I've noticed over the last week that Izzys coat is going from lovely chocolate brown to black in places! I shouldnt be surprised i suppose seen as her mum was a black lab, but i love her chocolate colour! She also has a tiny bit of white halfway down her tail...random! Unless its muck! Maybe ill give her a bath!
Re: My puppys changing colour! She won't change from choccy to black because they're separate genes, but she may change colour slightly. Shadow was very, very pale when we first had him and he's definitely getting darker. Whether that's his adult coat coming through, I don't know. I wonder if they change colour slightly between summer and winter, too? White spots are apparently quite common - a genetic anomaly or something. Unless it's just Tippex?
Re: My puppys changing colour! That's right, Izzy doesn't have the genetic recipe for black pigment (if she had any black genes she'd be black all over, not chocolate). Maybe it's really dark brown? Would love to see a pic of what you're observing
Re: My puppys changing colour! Here are the best pics i can get x http://instagram.com/p/xjbM72t7un/ http://instagram.com/p/xjbSult7us/
Re: My puppys changing colour! Kenzi is similar, she has a white patch at the top of her tail but she has had that since 8weeks. Also in the summer she was very pale/caramel, likely from lying in the sun but her coat has darkened over the past few weeks...although her tail still has a bit of caramel in it.
Re: My puppys changing colour! The darker bits on Izzy's coat look like normal variations to me - possibly a bit dark adult coat coming through on her back there. Don't worry, she won't turn black.
Re: My puppys changing colour! I think she is as the black bits have different feel to the lovely soft puppy fur. But isnt she a little young to get her grown up fur?
Re: My puppys changing colour! Chepi's coat seems a bit thicker and therefore a bit duller some days. I thought it could be hormones :. Or just a winter coat.
Re: My puppys changing colour! Wendy, I have seen similar coloring with our chocolate Zac (and his dad was a black). I think it's the adult coat coming in because it does feel different. he has a little white spot on the bottom side of his left front paw. I read that in show dogs, this is a negative - they (judges) want to see no white spots. I could care less - he is not a show pup. but reading that leads me to believe that it's a normal variation - kind of like a freckle?
Re: My puppys changing colour! Small white marks are acceptable in the standards and some dogs have little white spots on the underside of their feet (my friends dog has four) these are passed down from a dog called Banchory Bolo and known as Bolo spots. I think they're cute and they flash when the dog runs I love these pictures of purebred labs with mismarks. I haven't posted it for a while ;D http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/mismarks.html
Re: My puppys changing colour! I love some of those mismarks. The UK breed standard says a white mark on the chest is permissible, the US says permissible but not desirable. Neither mention bolo pads. The Australian extended breed standard (which is a hugely useful document if you are interested in conformation) says that a small white spot on the chest is allowed, and also mentions bolo pads and states they should not be penalised. My bet is that bolo pads would not be penalised in the UK or US either.
Re: My puppys changing colour! I love some of those pictures! So cute with their little markings! Izzy had a bath today and still has her stripes, so it wasnt muck!!
Re: My puppys changing colour! My bad! I clearly didn't read closely enough or read a generalization about the white spots. Can you tell I am not a show dog person? ???
Re: My puppys changing colour! Lol! I don't think anyone on the forum shows Labradors apart from in waggy tail competitions - we just like talking about this stuff!!!
Re: My puppys changing colour! those mis-marks are adorable!!! My Bella is pale for a chocolate - we call her milk chocolate... and she has a tiny white spot on her chest, and also has the "bolo" marks on her feet... When you look at her in the right light, she has a lot of yellow highlights...you can see them on her face and in the longer hair of her tail. Her dad is yellow and her mom is black...they are field type and purebred, although not registered. Here's my Bella... you can see her white spot on her chest in this picture
Re: My puppys changing colour! Bella was more pale when I got her but she's getting yellower by the day!!
