One of our greys is fairly light in color. He's mostly white around his muzzle. I was gone for about four days last week and when I got back, I noticed that that white area around his muzzle is now a reddish color, like it got stained by something. My fiance didn't feed him anything different or change anything in his diet while I was gone. Does anyone know what this stain is & how can we get rid of it? My fiance won't let me bleach it. J/K. I would never put bleach on the dogs.

I think it's from their saliva. I noticed some discolloration on Chester's leg and it's the same spot that he chews once in a while. This is only my guess. Someone may have some real reason for this.

I've noticed that it happens to a lot of older hounds... don't know wht it is or what causes it, but it is something I've wondered about as well.

I know that little white dogs, like miniture poodles and malteses, usually have the same kind of stain, but usually under their eyes. My friend told me that it was their tears, but I don't think Chance is crying around his mouth.

when i first got zola, the fur around her mouth (black dog) was stained red from however she was eating at the kennel. nowadays, she eats and rubs her excess food crumbs on me or the couch so i think that's why the stains are gone. does your hound have an after-meal rubbing session with you, that maybe he didn't do with your fiance?

We use baby wipes here for that specific reason.

Kelly, Dixie and Nash in PA

We used to have maltese and they always had staining around their eyes and mouth. We were told it was from the acid in their tears and saliva and you could give them a half a tums a day to get rid of it. We didn't really care and it was such a fight to get them to take the tums that we just let them have little red marks.

Kris

Its the acid in the pH (tears, saliva) that causes the stains. You could feed TUMS to neutralize the pH and no more stain

I often wonder about the older dog mouth as well.

My tuxedo has a very grey face, and if I'm putting a little too much water in his kibble, he gets the stain. It's like a kid drinking kool-aid or a milk mustache

Maybe that's part of it??

Yep. It's the spit. We keep Stoney's face clean with Hydrogen Peroxide every so many days (or when he's going to be seen in public!).

My Alan always gets those "reddish" stains after eating. Sounds like I'll try the hydrogen peroxide, as warm water or warm soapy water doesn't seem to work. I can't stand that look, always looking dirty.

I feel the same way... looking dirty no matter how much I scrub with soap and water. Guess we'll be getting some H2O2 this weekend. So should we do a 1 part water, 1 part H2O2?

Another something I've always wondered about. Out of my two white greys, Noni has this staining, while Marlin does not. AND, Noni is a pig at meal time, while Marlin is a very picky and delicate eater....hmmmmmm!

Most greys get that "face staining" from cleaning their genitals.
Females are more prevalent at getting this.
If your dog suddenly gets the facial stains, check for a minor urinary infection or irritation.