Dog's fur turning rusty red

[bock]

My 10 and a half year old Yellow lab mix's fur recently started turning a rusty red around her mouth and, umm, her her 'bottom' area. I just noticed it about two weeks ago, and it appears to be darkening. On her mouth, it is right next to her gums, and appears most around where her canines touch her fur. I am wondering if this is something I should be worried about. She hasn't had any recent diet change, and my other dog doesn't have it. They are eating TOTW High Prairie and Wetlands formula (we alternate). Their hasn't been any other changes that I can think of right off the top of my head. Any suggestions would be great!

 

[jason_mazzy]

could it be food dye additives? perhaps staining?

 

[bock]

Quote:
I don't believe Taste of the Wild has any dies in it.

 

[emjay]

too much licking, is she licking herself alot ? drooling too much. ?????

I do know dogs that lick their paws too much, their fur will turn orange/red. I had a friend whose dog had the orangest of paws, he was white, and he was an obsessive foot licker.

 

[pbjmaker]

Quote:
This is exactly what I was going to suggest.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Yup, saliva on the fur will do that.

 

[verity]

This will sound 'weird' -- but check for mites around her 'bottom area' -- we had some strange kind of mites get between the back toes of one of our dogs and she was doing the same licking/staining -- once the mites were eliminated, the staining ended --

You wouldn't want to do it without checking with your vet, but we washed our dog's paws with diluted apple-cider vinegar and treated with 'Thornit' powder --

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

I agree with the posts above: What is going on is her saliva is staining her fur. It will turn a pinkish to rust red color. If she's licking her bottom a lot it might mean she's got some irritation going on there, could be her picky glands are irritated, has worms, or even that she's having some pain back there.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Saliva on the front and urine on the back side may be causing that.

 

[bock]

Thanks for the replies! It is most likely from her saliva. She used to be an obsessive paw licker too, until we switched to a grain free food. I had forgotten, but the fur between the paws of her feet used to turn red too.