It is a common misconception that a dry nose means your dog is sick. Owners frequently come into the clinic saying, “His nose was dry, so I knew something was wrong.” While it’s fantastic that you’re observing your dog so carefully, a dry or even a wet nose is not always an indicator of illness.
As the day goes on your dogs nose may be dry or wet depending on their activities, it may be dry when they are out in the sun or on a hot day. A dog’s nose usually feels wet due to the lateral and vestibular nasal glands producing secretions. These secretions may dry depending on temperature or humidity.
This means that there usually is not a correlation between your dog’s nose and his health. However, there are some other things you can look at the nose for that may indicate a health issue:
• Excessively thickened, cracked or bleeding nose
• Green colored discharge from the nose
• Any lumps, bumps or masses on or near the nose area
• Any asymmetry of the nose or area over the bridge of the nose
• Excessive itching , scratching or rubbing of the nose on the carpet
When you bring your dog to the vet there are then several things we may suggest doing in order to find out the cause of the issue:
• Blood work – to look for evidence of an infection
• Clotting Tests- to rule out rodent poisoning or platelet problems
• Radiographs of the chest and nose area
As always, when in doubt feel free to contact with your Veterinarian , we may be able to ease your concerns about your dogs nose.
This blog post was written by McQueen Animal Hospital, a veterinary clinic in Brampton providing quality affordable veterinary care
