Expert: Kaza - 7/6/2008

Question
Our 13 month old male bichon always has a wet, light brown stain around his muzzle.  It's not there in the morning, but as he gets on with his day, it's there, and stays there until he goes to bed.  A new groomer asked about his "drooling".  It's not something new, he's always had it, so I don't think it's a dental issue.  I have given him some apple cider vinegar in his water since he was a little pup, to help with grass stains, but it doesn't do anything to his saliva discoloration.  He's a happy and active pup otherwise.  Any thoughts?

Answer
My first question would be does the dog have a normal scissor bite, as many droolers have a bite issue such as over bite or underbite.Other causes are stomatitis , immflammation of the oral mucous membranes, it can also be caused by gingivitis and mouth ulcers so I would have this checked out.
The discolouraton can be kept in check by using the correct diet such as a raw food diet, most can be bought ready prepared by bravo foods in USA and the honest kitchen or in the UK Prizechoice foods.The use of lecithin in the die can also be used as can Angel Glow in the USA or Angel delight in the UK .

Good luck
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