So on about Monday of this week I noticed a strip of skin hanging off the corner of Kohdi's bottom "lip" and I noticed a bit of the black was gone...thought maybe he just scraped himself on something or was itching that part of his face too much ( I've been having an awful battle with fleas this year...its like they just dont die!!!) anyways, I've been keeping an eye on it and today it seems to be getting worse as the area has gotten much larger...instead of just maybe an inch, inch and a half of the black part being gone, now its almost the entire side of his mouth. I realize a vet appt must be made, but was also wondering if anything like this has happened to any of you. Today he was rubbing that part of his face on the carpet but its the first time I've seen that, other than that he still eats and drinks with what appears to be no problem so it doesnt *seem* to be very painful to him but I am a bit worried about my boy. Heres a pic of the good side of his mouth, you can see his "lips" are black. I will post a pic of the bad side in just a moment (sorry, I havnt figured out how to post multiple pics in one posting)

And here is the bad side...it looks awful

I've never seen this, but people on here probably have. It's good that you're taking him to the vet. I hope it's nothing serious. I hope he gets better soon!

Jimmy, you indeed need to take him to your vet and have skin scrapings done. It could be ZRD, which is quite common, could be a flea allergy, hot spots. Ah, I'm so sorry he's worrying you, but I think it's a simple solution once your vet determines what the problem is.

Btw, to post multi pics, do your pic like always but preview it first, then go down put next pic up and so forth, always preview in between each pic, then when you have them up, then hit send. You'll see your preview, and right below it it says post a reply, that's where you can edit if you misspell something and add more pics, so in essence you can see your post twice. I hope I explained that well.

Take care of my fluffy man,

Thank you Leighanna...making an appt. for him tomorrow. I wasnt too worried about it at first cuz he plays with his lil sister a lot and figured it happened that way...but now I'm a bit worried

Thank you Renee...that helps me a lot

I hope so, I thought at first it was a food stain, sometimes certain food stain white fur, but it looks a little pinkish and you were saying he's rubbing, so those 3 things are my guess, and again all 3 are pretty simple to correct. Good vibes to you, I know you're a good daddy, give Kohdi extra hug from me.

Thanks Renee, i had just read about zinc deficiencies in another post where Al posted a link, but it seemed to me it normally affects the nose region. My first thought was an 'injury' that happened between him and Mishka, then I thought more about it and thought it could be from his toe nails when he's itching...its affecting only the black part of his bottom lip though, nothing else...I walked with a friend of mine yesterday and showed her but she said its nothing to worry about, it happens a lot to her dog but she has one of those designer breed dogs (its like...collie or border collie mixed with Lab I think, anyways its recessive gene makes them compltely black) she's pretty informed with vet/medical issues (her neighbor is a vet) so I kinda trusted its nothing to worry about but like...this is my boy, I gotta make sure.

Kohdi appreciates your hug

Btw, I totally forgot to ask, do you use plastic bowls for their water or food? some animals have allergies to plastic too.

No, when Malukhai and Anuschka were diagnosd with Epilepsy, I ridded the house of anything and everything that could even have the remotest possibility of triggering a seizure (plants, fetilizers/insecticides, treats, toys, etc...and yes, plastic bowls.) I use stainless steel for both their water and their food. Another friend suggested that area could have even been rubbed away by chewing a rough stick or something like that...it is kinda weird its only that side of his mouth...I even wondered if the pressure from a sprinkler he's so qwik to get a drink out of on his walks could have done it but it doesnt really account for how the area is getting bigger though. I tend to overthink things, lol.

This happens to Kenzi every now and then. It works its way up from the corner of her mouth. This looks really similar from the pictures anyway. Not sure what causes it but I put neosporin on it and in a couple days of keeping it treated it starts clearing up. I've never taken her to the vet over it but if your vet finds out it's cause be sure to keep us updated. I've always been curious.

I definitely will give an update as soon as I know anything Jenn...thank you for posting, makes me feel a lil less worried.

My cat gets something similar on her lip, but with a bit of TLC it usually goes away so I have never gone to the vet about it... let us know if Mishka is ok!

I definitely will Sam. Kohdi, as sweet and loveable as he is, still can be a PITA...I tried the neosporin and it stayed on him for less than 2 seconds, so the TLC won't work for him, haha. He needs a check-up vet visit anyways so its all good I guess. His appt. is on Thursday.

Today I took a black permanant marker and just colored his lip back in...I stayed in the lines pretty good but he moved when I got closer to the front so theres a line that shouldnt be there...I just drew one on the other side and he looks really cute!! like a puppet!! So not sure I really need the vet anymore

I'm kidding!!! dont anyone try this at home!! as a joke I told my friend this today and she sprayed her coffee out of her mouth everywhere

Oh lord I feel silly, I said Mishka instead of Kohdi Thats what I get for responding to forums at 3 in the morning....

