Fur on Goldendoodle's chin darkening

[Bella]

The fur on my 7 month old Goldendoodle's chin is turning rusty red-brown while the rest of her is a light apricot colour.  Is this a normal change?

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

yea, I feel like my vet told me there is an enzyme in the saliva. I googled discoloured fur and saliva and there were a few links, although I doubt any of them will fully pass the hokum test.

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Ask-Veterinarian-700/Dog-chews-discolore...

 

and here's an old doodlekisses disucssion on the matter: http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/discoloration-of-fur 

 

F - be careful, I think one of us might be in hokum territory.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Them's fighting words. I looked high and low but the only reference to this orange pigment in saliva is your first one. That is posssibly hokum. I did see looks of info on Malssezia (aka Pityrosporum ovale). Lots of the references were pdf downloads. This is one of the better ones I found although on Facebook. I still believe most of the staining is due to the yeast. I'm done : )

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=126106920795808

[Bonnie and Kona]

It always makes me smile when you call hokum! We need to hear that from the pros!

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

F! I'm dragging this discussion back up to tell you that I heard from Winston's dermatologist's vet tech and she said that the discolouration can be caused by both, the saliva and/or yeast. :) so accordingly, we are both safe :)

[F, Calla & Luca]

Okay thanks Sherri. I would hate to mislead people. I am breathing a sigh of relief. But I'd still like to know about the "orange pigment". And I do think it is a combo in the sense that constant dampness from the saliva and probably nutrients allows the yeast to grow. I am nothing if not stubborn : )

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I think a vinegar wash can help keep the face clean and odor-free.  Perhaps it helps with the 'fungus' also???

[F, Calla & Luca]

Yeast doesn't like acidity and so vinegar may well help.

[Gail and Bailey]

Wow...amazing. Thanks so much for this info!  I had a Bedlington Terrier who would get a red area around the base of a couple of his claws and he would lick them until they were raw (I imagine it itched). The vet checked this condition when it would flare up and never diagnosed  it.  After reading the article, it certainly sounds like it could have been yeast.

[Ashley, Ronnie and Ruby]

This is happening to my 11 month old Ruby. Or vet said it is probably from a recent food change for her. The protein in her saliva is staining her face. She also had yeast in one paw so it could have been from that too. I have a shampoo for the paw and she said I should wipe a cloth over her mouth/lips with it. I'm thinking of switching foods too if it does not help.