The Black Tongue Debate
                            Pictures below
                                                           new picture added July 19, 2008


The Truth About Those Black Tongues     Courtesy of Vicki DeGruy, Kathy Welsh and Anna Wallace of the Chow Club Welfare Committee

Does the black spot on your Labrador's tongue mean he's really a Chow mix? That mixed breed puppy in the shelter with a partially black tongue -- is that a sure sign he's part Chow?  The answer to both questions is:   No!

The Chow Chow's blue-black tongue is one of the breed's most well known physical characteristics. It's also the most misunderstood.
The Chow is one of the most ancient breeds and is the ancestor of many breeds of today. The origin of the Chow's black tongue is a mystery; we don't know how or why he came to have it. 

We do know that the Chow is not the only breed with a blue-black tongue. The Chinese Shar-Pei shares this trait as well.  A few other animals have black tongues, too:  the giraffe, polar bear, and several breeds of cattle including the Jersey. We also know that blue-black spots on tongues are very common in dogs - more than 30 pure breeds are known  to have members with spotted tongues.  Spots on tongues are simply deposits of extra pigment, like birthmarks and freckles on people.  Dogs often have spots of dark pigment on their skin, too, hiding under their coats.  These spots can be large or small, many or few.

If a Chow's tongue has a pink spot on it, does that mean it's not purebred?  No. Chow puppies' tongues are pink at birth. They darken to blue-black by 8-10 weeks of age. Some tongues don't  cover completely and they may have small spots or splashes of pink. Elderly Chows and Chows with the dilute coat colors of cinnamon and blue sometimes lose tongue pigment as they age and develop pink spots.  What if the dog looks like a Chow but has a completely pink or mostly pink tongue?

Knowledgeable Chowists agree that such dogs are not purebred Chows and might not have any Chow parentage at all. The Chow is a member of the spitz family, a large group of breeds that includes the  Samoyed, Siberian Husky, Malamute, Akita, Shiba Inu,  Pomeranian, Norwegian Elkhound, Keeshond, etc. They all share basic physical characteristics:  a similar body structure, over-the-back tail carriage, upright triangular ears, and a dense offstanding coat.  A Chow-looking dog with a pink tongue is more likely to be a mix of one of the other spitz-type breeds.

                 Breeds known to have members with spotted tongues

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


Comment from person with black tongue dog:

Hello, not sure if I spelled it right but my rott had a big black spot on her tongue and had Von Willebrands (form of hemophilia).
I did not realize there was a connection but later read it in a rottweiler book. Most of the breeds listed on this site are in the
group that can also have that hereditary disorder.

