Dogs stained beard

[shivvy]

I have a 4-5 year old dog with a lovely long blonde beard!
Over the years 1 particular part on either side of her mouth/beard have become stained.
I have read up a bit on this and know that it is perfectly normal - and indeed it doesn't bother me. My google search throws up all sorts of suggestions about bleaching the hair etc which I'm not interested in but I was sitting looking at her tonight and started to wonder if I could cut the stained bits off? Would it bother or hurt her?

[NOX]

No it won't bother her as long as you are gentle, my old lurcher was the same and I used to trim him:)

[boxtops]

why don't you ask your vet, next time you go? does the staining really matter?

[shivvy]

As I said in my question boxtop, I don't think it matters a bit and it doesn't bother me at all. It was just when I was lying nose to nose with her on the sofa tonight that I started to wonder if it could simply be cut out.

Nox - I presume if you do it once then it grows back and would need to be done again and again?

[NOX]

Yeah pretty much, they seem not to mind at all:)

[Buenchico]

Can you cut it out?

Well, you could shave your dog bald and (as long as you then took steps to keep her dry and warm) it wouldn't do her any harm!

A dog's coat is there for protection and warmth. As long as you don't interfere with those functions, cutting part of her fur is no different to cutting your own hair.

My own opinion is that natural stains and (particularly) grey hairs around their muzzles give older dogs added 'character', which makes them even nicer to look at.

Chris

[lankeela]

If its from eating, when the food gets caught on the fur, then it can be unhygienic and should be trimmed. If its natural staining there are products that can help it, some you put on and some you give them internally, but unless its bothering her I wouldn't worry. Certainly won't hurt to trim it round her mouth though.

[lankeela]

Some ideas here: http://www.downsouthwesties.com/w5.htm

[Ratty2E]

Of course you could trim it off and it will grow back and get stained again. If you want to try and keep the new growth looking 'cleaner' you could try washing her muzzle with a warm soapy flannel (a tiny drop of baby shampoo in warm water). If you do it a couple of times a day and certainly after she eats it should help. It's most likely caused by bacteria acting on the saliva so if you can stop a build up of saliva drying on the fur then it should'nt get as stained.

[jules77]

Does he have a built up of tartar on his teeth? You can also try changing his diet to one not containing any beef. Try adding Apple Cider Vinegar to his drinking water and washing his beard in white vinegar and water two or three times a week and a natural whitener shampoo. You could also spray the beard with an oil based coat conditioner like seabreeze oil (from Plush Puppy) which will stop any food staining the coat.

[shivvy]

Thanks for all your answers everyone.