• @marckle:

    my last basenji had a full black nose. now as i am looking a the new 2010 puppies so many of them have white or pinkish blotches on their noses and not the full black - which i prefer. this is probably a superficial preference on my part… does anyone know the "standard"?

    Standard calls for black nose… but in Basenjis there is no DQ if it is not. In the winter, many Basenjis get what we call "winter" nose that get light and darken up again in the spring/summer

    here is the exact wording from AKC Nose--"Black greatly desired"


  • @marckle:

    my last basenji had a full black nose. now as i am looking a the new 2010 puppies so many of them have white or pinkish blotches on their noses and not the full black - which i prefer. this is probably a superficial preference on my part… does anyone know the "standard"?

    I wonder.. how old are the pups on the pictures you are looking at? Because it takes some time for the nose to become fully black.

    Edit.. pics 🙂

    Puppy nose.. will become black

    And older dog with pink in nose..


  • The only one of my 4 that gets the winter nose is my oldest girl. I have her grand daughter and her great grandson and neither of them get the winter nose.

    To the OP…Janneke is right about puppies not having full black noses - usually. I have seen 2 that have had the full black nose right from birth and it looks kind of funny - like someone blackened their nose with a marker.


  • I think this older b is lovely, but then, I don't show…


  • "Winter nose" - I'd never heard of that, like so much I've never heard of - but now it explains why my girl's nose is lighter than it used to be. Huh - we keep learning…....


  • Winter nose is common in many breeds. They have attributed it to everything from zinc, food bowls etc on down.

    Cara has a black nose but a white area.

    NOTE: when she was puppy, part of entire nose white. NOW all outer is black but there is white spot on inside.

  • First Basenji's

    Interesting. Does anyone know why winter nose happens?

    I don't think it gets wintery enough where I'm at to observe any difference…


  • interesting. i guess i have been looking at young puppies whose noses are still pigmenting.
    janneke- thanks for the pics. i love a visual aid…specially when the subjects are so adorable!


  • Keep in mind, noses are totally pink when born… and then start to turn black... the more white around the muzzle, the longer it usually takes to fill in.... kind of like Dals, born all white, spots begin to appear between 5 and 10 days... and Tri Basenjis don't start showing their "pips" or brown cheek islands until a few days old


  • @curlytails:

    Interesting. Does anyone know why winter nose happens?

    I don't think it gets wintery enough where I'm at to observe any difference…

    I wonder if its similar to human skin color & in the winter they just have less exposure to the sun & their nose lightens like we become more pale in the winter?

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