# Plastic and Stainless steel



## kwaugh (May 8, 2006)

I forgot where I read this, so maybe it was on this site, but is there truth to the statement that plastic bowls can make the black coloring of the dogs nose fade? I thought I read that somewhere and wanted to confirm it.

I use Stainless Steel, primarily because I use to feed my dogs BARF and just have always liked the stainless steel. Plastic never lasts long in our household and I don't like that they don't always feel like they clean well.

Karyn


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## I found nemo (Feb 23, 2006)

Hi,
I have never heard the nose thing? But I have heard the stainless steel is better because of germs and bacteria. I use it also, it always looks brand new, but I wash it everyday also..



Andrea~


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## 3Maltmom (May 23, 2005)

Karyn ~ That does sound familiar, about the nose thing and plastic, but I have no clue. Like you, I only use stainless steel as well. Plastic retains the bacteria, and seems to feel "scummy" even after washing


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## Scoobydoo (May 26, 2005)

I too use stainless steal, but I have never heard of plastic making the nose go pink, I thought lack of sunshine was one or the prime cause, the other is lack of pigment. Scooby always gets what they call a winter nose, it fades a bit and looks lighter through the winter due to the lack of getting out in the sun.


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## PreciousPrince (Feb 27, 2006)

I've never heard of that causing the nose pigment to fade either. The only thing I've read in regard to plastic bowls is that you shouldn't use them bc it can make the tear staining worse. You should just use either stainless steel or ceramic and filtered water for that aspect. But since you already have the stainless steel you should be good!


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## bellaratamaltese (May 24, 2006)

> I forgot where I read this, so maybe it was on this site, but is there truth to the statement that plastic bowls can make the black coloring of the dogs nose fade? I thought I read that somewhere and wanted to confirm it.
> 
> I use Stainless Steel, primarily because I use to feed my dogs BARF and just have always liked the stainless steel. Plastic never lasts long in our household and I don't like that they don't always feel like they clean well.
> 
> Karyn[/B]


I read that somewhere too! I can't remember where but I know I was using a plastic bowl and went and got stainless steel right after I read that! I tried doing a search to see if I could locate where I'd read that but to no avail *sighs*


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## 2maltese4me (May 8, 2006)

<span style="font-family:tempus sans itc">I've read on _another board_ that plastic can cause the black to fade and I've also read that plastic bowls can cause tear stains.......there was no 'proof' to back it up though, I think it was more or less someones opinion.

That said, stainless is better IMO, because of bacteria etc....and I can pop it into the dishwasher to sanitize it.</span>


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## kwaugh (May 8, 2006)

Okay this was bugging me so I had to sit and search the internet till I found something. Oh, the reason i was even asking this question was because I have a friend whose dog's nose was losing pigmentation and I was going to suggest to her to change our the dog bowl to see if that helps, but didn't want to suggest it until I could confirm what I thought I read.

ANYWAY, I found this on the Vet info website, regarding depigmentation of dog noses and what might be possible causes. I'm just going to copy and paste the list:

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The various causes of loss of pigmentation of the nasal planum (the usually black portion of the nose) that I can find good references for are: 

1) Dudley nose -- loss of pigment seen in a number of breeds for unknown reasons in which the nose is black when dogs are young but fades to brown or sometimes even white as the dog ages. 

2) A transient form of the above condition may exist or it may be something else, but some dogs do lose some pigment and then recover the normal coloring of their nose over time. 

3) Labradors, Golden retrievers, Bernese Mountain dogs and Siberian huskies may have seasonal variation in the color of the nasal planum, usually lighter in the winter and darker in the summer. The cause of this is not known, either. Some vets refer to this as "snow nose". 

4) Vitiligo can cause loss of pigment of the nose and it may also be part of a syndrome of immune mediated disease in which hypothyroidism also occurs, so perhaps this is the link to loss of color of the nose and hypothyroidism but if it is, the hypothyroidism is thought to occur after another disorder causes the color change. Dogs with vitiligo normally have development of patches of white hair or white hairs scattered in the hair coat. I don't think that loss of pigment in the nasal planum only is likely with this condition. 

5) Contact dermatitis can cause loss of pigment in the nose -- some dogs are reported to be sensitive to the plastic that is found in some feeding bowls, for instance. Continual irritation of the nasal planum from a cause like this might lead to loss of pigment. Usually the lips are also are inflamed or may have pigment loss if they are dark, too. 

6) We see dogs with discoid lupus and with phemphigus that have loss of pigment of the nasal planum, usually patchy but sometimes most of the planum is involved. There are also usually skin sores around the edges of the nasal planum, on the bridge of the nose, around the eyelids or places like that. 

7) I have seen cats with squamous cell carcinoma lose the pigment in the nasal planum as an early sign. I am not sure that this same problem occurs in dogs but I wouldn't want to totally rule it out. 
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(The Above was copied in part from http://www.vetinfo.com/ddepigmt.html) If you want to read the entire text you can go read it on the website itself.


Enjoy!
Karyn


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