Don't feel silly Sam, I confuse their names too, haha. I get so used to telling Kohdi not to do something, that when I see Mishka doing somthing bad, poor Kohdi's name comes out. Doesnt help either that most "Kohdi's" are girls and most "Mishka's" are boys, lol.

But since you asked Mishka is great!!! she is pretty much fully recovered from her spay surgury. First couple nights were tough for her, so I made myself a lil bed out in the kitchen (her sleeping area while she was healing) and slept out there. She was happy about that, as soon as I got myself comfortable, she came over and snuggled against me. Then in the morning when I opened my eyes, she was there looking at me and her ears would go back and she'd start licking my face and hitting me with her paw, lol

Ahhhh Jimmy, you're such a great dad. She so appreciated it. Please don't forget to update us on Kohdi.

Aww, thank you Renee. She did appreciate it, you know how I know? cuz she was supposed to be quiet/resting/careful for 1 week after the surgury... so I needed to keep her and Kohdi somewhat seperated during that time. After 3 nites of sleeping on the floor in the kitchen (its tile and I'm only 126 pounds...I have no padding, LOL...it wasnt comfortable, haha) I slept in my own bed and Mishka would stay in the kitchen with one of those kid gates AND a piece of furniture to keep her there. When I woke up in the morning, in my own bed...Mishka was with me!!! LOL...the lil Houdini escaped her area and came to sleep with me.

I wont forgt to update on Kohdi...I just hope I get a definitive answer and not just some "well, these things happen sometimes, heres some cream to make it heal faster" type of things.

do you see any other dry patches of skin? around the eyes, elbows, or is it just the mouth?

this was Jack in Jan.



after eye creams, skin scraping showing bacteria, antibiotics, steroids, a switch to a limited ingredient diet the only thing that cleared it up was  
http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ALFCJ8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
he has been on it for 1.5 months and he face and eye has cleared up back to normal.
i hope you can get Kohdi fixed up, and not waste as much time and $ as i did before finding a cure.
we now just think he does have a zinc deficiency, and will keep treating him with the above stuff

Its only his mouth Jenn, and only the one side...but Jack's mouth looks amazingly similar to Kohdi's. He's been on the same food since I got him (I mix Blue's "Freedom" with Costco's "Nature's Domain" (sweet potato and salmon) )but that means nothing probly. Mishka is still just on the "Freedom" puppy formula. The breeder has their dogs on a supplement, I think its called "NuVet" (its got all kinds of stuff in it, I had asked my vet, and showed him the brochure and askd if he thought it was worth to put Kohdi on, and he read it all, kinda shrugged and said "well, its not gonna hurt him but didnt think it was really necessary either", do you think that since the parents of Kohdi are gtting this supplement, that Kohdi somehow *needs* it too?

I often wondered that about Malukhai and Anuschka...their breedr was holistic, and her dogs got nothing but natural. When I informed her about their seizures, she spent the time to write and send me pages of information on whats all missing from dogs diets nowdays (she apparantly lectured at universities about this too) and honestly thought the seizures were diet related. Her dogs were eating like... fresh deer meat and all that kind of stuff that she prepared for them while Malukhai and Anuschka were eating I believe a 4 star rated food (which I thought was good) but I often wondered if a parents and grandparents diet could affect how healthy their offspring would be and even moreso, if their diet somehow affected the offsprings ability to *survive* without that kind of diet.

Ahh, and thank you Jenn, I will see what the vet says tomorrow and probly be getting this supplement you mentioned.

Jimmy, i wrote a whole response, internet lost it, here is the short version, Jack was also on the ND salmon when this happened, we did that and the other 2 flavors for the last few yrs, they are no longer on it. we are on TOTW now. after switching to natural balance LID to rule out allergy.

I know this is the day Sierra had to go for her surgury Jenn, so I REALLY appreciate you taking the time to write me a response (sorry the long version got lost, has happened to me and it sux) Its intersting about the ND food, I realize its not the best out there but its rated higher than average (last time I checked) so I thought I was doing pretty good by him...I mixed in the "Freedom" food just so it would go further (those lil bags of Freedom are kinda expensive). I think I'll change his food. Malukhai and Anuschka were fed it for awhile and they both often went outside and licked/ate dirt, one of the reasons I read dogs will do this is cuz theyre lacking a mineral in their diet and doing the dirt thing is a survival instinct. With them having seizures, I changed their food. Gonna do the same for Kohdi.

Today was to be Kohdi's vet appt, but the office called and asked for a reschedule, I dont know the reason why...but his appt is postphoned.

I really hope Sierra is doing well...and will continue to do well. My sincerest wishes for a speedy recovery.