Expert: Kaza - 6/5/2010

Question
QUESTION: I am in the process of getting a bichon puppy. The puppy I have picked out does not have the dark pigmentation around his eye that is typical of the breed. He will be a pet, not for breeding or showing. Will this affect him in any way other than cosmetically? He is so small now that I can't tell what he'll look like as a grown puppy. Will this cause him to have a strange or unusual look to him as an adult dog?

ANSWER: Pigment may still come at a later stage. It will not affect him in any way if he has none , I suspect he is aged about 4-8 weeks and many lack pigment at this age , if parents have pigment he is likely to retain their shading.

www.eurobichons.com

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you. He is 9 weeks old. He has four littermates, all of whom already have the eye halos and dark around their mouth, but he has none. He does have the black nose, however. Both parents are purebred bichons, and both have dark eye halos/nose/lip pigment.
Do you know of grown bichons who never developed the pigment around their eyes and other areas (lips/footpads)? Will this affect his health as an adult dog or cause increased sensitivity to light or sun?

Answer
Hi Jenny
this is really likely to be late development I suggest that giving him some kelp in his diet only a pinch daily will help his pigment come through, many puppies develop very differently from their litter-mates in part this can be due to that particular pup being the last to conceive so is less mature upon being born, due to the womb conditions being different due to greedy pups or even due to this pup being more like the grandparents and great grandparents. It carries no particular health worry, he will be just as good as the gene pool will allow so, I suggest that the test results of which the breeder should have done have been done and you hold a copy upon collection.

If pigment is missing during the heat I would apply sunscreen to nose and lips .

www.eurobichons.com