Malaysia Veterinary Forum (Archive)

doremi · Joined: 03 Oct 2006 Posts: 12

Hi Drs.,

Good day to you.

I'm about to purchase a Miniature Schnauzer puppy and I did the basic checking like the ears, bone structure, paws, etc. but the gum color is not pink nor pale.

It look black/greyish to me. I didn't want to test the blood circulation by pressing the gum because my hand wasn't clean.

The batch of puppies all have the same color of gum though.

Is it normal for certain puppies not to have pink gum as described by general as healthy?

Thanks!

Dr Nat · Joined: 07 Dec 2005 Posts: 1834 Location: Klang Valley

Some dogs have black pigment on their gums, making their true pink colour harder to see. If you look carefully, some of these dogs will have some spots along their gums without the pigments. You can judge its gum colour (mucous membrane) by those unpigmented spots. Otherwise, you could judge its colour through the mucous membranes of the eyes, which is the easiest to check by looking at inner side of the bottom eyelid.

doremi · Joined: 03 Oct 2006 Posts: 12

Ok Dr Nat. Thanks! Will check later.

Anyway, just to share some info I've got from US MS forum.

-Gum color in our breed can be anything from pink to black or a mixture of both.

-It's a sign of good pigmentation in a darker colour dog, some dogs even have black spots on the tongue

So new puppy owner don't panic if your puppy gum is not pink.

But do take precaution if it's pale... =)