine, I also give a teaspoon of zero fat zero sugar greek yoghurt in the morning. I think you have to watch how the dog deals with it. Otto's doings are really good so he doesn't have any visible side effects from the yoghurt in fact I would say that I have seen an improvement since giving it. Also it is a really good way to get natural probiotics inside him. I give it first thing in the morning just prior to breakfast.

Lesley, it sounds to me as though there might be something in Ruby's food that she is intolerant to. Could it be too rich? My previous schnauzer from the age of about 9/10 started licking and biting feet but that was only in months from Spring to early Autumn. So I think it was immune system and grass pollen or something like that. When I took him to Spain it stopped immediately (no grass pollen) and restarted when back home. Doing it all year round indicates that it could be in the food. However, I do recall that if I fed him beef then he would gnaw and lick his paws so I couldn't feed it to it because it was too rich. If you can rule out mites then it might be worth looking at a more hypoallergenic food. The problem is it does develop into a habit which is then hard to stop. It would be interesting to know if a charcoal biscuit which is supposed to neutralise nasty things has an effect on the licking. Good luck in fixing it.
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zeta1454
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Re: Puppies Beard

Post by zeta1454 »

Welcome to the Forum Lesley :)

Beard discolouration comes up regularly as a topic so you are not alone in having this problem. Like you, we feed our dogs on Wolf Tucker and they have filtered water. We do periodically notice beards and leg furnishings by the feet going a pinkish orange on our mini Schnauzers but, in our experience, this has come and gone of itself without changing food or water. We have over the past twenty years (and seven mini schnauzers) used different food - with our first three we started on a quality kibble and changed to raw feeding in 2007. We have also in the past ten years used a variety of different raw complete brands including Natural Instinct, Nutriment, Paleo Ridge, Naturaw and Wolf Tucker. With our dogs, we have never been able to identify a cause definitely for the discolouration and, as it seems to come and then clear up of its own accord, we have not worried about it.

Licking (saliva) definitely does affect the colour of leg furnishings as do tears affecting the colour of the hair beneath the eyes and is, I believe due to a substance called Porphyrin. From a vet website :

" Porphyrin is a naturally occurring substance in the tears and saliva and tends to show up as a pink/brown colour where your pet has licked, dribbled or produced lots of tears. The discolouration from the Porphyrin is most obvious on light coloured fur."

The same link suggested possible causes as stress, dental issues, allergies so it would be useful to see if something is causing Ruby to lick excessively at her paws. It could be an emotional reaction to the loss of her mate causing her to lick as a comforting/ displacement activity; if she has pulled a muscle in her back or had a minor bruise to her paw these too could have started the licking which may have become a habit? It could be an allergy but (depending how long your minis have been fed Wolf Tucker) it seems less likely that both have developed this just recently.

I have heard the charcoal biscuits recommended by others as well as the members above so may be worth a try but, as I say, with our dogs the beard staining does seem to be something that happens now and again and then goes away of itself.
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras

Magic - Silversocks Sharade at Darksprite
Trilby - Darksprite Rosa Bud


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jacdales
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Re: Puppies Beard

Post by jacdales »

I buy a probiotic from lintbells Hamish still has pink feet and beard Iwill try the charcoal biscuits. He does have terrible teeth so probably the wrong kind of saliva. lol

http://www.lintbells.com/blog/2016/03/1 ... do-they-do" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Fergus
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Re: Puppies Beard

Post by Fergus »

I am confused by all of this. I seem to remember the probiotic bacteria in yoghurt help to digest lactose.
If you don't give your dog yoghurt then they will have no lactose to digest.
I bought some to try anyway though :))
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Re: Puppies Beard

Post by Oscar 12345 »

Colin

Probiotics do more than help digest lactose I think and zero fat yoghurt is very low in lactose anyway. I really have seen some improvement in Otto's beard whether it is yoghurt, charcoal biscuit or a wipe down after every walk with a wet wipe and a wipe down after every meal with wet paper towel I can see the line where the beard is stained and where new white growth is showing. I will have to wait quite a while for all the stain to grow out although it is also fading but something is working. Oh, could also be helped by before bedtime teeth cleaning which has started in earnest now baby teeth have gone.
Man cannot survive with wine alone...
we also need a schnauzer.
Fergus
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Re: Puppies Beard

Post by Fergus »

I am going to try it Julie.
Nothing to lose :D
Charlieboy1
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Joined: 18 Dec 2017, 22:33
First Name: Lesley

Re: Puppies Beard

Post by Charlieboy1 »

Thank you all so much. I will try the yoghurt and look for charcoal biscuits to start with.
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