confused about chow puppy's tongue

[Tori]

Hi guys, this is my first time owning a chow so I new to all of this.
So I bought my black female chow puppy(snoopy) 2weeks ago, and I believe she is purebred, see I've ready on numerous websites that at the age of 8weeks their tongue should be completely purple.. But I'm baby girl (snoopy) is believed to be 9weeks and her whole mouth is black/purple except the middle part of her tongue...so do ya'll think her whole tongue will eventually become purple?

[applebear]

I've been a little interested in this myself, as I did see a purebred chow [no doubts...may of even been someone on here] that had a splotchy pink and purple tongue. Gorgeous chow, just didn't have the full purple tongue. My guess is no, it won't eventually turn purple...but I won't swear to it. I have a chow/husky and his tongue is all most completely purple with a few pink spots along the sides...he's a mix obviously, so it wasn't a surprise to me. However I was curious if it is common for some purebreds to get the pink splotches and is it considered a fault to the breed [not that it would make them any less of pets, but I mean along standard terms].

[Tippsy'smom]

Her tongue should continue to darken. Sometimes it just takes a little longer for some. My purebred girl that I lost last year, Tippsy, had some pink splotches that appeared back on her tongue over time, as she got older. When I got my mix boy, Jasper, at about 5-7 weeks old; his tongue was almost solid pink except a SMALL purple spot on the back of it. Now, his tongue is almost solid purple, and as I said, he's a mix.

[Tori]

Thanks for the response, I'm just so curious about her tongue lol, it won't make me love her less though, I'm just happy that she is happy and healthy

[mebo]

My breeder told me that some purebred chows will have spots of pink in their mouths. My Minnie has a darker tongue than her sister, but both are from the same litter.

[Sirchow]

Their tongues continue to darken for several months sometimes. Izzie has a very dark almost black mouth but at five months still had pink bits and lighter bits. Give it time

[Tori]

That's exactly what I have to do lol no other choice, I've read that black, cinnamon and cream chows normally take longer for the pigments on the tongue to develop completely, she has all other features of a chow but how do I know for sure that she is pure ?

[Victory]

In your first post you said you bought her; where did you buy her from? Have you met her parents? You can't go by just her tongue's color. There are registered pure bred chows, (parents, grandparents, great grand parents all registered) that have splotchy tongues all their lives or even full pink tongues. It is a serious and disqualifing fault for a show chow, but for a pet it's okay. Such a chow should never be bred, but it is still a chow.

Like others have said it can take a while for full pigmentation to happen, it is kind of like their coat and teeth, a chows adult coat is different from their puppy coat, just like their puppy teeth are different from their adult teeth. Also when they are hot and/or excited their tonges will show more pink, (or a dark red) from more blood being there, like all canines their tongues are a major cooling organ for them, so don't be surprised when she is panting heavily if her tongue shows red.

Also as Tippsy's Mom said, as she ages, after 10 or older, her mouth will lose some of the darkness, in the lighter chows the fading is even more apparent. It's like a human's hair turning grey/white/silver. It's just loss of pigmentation.

[Rory's Dad]

Victory explained it pretty well. The color of the Chow tongue, and gums, are generally that black, blue, purple color. Pink within the mouth is NOT an indication that they are not purebred. Simply stated, it is a disqualification for a show dog. And yes, the coloring can darken, just like the fur/coat color will change as they grow out of puppyhood.

I also love the explanation of differing coloration depending on the dogs mood or temperment. My dog has a very large tongue that doesnt seem to fit in his mouth. When he is overly hot, or around a seasonal female, it completely shrinks in width and lightens in color.