Thanks to everyone for caring and suggestions.
We went to the vet this a.m. he said it looks like sunburn but to watch and if not cleared up in two weeks we will have to take a biopsy.
Thanks again I will repost in about 2 weeks
Della

 Quote: Della Bukoski

Thanks to everyone for caring and suggestions.
We went to the vet this a.m. he said it looks like sunburn but to watch and if not cleared up in two weeks we will have to take a biopsy.
Thanks again I will repost in about 2 weeks
Della

The reason I asked about the antibiotics you mentioned is that doxycycline and other tetracycline antibiotics make the skin more prone to sunburn.

I hope the vet remembered to say to keep the dog out of the sun for the two weeks while you wait and see.

Keep us posted!

 Quote:

We went to the vet this a.m. he said it looks like sunburn

Well...shows how much I know! Eating my words now!

How long would a dog need to be in the sun to get a sunburn on his "actual" nose (not bridge of nose) I wonder?

So this thread still facinates me.

I took a family hiking the other day and they had a Bernese Mountain Dog and I noticed his black nose was all crusty and peeling showing raw pink skin underneath.

I asked them about it and they said their vet said it was a sunburn. (like I said, eating my words on this being possible )


They said that it takes almost all winter to heal and when it finally does it is summer again and it happens again.

Now this is a pet dog that spends a "pet amount of time" outside. By that I mean he lives indoors but is in the yard a bit. Yard has shade wich the dog chooses and the dog is walked once or twice a day for a short amount of time.

I wonder WHY a dog with a black nose spending a mediocre amount of time outiside would get such a badly burnt nose? Could there be a genetic issue that makes some dogs more sensitive to the sun such as can happen with people? Could an immune issue make dogs more suseptable to this kind of thing?

It is just weird that a small # of dogs noses would burn with no major sun exposure compared to their other black nosed dog counterparts.

Facinating....okay, maybe not to most people

I wonder if it is simply a predisposition thing for sensitivity with certain dogs. Not all common, IMO, based on my experience, I will say, my friend is the first dog I've heard of getting a sunburned nose. Just like people though, how many do you know who are "allergic" to the sun? I know of one personally, and it only happens at the beginning of the heat/sun season and itchy red blisters on arms and legs if exposed for more than 10 mins...???!!! Sun allergy is the diagnosis.