Our dog is part Black Lab and part Golden Retriever -- at least that's our vet's best guess.
We found him as a tiny pup, so it's difficult to know for sure. But he definitely has the looks, personality, and behavioral characteristics of both -- a Labrador Retriever and a Golden Retriever, combined.
He also has two black spots on his tongue.
We immediately asked or vet if that meant he was part Chow, and she said definitely not.
Further research has confirmed this for us. Here's what we've learned about black spots on a dog's tongue...
In Our Case...
We first noticed a black spot on the back of Destin's tongue at about 1 year of age. Then, by the time he was 3, we noticed another one.I don't know if the second one just "showed up" or if it was always there. Chances, are we just never noticed it before, because as he got older, his tongue got bigger and he started doing that tongue-stretching yawn even wider, which made it easier to inspect his tongue.
What The Research Says...
Black spots on a dog's tongue are simply "beauty marks", similar to freckles on people. They are merely places that have extra pigment than other places on the tongue -- that's all! Consider it your dog's own birthmark.Dogs often have spots of dark pigment on their skin, too. If you check the skin underneath their thick coat of fur, you will probably notice spots -- which can be large or small, many or few.
So, a black spot on your Labrador's tongue does not mean he's really a Chow mix.
Believe it or not... Chow puppies' tongues are pink at birth. They darken to blue-black by 8-10 weeks of age. Source
Pure Breed Dogs With Black Spots On The Tongue
Truth be told, more than 30 pure breeds of dog are known to have members with spotted tongues, including:
- Airedale
- Akita
- Australian Cattle Dog
- Australian Shepherd
- Belgian Sheepdog
- Belgian Tervuren
- Belgian Malinois
- Bichon Frise
- Bouvier de Flandres
- Bull Mastiff
- Cairn Terrier
- Chinese Shar-Pei
- Collie
- Cocker Spaniel
- Dalmatian
- Doberman Pinscher
- English Setter
- Eurasier
- Fila Brasileiro
- Flat-Coated Retriever
- German Shepherd
- Golden Retriever
- Gordon Setter
- Great Pyrenees
- Irish Setter
- Kai Ken
- Keeshond
- Korean Jindo
- Labrador Retriever
- Mastiff
- Mountain Cur
- Newfoundland
- Pomeranian
- Pug
- Rhodesian Ridgeback
- Rottweiler
- Shiba Inu
- Siberian Husky
- Tibetan Mastiff
- Thai Ridgeback
Pictures Of Dogs With Black Spots On Their Tongues
To see photos of some dogs with black spots on the tongue, check these out:
Australian Shephards with black tongues
German Shephards with black tongues
Labrador Retrievers with black tongues
Lots of other animals have black tongues too, including the giraffe, polar bear, and several breeds of cattle.
See...black spots on your dog's tongue are nothing more than a birthmark. It's just another thing that makes your dog unique -- not Chow.
Check here for some interesting information about a dog's tongue -- in general.
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ya your dog looks like my dog bu mine is brown and black and he is a shar pei, lab and golden retriever.
email me and i can get u a picture of what my dog looks like and u can compare them.
Your dog looks exactly like my dog. My dog is 1/2 black lab and 1/2 husky. The length of the coat and the tongue along with the descriptions of the black spots on the tongue match my dog to a T. Honestly, if I would have been able to recognize the backgrounds of your pictures, I would swear you had been taking pictures of my dog. Most people do confuse my dog with a Newfoundland.
I would say your dog is a newfoundland golden retriever mix...I have been researching what our rescue dog is...and contrary to the shelter and vet saying she is a border collie Golden mix...I am starting to believe that she is more Newfie and Golden Retriever than anything...Look into it.
I have a 4 month old Scottish Terrier that has 2 very distinct black spots on his tongue as well.
I also have a black lab/golden retriever mix that has black spots on her tongue that she's had since she was a puppy and she is 8 years old now.
I was shocked to see that our new Scottie puppy has a spotted tongue as well!!!
when we adopted my dog they said she was part pug and part tox fox terrier. when we got her she had a few spots on the backs of her legs and underbelly but those spots have gotten increasingly darker!!!!! what does this mean, is she ok?!?!
your dog is just a mix breed probably of course you already know that
I cant thank you enough for this website.I have been searching the internet to get an answer.My pug has a black spot on his tongue ,and i was so scared there was something wrong! I feel 100 times better:)