This is Ghengis, our 3 year old pure bred Siberian we rescued from a local breed rescue group.  We love the 'paw print' on his tongue!  Thank you for your informative site. Kelli Clinton,    UT
This is Chewy, a 1 yr old black terrier mix we got at our local shelter.  When I saw the picture of the dog sent in by  Jared, Halifax, NS   Canada, I had to send in our picture too.  They look a lot alike.  Same wire haired coat, floppy ears, and terrier fur between the eyes, and on the muzzle.  Wish I knew what he is, but in any case, he's a sweetie. Dani Demyen  Lancaster, CA	Here’s a pic of “Chongo”…appreciate the site about tongues. We too have been told he has Chow….but more astute folks say GSD/Lab mix. Smart dog with a lot of vitality…..in the neighborhood, he’s a dog’s dog. Great pal…too. Doug Konieczny  Spring TX	Here is a pic of our adopted dog Karma. She is a lab mix, almost 2yrs old and has a very fast black spotted tongue!! James, Fort Mill, SC	This is Independence, our 7 month old AKC registered Golden Retriever.  Just this morning, yet another person stopped us as we were out walking and stated authoritatively that "he must have some Chow in him", because of course ONLY Chow have spotted tongues.  Sigh.  Melissa, New Mexico
Hey, thanks for the great info. on dogs w/blue tongues.  It was helpful trying to figure out the heritage of our newest pooch.  Our dog Misty came from a rescue in Tenn. called friendsfurlife TN.  As best we can tell she is a Rhodesian Ridgeback mixed w/ lab and perhaps German shepherd.  One of the vets claimed that she had to be part chow b/c of the black spots on her tongue.  I didn't buy this, as her coat is short and very wiry - not fluffy chow-like at all.  Hope you like this pic.  She's a love. Katie      Westford, MA	Hi Kellie...we just adopted this little guy who the rescue place thinks is a Tibetan Terrier / Glen of Imaal mix or  Lhasa Apso/Schnauzer mix. We have no clue. Everyone we talk to thinks he has chow (of course because of the blue/black mouth and tongue) but who knows.  Chewy &  Ellen, Columbus OH Opinions on what breed this dog may be can be sent to  EDS9949@aol.com	This Rico Suave. He is about 15 weeks old. That is a guess as he showed up at our house, obviously someone's discard, being covered with fleas. He received a good bath that day and moved in. Two of his vets believe he may be medium sized in adulthood. We have had fun trying to guess his heritage. Robyn  Baxley, GA	Gizmo came to us as a stray. The vet told us that he must be a mix because of the spots on his tongue. We are still unsure if he is a full pit or mixed with something else. We love him, though, no matter what he is! I was always one to believe that pit bulls were inherently bad dogs… Gizmo set me straight in short order. He is the best dog I have ever had! Vancouver, Washington
Brownie How's this for a pic! He's My Brindle 120 lb Mastiff/pit mix? Diana, Los Angeles CA	My pup can from a backyard litter that was so inbreed that every puppy looked different.  Everyone who sees my pups tongue say, "Oh, he is a Chow!" but umm HELLO have you looked him he is not.  He is Lab/Shepard as far as we can tell.  I would guess to say his tongue is 95% black and out of the 7 in his litter I think he was the only one with any black on his tongue.  People should just leave black tongued dogs alone.	I stumbled on your page about "black tongues" and thought it was great! Noah is a 15mth old Pure Bred Golden who frolics in the lakes around North Bay, ON Canada - I have always known why Noah has them but it was so cute to see so many fuzzy kids with these marks! I did have one person asked me if he "ate a ballpoint pen" Wendy     North Bay, ON    CANADA	Hi, Sassy is a pedigree German Shepherd Dog and has always had a spotted tongue, the farther back in, the more spots there are, we heard that they were called "Best of Breed" spots! Cheers, Kirt & Lisa West Sussex, BN132QA
This is our dog Riley, we adopted him from the local shelter. We have no idea what type of dog he is. He has two coats, the outer coat is black wire haired.  Jared, Halifax, NS Canada	Ziggy's a 2yr old German Shepherd/Chow mix.  We adopted her from the animal shelter in July 2006. She also has a dense undercoat and the cutest tail that curls up over her back so I think she probably is part Chow. Liz,     Peoria  IL	Dahlia's a lab/border collie cross and you can see a few of the spots on her tongue in this picture.  Most of them appear  further back on the tongue, so you can't see them too easily, but there are a few down toward the end! Michelle,  Syracuse NY	I was told my dog, Rosco,  was a Lab-Weimariner Mix Now I am not so sure. Either way he is a sweetheart. Heather,   Keller TX
