Hi, We have an 11 yr black male American lab (Steve) and a 2.5 yr black female English lab (Lucy). We got the young one as a wake up for our, then, 10 yr lazy lab. We would go for long walks and when we got home he would flop on the floor with his "I'm bored" look. He wasn't that interested in other dogs and would mostly ignore them in the woods. So enter Lucy at 1.5 years. House trained and that was all. Not much discipline with her. But she woke Steve up and taught him how to be a dog. She got him into canine socializing more and he learned how to play with other dogs. He would fight with her for the first couple of weeks then, all of a sudden, they started playing. I am a firm believer in getting a younger dog to enrich extend the life of an older dog. Now for the questions I need to ask: 1. Over the past couple of years Steve has been affected with skin allergies that caused him to scratch incessantly and many chunks of fur come out as a result and left with raw skin. Took him to a canine dermatologist and a couple of grand later he was put on expensive meds that (I thought) fixed it. Last year was not quite as bad and med baths (Stanhexidine) and cream (Viaderm-K.C.) applied to affected areas worked somewhat. This year was terrible and as he ages it isn't going to be nice as it takes a lot out of him. What have any of you done who have this with your lab? 2. Steve's beautiful shiny coat (Lucy's is the same) has undergone a bit of a transformation. Last year we noticed his coat was changing color a bit. You could only notice it, however, if wearing polarized sunglasses but now it is evident without the glasses. There is almost a sheen of brown in it. Not all over - just on top of his tail, down his spine area and a bit on his side. It's not dramatic, you don't see it unless you are within about 6 feet of him. Curious as to what it is.
Hi Daryl, Steve and Lucy, welcome to the forum! I'm afraid I don't know enough about skin conditions to comment on that part of you post. But I've got an idea about the brown areas appearing in his coat. Black coats and brown coats are both created by the same pigment - called eumelanin. Black coats have a lot of eumelanin in them, whilst brown coats have a little less. So black coats are actually extremely dark brown, or brown coats are actually slightly faded black - however you prefer to think about it! It sounds like the amount of pigment in Steve's coat is starting to diminish a little now, which is a completely natural part of aging. I'm sure you've noticed it in people too! It's great that you spotted it though - all dogs should have someone who knows them so well Hopefully someone else with more experience of skin conditions will be along to reply to the other part of your post soon.
Thank you very much for that. Everything I have found so far relates to puppys coat changes. Your insight was very informative.
