Why Is My Pooch Turning Pink?

Animal Turns Pink
If you have a white animal or one with very little hair then you may know what I’m talking about. My dog is a tricolor hound mix, and I’ve noticed that throughout the day he is like a mood ring, or at least his belly is! First thing in the morning he is your standard tri, and then after a walk or a run he turns bright pink. Sometimes when he’s really hungry I’ve noticed the pinkness increasing and especially at night he becomes a quad-colored pup. At first I was concerned, wondering what in the world could be happening to my little guy. A visit with the vet got me even more concerned as I was told he was experiencing “global inflammation”.

We did blood tests, fluids, and a full exam. Everything came back normal, which may come as a relief to some, however, I was left confused and without answers. A global inflammation diagnosis should reveal some sort of elevated blood levels, shouldn’t it? One would think.

Animal Turns Pink Now that didn’t make much sense to me. My pooch is on a raw diet and he is on a great supplement regimen suggested by his veterinary naturopath. At this stage of his life he has yet to have any major health concerns that would infer a global inflammatory reaction. How could my healthy and happy guy be suffering? Well it turns out he wasn’t, and

isn’t, after all. Despite being diagnosed with global inflammation, he wasn’t exhibiting any other symptoms related to inflammatory processes. He was not febrile, nor was he lethargic. He certainly did not lose his appetite and his energy levels were through the roof. What then was causing him to turn pink? Apparently nothing out of the ordinary!

Being a hound/terrier mix, my pup has almost no fur on his belly and armpits, in fact when he is wet he reminds me of a little potbellied piglet. What little fur he has on his underside is white and quite see-through. His pink skin is enhanced after a great deal of activity due to thermoregulation in the body. As his temperature rises, he needs to release heat somehow and the largest organ in the body, the skin, is one way to do that. So as he lay at my feet panting, his skin turns from very pink, to light pink, back to a pale pink. In addition to skin and panting, thermoregulation can occur through the ears and paw pads. You might notice when a pup is very hot, a great way to cool them down is to put some cool water on their paws and behind their ears.

Animal Turns Pink When looking at the pink timeline, as it’s become known in my household, Mowgli’s skin is only pink after times of activity. Whether that’s a long walk, a good play-date, or some rough housing in the backyard, he always blushes on his belly. What was once a “global inflammatory” diagnosis has become nothing more than a natural response in the body. Not every pink tone is indicative of the same thing, sometimes there is inflammation and sometimes there is sunburn. What’s important is to recognize when something is a normal pattern or an abnormal reaction.