I thought that I would send you this picture of my boy, Biscuit, and his tongue spots. He didn't have any until he was around 3 mo old and then they started out the size of a freckle and grew to what you see in the picture. He is Pure Bred Golden Retriever. I call them "Treat Spots"---they show you where to place the treats! LOL Sincerely, Cathy,  MA	Our Rottweiler Charlie was a rescue from Galveston Texas, we're now in NH.  He appears to be a full Rott but has very long straight hair and the black spotted tongue.  He’s very compact at 79lbs & 1 yr.  He’s extremely agile which makes me think he’s part cheetah with that tongue of his.  Laura, NH	I've been trying to figure out what Cody is mixed with but I just don't know! Lab, Pit, shar pei? chow? who knows! Emily  NY NY	I just took this photo around and every "dog genius" told me my dogs had Chow in them. Since I didn't know, I searched the web and found a lot of sites that debunk that myth. Thank you for posting yours. Here is my shot of both brothers. Lefty is the one on the right and Ritey is the one on the left. Ritey has a black spot way on the back of his tongue (you can just barely see it in the photo) and some under his tongue. You can obviously see Lefty's spots. And the spots have been growing as fast as the pups have too. At first Ritey didn't have any spots and Lefty's were just small dots. Brady, Melrose FL
Malamute Mix, Buddy 2.5yrs, Northwest OH	I was delighted to happen upon your site.  This is a picture of our Stella.  We rescued her from a human society.  They told us she is a chow akita mix.  She is currently 4 months old.  She is a lovely dog with a great temperament.  I see a lot of Akita in her appearance, but not much chow chow.  Thanks, Laura  Ann Arbor, Michigan	Below is Maki, whom I thought might be a dwarf Chow. Her coat was just starting to grow back after I adopted her as a mostly naked dog from the pound. It turned out she had advanced thyroid cancer and only lived a couple months. She was about half the size of a normal Chow and quite old Linda Richmond CA	We found Princess in a field as a pup, I have no idea what she is so any guesses I would love to know.  She is just 3. Thank you Rhonda Buckeye AZ send guess to: missgdrnch@yahoo.com
My dog Zoe is half GSD and Black Lab.  I always wondered why spots appeared on her tongue.  When she was a pup she had one little spot on the back of her tongue, and now she is almost a year and she is spotted up quite a bit!   Jen,  Early TX	This is Hotchy a pound puppy that we sadly lost this past summer at age 12. They said he was a lab/chow mix  but we think there had to be some spaniel in there based on his little bit of curl and long fur on his ears. He's growing out his summer cut in this photo so the true length and curl of his fur is not shown, but that black tongue is.  Liz, Gaithersburg, MD	Hello from sunny Puerto Rico, Attached is our wild and crazy 8 month Golden Retriever Shaggy Dupree. When I asked our vet about the black spots on the tongue he mentioned the chow mix theory. Great website, German and Judy, Puerto Rico	Cubby is about 7 yrs old.  I always assumed chow mix because of the tongue.  But he has the tail with long hair and big poof that curls up over his back, large mane, smaller back end & broader chest,  and long hair on his legs and back haunches.  His mane has thinned considerably in the last few years and he has become gray and white in places. Coldwater MI
The shelter said he was a chow lab miix .. I have found a dog called a ca de bou..from Spain that looks exactly like him ..? But none of the pics of that dog show inside the mouth ..Not many have a black tongue and black mouth too. Toby lives with Michael in Carbondale, IL	DNA Tested ! Originally thought to be a chow-lab  mix, recent DNA testing ruled out chow-chow and lab (as well as some other breeds: husky, shepherd, akita) but not Jindo or Austrailan Cattle Dog,  so that's my current guess, until I have more detailed testing done. Thanks for the webpage discussion on this topic - interesting and helpful! Megan, Washington, DC	Vonda & Betsy	Rescued in November 2006, the shelter designated Grendel as a Rott/Akita mix.  The first Vet visit, my vet determined he was barely a year old and might be a Mastiff, Pit Bull mix.  I don’t think he has any Pit Bull in him and I’m just curious enough now to ask for the new blood test. Lezlie in Monclair, VA
We rescued Sam  from the streets when he was about 4 weeks old. He is 1 yr now. Animal control told us he is a lab/chow mix. Thanks for the information on your site.  Debra,  Port St Lucie  FL	This is our beloved Max rescued from the street (showing off his splotchy tongue :)  We are guessing him to German Shepard Dog mix. Jacksonville  FL	My greyhound has 2 blue spots (one is visible picture) many other greyhounds also have blue spots. I don’t think most dog savvy people even know this about greyhounds Oscar   Chicago IL	Jack, busted mid-yawn.  He’s a German Shepherd Mix that we got from the SPCA.    Rena, Newport News, VA
