Beard and Feet Discoloration

Question
My miniature schnauzer is 5 years old - 6 months ago his white beard started turning a dark red color along with his front paws. We took him to the vet who thought it was an allergy so he put him on steroids.  The only thing those did was make him fat! We have had to cut off his beard but it is coming back this same horrible color. He looks so awful. He also has a dark discoloration on his stomach around his back leg area. Any ideas as to what might be going on?

Answer
The staining is generally due to the pH of the dog's saliva, which is affected by either water, diet, or dirty teeth. Lift the dog's lip up and see if those teeth are clean and white all the way up to the gum line, or if they have brown gunk on them... particularly check those molars in the back of the mouth. Schnauzers usually need teeth cleaned at least twice a year.

If the dog is licking his feet, that is most likely due to allergies. If that is the case, you should try to discover the source of his allergies through testing, rather than letting a vet "slap a bandaid" on the problem.

Your vet would need to make a diagnosis on the "dark discoloration", but it sounds like it might just be a simple pigment issue.