# Whiskers & Toe Colors



## Lil RiRi (Dec 10, 2009)

I have a quick question.. Riley has black and white whiskers. On one side they are black and the other they are white. Also, Chloes toes are pink and black. Some are all pink, some are all black, and some have both. Why is that? I don't know if they are stupid questions. I was just curious!


----------



## railNtrailcowgrl (Jul 24, 2008)

Whiskers and toe nails are basically (kerotin, I think ?), which is a fancy word for really thick hair (just like our nails, rhino horns, ect). They get their color from the pigment in the skin they are attached too, just as their hair does. Pink/white hair/whiskers/nails are actually lacking pigment, whereas black or brown areas are heavy in pigment cells. My dog has multi-colored whiskers too, black and white mixed on both sides of her face due to her markings and 'freckles'.

PS-no question is a stupid question, we're all happy to answer questions here.


----------



## Lil RiRi (Dec 10, 2009)

Thanks for this! I meant, toes as in the pads of the dogs foot not toe nails. Does this apply to this, too?


----------



## spanielorbust (Jan 3, 2009)

Not a stupid question at all. The answer has to do with the fact that the melanin that causes the color in dogs (and all mammals) comes originally from a population of cells, called the neural crest, that is located on the dorsal mid-line of the early embryo. 

From there the melanocytes migrate. For a dog with full color they migrate to cover the full body BUT sometimes they don't make it to the very tips - this could just be because the dam had a slight cold during her pregnancy, or because she is from a line that traditionally has incomplete migration (this trait can be selected for - the Boston Terrier is an example). Thus you end up with light paw pads (and sometimes full white boots), white spots on chests, at the tip of the tail, blazes up the midline of the face, and white muzzle tips (sometimes just the whiskers).

Those lighter pads and the white whiskers are just places devoid of melanocytes - the color pigment just didn't get there.

Hope that made sense to you.

SOB


----------



## Lil RiRi (Dec 10, 2009)

Yep. It makes perfect sense! I thought it was weird and maybe the pink area was softer skin. lol I know that didn't make sense in actual reality. But, I just always wondered.


----------



## kerplunk105 (Mar 5, 2008)

Tegan and Bliss both have black footpads, black nails, (which makes for a PITA for clipping!), and black whiskers.

My old dog Leena, a GSP, was brown and white. She had some white and some brown whiskers. Most of her nails were white. Her pads were pink and brown.


----------



## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

Mia has the cutest foot. Every other pad is black and the others are pink. Looks like a little checkers board.


----------

