I'll see if I can capture a photo or two tomorrow, but Lady (black) is getting chocolate patches down her back. I wonder if this is a common occurrence as black labs age. Maybe it's the sun bleaching her? She like to sunbathe if it's not too hot.
All my black dogs stayed as black as sin til they died the just got a bit grey. It more than likely the sun or moulting.
My friends black girl has a very silky coat and she has chocolate patches. Rileys is wiry and black as coal (except where it's grey lol)
I have two black Labs and one has an undercoat with a hint of brown and it isn't dead hair! I notice his niece has the same. My other Lab is completely black. I do believe sun can bleach the coat brown in places.
A couple of friends' blacks get very bleached by the sun. You can buy a sunscreen for their coats, but I've also heard diet is a factor - maybe just an old wives' tale, though. Willow lays in the sun for hours on occasion and doesn't bleach, although she has a permanently chocolate muzzle!
Quinn's undercoat is brownish...so it looks like she has brown patches on her back in the spring/summer. Not noticeable in the winter! Could also be a combination with the sun bleaching her a little...
The colour change is too subtle to photograph. She's got two choc patches. I think I'll go for the sun bleach diagnosis. I'll let you know if it develops more. May have to get out the Grecian 2000!
My friend's choccy boy started going golden in the same spots. It seemed to be due to sun bleaching and actually went brown again in winter when he spent most of his time inside.
Yes I guess so. Just thought it was amusing to have started with a black Lab then possibly ending up with a choccy in her old age.
The sun always turns Rorys tail gingerly blond it looks very silly like someone's swapped his tail with a Fox red lab. He also gets blondish patches behind his ears.
And it's all gone! Gave Lady a long overdue brushing (been neglecting my duties since a new knee 5 weeks ago) and I got handfuls of hair and fur out of her coat and when I'd finished the brown had all gone. Looking at the hair that had turned, it was brown at the outer end and black at the root end so, yes, sun bleaching!
She's in her prime - like Miss Gene Brodie. 8 in September. Please keep that to yourselves as I know she's sensitive about her age.
Moo is 14 and last night she leapt up to reach 1/2 a battered sausage and chips off the counter. she was a very happy old girl. I didn't think she was still capable of that type of sneakiness