Jake After googling to try and find out what kind of dog mine is I came upon your site, and thought I'd submit a great picture of my son, Jake!  He looks like a lab, but who knows.  Many people enjoy guessing, because his tongue tends to throw them off!            Wendy, Monterey CA	Most people think my dog, Yasha, has Chow in her because she has black on her tongue.  But, we had her (DNA) tested (38 different breeds including Chow), and the only breed she tested positive for was Golden Retriever.  We have noticed that her tongue is getting more black on it as she has gotten older.  Shelley, Mesa AZ	Rex, our 7 yr old Bouvier Des Flandres with the black spot on his tongue.  There is no chow in his lineage.  The spot did not appear until he was 3 yrs old. Geri, Jordan, MN	This is my 6 month papered AKC Newfoundland Mungo who has a spotted tongue. At 8 wks,  he had 3 small spots, now he has multiple spots that keep growing. I was pissed that people kept insisting he was a Chow-Newf mix because of his tongue. Silly people just cant understand that is just a discoloration Rachel & Mungo, Salt Lake City, Utah
Kelly I can now say with certainty that my 8 yr old Border Collie/Australian Shepard mix does not have Chow in her.   She has long silky hair and no undercoat, as a Chow would have.  Kelly was a 5 month old rescue puppy when I adopted her.  Her tongue is about 80% black and the whole inside of her mouth is black.   Ladera Ranch, CA	Lila Black/Tan Coonhound rescued from the local pound Copake Falls, NY	English mastiff Tank   He was not born with the spot but it later appeared. Corpus Christi, TX	Finally an answer to my question.  I have owned 2 pure bred German Shepard's and my first one had a couple of spots but my second Shepard has tons of them! She was born with a plain pink tongue and then they started appearing at 6 months old and I notice the old ones, way back on the tongue appear to be slowly getting bigger.  I think it is cool and just adds to her character.  I get sick of  people saying "is she a pure bred?"  or "she must have chow in her"!!  Now I'll tell people she has freckles!  Kelly and Jenna, Monkton VT
Wilbrod Washington DC	Sarah in New Mexico is looking for input on what kind of dog her pooch is.             Sarah at  twizlerz77@hotmail.com	Dino is a Black lab with Black tongue and gums lips. He is  16 yrs old and as he has aged we have noticed more pink starting to show in his mouth and it is really strange to see a Lab with pink tongue and gums after having Dino in our lives for this long. Las Vegas NV	Max, 6months, pure breed golden Beulaville NC
Kosey,  Eskimo Mix New Haven   CT	Coco, 1.5 yrs, Sheltie/Shep Mix, the black or we call it purple on the back of her tongue....and the next one on the top of her tongue...that zigzags to the back of her tongue Burnsville   MN	I've been doing animal rescue for many years and have seen members of a variety of breeds with all black or spotted tongues that are not Chows or mixes.  This is Kozmo, a dog I re-homed.  Kozmo is a purebred Red Siberian Husky with a completely black tongue Green Valley AZ	Julie Lab/Flat Coat Mix, shelter pooch & the sweetest dog ever ! Oak Forest IL
a Belgian Malinois/Golden Retriever mix - both breeds, known to have black tongues.  The black on her tongue is growing and is now almost solid black.  Adopted from the shelter at 11 months, she had solid black on the back 1/3 of her tongue, a small black spot in the middle and another small black spot on the front 1/3 of her tongue - now, almost a year later, she has some small pink spots	Rocky in California	Baxter 10wks, adopted from ASPCA Largo FL	This is our Pure Bred Black Lab "Dingleberry Fungus" and his spotted tongue.  His second name is a result of when he was a pup my husband said "it looks like he's got a fungus growing on his tongue.. and so our boy "Dingle" came to be! Warm regards from Alaska,  Marni
Koa, Flat Coated Retriever	Slider Adopted from Florida Shelter	Adopted From shelter in Tampa FL Chinchilla Cardigan Welsh Corgi	An AKC show quality Golden Ret courtesy Chow Club Welfare Committee
You  can watch Sabor on TV He plays a police K-9 and SAR K-9 when needed for the show Forensic Files. Sabor is a German Shepherd with European bloodlines that can be traced back to Slovakia.  I was told by my Slovakian born grandmother that all of her German Shepherds in the old country had black spots on their tongues.  Tami	Max Allentown PA	Max	This pooch was found as a stray in Tampa Bay Florida     Butzi in  N Carolina
Mix	Shar Pei	Mix	Golden Retriever
Golden Mix	Mix	Mix	Chow Mix

Comments from dog guardians:


--I have a collie / shepherd mix and my Vet noticed a purple/black spot on her tongue and told me that my dog has another breed in her because 
   Collies nor Shepherds have black tongues. Could this be a sign that I should I change vets?