Which dog breeds have black tongues?

You just adopted a new mutt and you wonder what his parentage might be. His tongue is mostly pink, but it has black or purple spots on it. You've probably heard someone suggest that he must be part chow-chow, but he doesn't look at all like a chow. You wonder to yourself, what other dog breeds have black tongues?

Contrary to popular misconception, dogs with black tongues are not always chows or chow-mixes. However, there are only two breeds known to have solid-black tongues. These include (of course) the chow-chow, and its distant cousin the shar-pei. A dog with a solid black tongue certainly has either chow or shar-pei heritage (possibly both).

However, many breeds have tongues with black spots. Even purebred dogs of these breeds may have black-spotted tongues and still fit within their breed standards. Breeds distantly related to the chow, including spitz-type dogs, commonly display this trait. The Alaskan malamute, Siberian husky, Pomeranian, keeshond, akita and sheba inu frequently have black-spotted tongues.

Black tongue spotting is common in retriever breeds, including the Belgian sheepdog, flat-coated retriever, Labrador retriever and golden retriever. Shepherd breeds like the Belgian sheepdog, Australian shepherd, Australian cattle-dog, rough collie, smooth collie, Shetland sheepdog, and German shepherd may display the trait. Terriers like the airedale, bichon frise, Cairn terrier, kerry blue terrier and wheaten terrier can also have pink tongues with black spots.

It doesn't end there. Your dog with a black-spotted tongue may be a mix of Belgian tervuren, bouvier des Flandres, bull mastiff, cocker spaniel, Dalmatian, doberman pinscher, English setter, eurasier, Gordon setter, great Pyrenees, Irish setter, kai ken, Korean jindo, Maltese, mastiff, moutain curr, Newfoundland, pug, Rhodesian ridgeback or Thai ridgeback.

Black-spotted tongues can also appear sporadically in puppies who do not have any of these breeds in their direct pedigrees. Ultimately, a tongue with black spots says little about your dog's background. If you're not sure of his genetic heritage, a qualified breeder or veterinarian can probably wager a decent guess about your pup's family history.