Are black or white nails normal for GSDs? Does it mean pure?

Thanks for visiting Petcoach. This breed often can have white or tannish colors throughout the coat. There are also some German Shephards who are purely white. Take a look at this link about the breed and it talks about this further down the page. https://dogtime.com/dog-breeds/german-shepherd-dog#/slide/1 Here is an excerpt from the website link "The coat comes in variety of colors and patterns including black; black and cream; black and red; black and silver; black and tan; blue; gray; liver; sable; and white. The American Kennel Club doesn't recognize white as a color for this breed, however, and won't let white German Shepherds compete in conformation shows, although they're allowed in other competitions." Best wishes with your puppy! Take care.

Poor Ruger - I'm so sorry for his past difficulties as well as for what he's going through now - he's so lucky to have found you. The first thing I would want to rule out is ringworm in this location. I know it sounds strange, however it can get into the nailbed and cause the kind of brittle, discolored nails you're seeing. Ringworm is actually a fungus and not a worm as some people think. Your vet can run a fungal culture using shavings from the nails to check for this. If the culture comes back negative, I would probably next consider whether this could be a case of lupoid onychodystrophy. German Shepherds are predisposed to this disease, and since Ruger is a mix it's worth considering. Treatment can be challenging, but it's worth trying several things including omega-3 fatty acids, antibiotics such as doxycycline, and pentoxyfillne to increase blood flow to the region. Some dogs will also respond to steroid therapy. Best of luck getting this figured out.

Not to worry, this is perfectly normal! Many dogs have a mixture of black and white nails, and it's due to pigmentation in their nails. Now sometimes they can be a medical reason for the different colored nails, such as a fungal infection, so it's always good to have Archie checked out by a vet just to be sure. I hope this helps!

Hi there. It's always difficult to tell from looking at puppies, what they will look like as adults - so I can't say for certain whether they're purebred or not based on this. But, yes - these are within the range of typical colors for GSDs, and they look like they certainly could be purebred.

It is quite common to have patches of darkly pigmented areas of the tongue in some breeds of dogs. German Shepherds are one of the breeds in which we commonly see these spots, so as long as they are not raised/painful, they are likely just normal pigmented areas and nothing to worry about!

Congratulations on your new puppy! This white coloration is not anything I would be concerned about if the nails are otherwise normal. We do worry if the nails begin to turn brown/rust colored or if the nails become brittle/painful, these could be signs of different disease processes, but the white areas are a normal variation.

That appears to be normal pigmentation development. If there is any sign of infection around the nail bed (redness, swelling, discharge) or Kendra is licking/chewing the area, you may want to have it examined and treated. But the color development appears normal. Hope this helps.