My Westie's fur is pink/rust around mouth and eyes. Is it normal?

Hello, and thank you for your question! Darkening of the skin should not be a problem, in the absence of any scratching or irritation. However, terriers such as westies can be prone to skin allergies, so I would keep a close eye on Britta for any licking, biting or scratching of her skin. If so, this irritation could cause darkening ("hyperpigmentation"), and if so, I would recommend taking her to the vet for an exam of her skin. On the topic of westies with sensitive skin, I would stick with bathing her no more than once a month, using a gentle aloe and oatmeal based shampoo. Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water. This will help to prevent overdrying and itching of the skin. I hope this helps, and that Britta is doing well!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! None of this represents an indication of immune mediated disease and this cannot be diagnosed just based on appearance. This requires actually a biopsy of the tissue. I do not see an indication for a biopsy based on these pictures. This is likely just a normal change in pigmentation and monitoring would be fine. If at any point, he develops inflammation or wounds in that region have him evaluated by a veterinarian then. Best of luck!

This could be a normal color change. However if it becomes very red, raw, ulcerated or crusted it could indicate an autoimmune disease or infection and then Duke needs to be examined by his veterinarian.

Thank you for taking multiple pictures and circling the areas. That was very helpful. The areas that you circled are a normal part of the lips and gums called the commissures. Ace has some freckling of his mouth tissue, so he has both black and pink areas of this gums. His commissures appear a little more prominent since they are pink, but they look completely normal. I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

She is cute. She could have some allergies, especially if she is licking or chewing on her body, causing the redness and you could talk to your vet about trying an antihistamine to see if that helps. If it doesn't seem to be bothering her, you could also just monitor for a bit and see how it changes.

Those discolorations are completely normal and, looking at the pictures and reading your description of the signs, there is nothing to be worried about. That brownish areas are likely to be due by Nikolai saliva, especially the fat content of it. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

It would be easier for us give you advice if you could post some photos. I would not say this is "normal". Some rule-outs would be: 1. vitaligo 2. lupus (DLE) 3. Mucocutaneous pyoderma (MCP) 4. Pemphigus foliaceus (PF) 5. Cutaneous reactive histiocytosis (CRH) 6. Uveodermatologic syndrome 7. neoplasia As you can see the list of differentials is very long (and that is not all of them) so I suggest you get your dog to your vet for an exam so you can discuss steps for testing. Hope this helps. Best wishes.