We have an 8mth old male black lab and in the past month or so we noticed a small area on the middle/top section of his tail has gone white. You can only see it if you brush his hair backwards to reveal this white patch underneath a thin layer of black. Very odd! Just trying to find out why his hair has turned from black to white, it's about the sz of a 50p. Any thoughts?! He is still a full male as hasn't had the snip yet! Due to be done in a few weeks. Not sure if it's hormone related?
Hi, my almost five year old black lad has the odd white hair appearing from time to time , but not a patch as your does so it might be worth mentioning to your Vet , just in case its a dermatological issue ?
I have mentioned it and vet wasn't concerned but didn't give me an explanation as to why it's there either!
In that case, if your Vet says its fine , don't worry about it . Many black or chocolate Labs have a flash of white on their chests which is permissible by the KC breed standard , your lad just happens to have his on his tail, that's all
Thanks. I just find it bizzare that he was all black (we've had him since 8wks) and suddenly his hair goes white in one place. Be interesting to find out if there was a reason for it happening. I'd post a picture but I can't seem to work out how to do it!
https://www.google.ca/search?q=supr...gB&dpr=0.9#tbm=isch&q=supracaudal+gland++dog+ I tried to find a diagram of where the supracaudal gland is on the tail and could only come up with the photos above showing damage at that site. Not meant to scare you but keep an eye if it's in this location. I don't know if white hairs at this spot can indicate the start of supracaudal hyperplasia but if ( big if, many times it does not heal) an infection in this area does heal over it's not uncommon for the hairs there to come in white. I think you would see hair loss first though. If you want to google this up a common name for it is stud tail but it can happen to both sexes, neutered or not. An infection there can smell HORRIBLE.
Thanks for the info. The area that is white is in the same place as the images show. It's not infected or smelly. There is no skin damage or irritation. It doesn't bother him at all. The white hair is quite coarse compared to the black hair. It's only visible if you brush his hair back as its still covered by black hairs at the moment! I'll mention to vet again as I have to go back this week to get his eye infection checked.
