Hi, Our new black lab pup (Flushing Bracken aka Zeebo) has a ridge of wavy hair down his spine. It feels thicker and slightly wirey (SP?). He is from working dog lines on both sides with lots of FTCH back five generations. How normal is this ridge of hair? Is it a sign of anything? Thanks
How old is he? Puppy coat will change, it might disappear then. Slight wave is permitted in most standards, here in Canada, all else being equal it should place dog lower in the conformation ring. I think in the U.S. it is better received. My Jet developed a prominent ridge at about 8 months old or so, just when puppy coat was changing to adult. She was black but the ridge was dark brown. It went from her neck to her tail and it was as you describe, longer, wirey and thick, more thick at her neck. And noticeably longer, it looked like a mane. I called the breeder in a bit of a panic and she said it isn't all that common but some pups do develop this and it's somewhat like cradle cap in human babies, except human babies are born with that and puppies get it later. She said it would shed out and in the next shed the next spring, it did. Call your breeder. Yeah, how do you spell wirey?
I've read somewhere else that some Labs will have this bit or a ridge and it may indicate, especially in UK field dogs a breeding line that is more diverse, less inbred. That aligns to an extent with the information from the Kennel Club genealogy search which couldn't find a link between the dam and the sire's backgrounds going back 5 generations. If it were to score him less in the show ring, well I couldn't give a monkey's as I purchased Zeebo to be a healthy companion who will enjoy at least obedience training and hopefully even show an interest in agility trials. Neither the dam or the sire have the ridge of wirey (I have no idea how to spell that) hair, so perhaps it will moult out in the spring or as he grows.
Wiry That's all I can add, except my two are siblings and Willow (black) has no waviness, whereas Shadow (yellow) has a bit of a wave.
It is not at all unusual for the 'rain coat' of thicker, oily hair along a Labrador's back to have a bit of a wave to it. It's evident in lots of Labradors, working and show, and I think it means absolutely nothing - apart from Labradors often have a slight wave to the thicker hair down their backs.
Our Ripple has a 'ripple' of wavy fur down his spine, he is from show stock and we met the father, mother and older half siblings, and I don't remember this on any of the adults. Maybe it will change as grows up.
Riley's hair is slightly more course on his back with a little bit of wave in it. Coats do vary quite a bit
Myles has it and I think in the US it is more common in show labs. I think nothing of it. It certainly isn't a sign of anything.
Molly has a wave running down her back, it is slightly coarser than the rest of her coat. She is from working lines. Personally speaking, being possessed of fine, straight hair that goes splat at the first smell of rain I envy it
Totally normal. In fact Labradors should have coarser fur down their back. It's described in the Standards as 'having a harder feel'. It's more weatherproof than the other fur, kind of like a 'raincoat' as Julie put it. They say that often the best coats do have a bit of a wave - that is, those coats that are also thick and have a proper undercoat. Curly fur is definitely undesirable but a slight wave is nothing
Mabel and her sisters also had this wave, since she's moulted it's disappeared. Such a shame as I thought it looked lovely.
Ok now, I'm not clear. A wave is one thing, a ridge is another. Is it a ridge such as I described in my Jet? Or just a wave? Jet had a wave after the ridge fell out. The ridge looked like the mane on a Norwegian Pony. It was quite distinct. OP, is that what you mean by a ridge?
Otis has very long, wavy hair. We always get comments on it from people, I think it's adorable and makes him a little different! When he was younger it was much more narrow down his back and I remember a young pet store was commenting on how there's no way he was a pure bred lab because of his fur ... Now that he's older it's much more evenly spread out.
What I'm calling a ridge is more because its thicker, coarse and wavy. So it does seem to sit a little more proud than the less wiry hair next to it, but I certainly wouldn't call it a mane. It does feel like perhaps its a more dense line of guard hairs in a double coat. So maybe it is a "raincoat" which will be just as well here in Manchester and no matter what the missus says, this dog is never ever wearing a coat other than a high viz on dark winter nights. He is so black it is hard to get a picture of him. Unless you get his eyes, he just looks like a black hole in a photo.
So hard to photograph a black dog.... His fur sounds completely normal to me and exactly like what my dog Obi has got, and the Labrador before him.
