# how much can a dogs coat change



## Black Rabbit (Nov 14, 2009)

When Dosia was a puppy he was pitch black then as he got older he was a light seal color. Well a few weeks ago he started shedding a lot, it was kinda weird. Now his coat is starting to look like a dark blue color and the undertone looks like it's disappearing is that normal? It's real strange to me I've never had a dog like him. He always had a thick black stripe from the top of his head down to his tail now the stripe is going away too it's only on his back half and tail now. Has any one else had this happen with their dog?

Here's a pic of his back, can you see the head and neck getting lighter and the black stripe going away? I'm totally puzzled.


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## NinaThePitbull (Feb 10, 2010)

was it a thick black stripe, or a mohawk of extra fur that he shed in the winter.
My Rottie as a super cool mohawk ( extra fur that makes it look darker) perhaps thats what it is. I remember geistetheex speaking on dietary precautions on a similar post, and even mentioning seasonal climate change being a factor, but I can not quote her out of context. Might want to message her, she's unbeliveably knowledgable... but so is just about everybody else here.

*Tyson's Mohawk*


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## Black Rabbit (Nov 14, 2009)

No it wasn't a mohawk just his color he really didn't have thicker fur up there. I loved his under tone it was beautiful now it seems like its going away as he sheds his fur.


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## beccaboo (Dec 27, 2009)

lacey gets darker in the winter and lightens up toward summer time. i can already see her dark stripe starting to stand out more. the more she gets brushed too... when i get extra time  she loves the attention. i forget how old he is but did you notice any change last year around the start of california good weather? (which by the way i hear you guys are getting a good deal of lately... ugh. so glad i moved to an awesomely rainy state...)


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## Black Rabbit (Nov 14, 2009)

beccaboo said:


> lacey gets darker in the winter and lightens up toward summer time. i can already see her dark stripe starting to stand out more. the more she gets brushed too... when i get extra time  she loves the attention. i forget how old he is but did you notice any change last year around the start of california good weather? (which by the way i hear you guys are getting a good deal of lately... ugh. so glad i moved to an awesomely rainy state...)


He is 15 months old and he had the black stripe all last summer too. He started out pitch black when he was a baby, then he was lighter seal with the gold undertone and the black stripe was really thick? Could he have some pigment problem? I'm so confused.


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## Indigo Bully Connection (Dec 21, 2006)

Indigo is a freak like that too lol.. When she was born she was completely black, and a little while into owning her she morphed to a blue... durring the winter she does get darker, and the summer she does get lighter... she's a dark blue, but she has that same stripe down her back too.


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## Black Rabbit (Nov 14, 2009)

Indigo Bully Connection said:


> Indigo is a freak like that too lol.. When she was born she was completely black, and a little while into owning her she morphed to a blue... durring the winter she does get darker, and the summer she does get lighter... she's a dark blue, but she has that same stripe down her back too.


Ok cool I was getting worried that he might have a pigment problem or something. Thank you for sharing that with me. Do you have a pic of her?


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## Indigo Bully Connection (Dec 21, 2006)

This is the best picture i can come up with for her "stripe"... I've never really caught it on camera well like you have.










This is her as a puppy


















When she changed

















oh yeah, thanks for the friends request! for some reason I thought we were already friends haha!


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## Black Rabbit (Nov 14, 2009)

Indigo Bully Connection said:


> This is the best picture i can come up with for her "stripe"... I've never really caught it on camera well like you have.
> 
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> ...


I thought we were already friends too LOL. Your pup is beautiful  glad to know nothing is wrong with him lol. Thank you so much for sharing your pics


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## Czar (Nov 11, 2009)

I've noticed czars coat got a lil darker on top and a lil lighter on the bottom half...which before he was pretty much the same color...I think his coat is getting lighter..sometimes in the sun he looks really chocolate and sometimes he looks more dark brown


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## PatienceFlame (Dec 22, 2009)

coat color changes: Riley had a blue nose and had brindle

















and her now










Riley still has her brindle but it is pointed on her legs chest, cheeks and neck but for some reason the images never show it.

but yes, it is normal and hormones also play a part in it... have you ever seen a puppy with a white marking on their face..it was bigger when they were young but the stripe or marking got smaller as they aged up?
infact..Riley is a great example of that because her stripe was huge when she was a baby baby and it shrank down as she was growing.

large white stripe at 10 weeks










Barely a stripe at 10 months


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## Black Rabbit (Nov 14, 2009)

RileyRoo said:


> coat color changes: Riley had a blue nose and had brindle
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yea Dosia had white around the right side of his nose when he was a pup and now it's totally gone. It's just trippy they can change so much.


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## PatienceFlame (Dec 22, 2009)

haha, yeah it is. she had a white tip on her tail when she was a baby too but it vanished like dosia's nose marking. another great example is my mothers cat Rex when we got him as a kitten he had a black nose but as he got older it turnd brown and he has a small black marking on his nose by his lips. they pretty much change colors their whole lives and they will get lighter with age of course. xD

I like Dosia's many colors. =)


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## Black Rabbit (Nov 14, 2009)

RileyRoo said:


> haha, yeah it is. she had a white tip on her tail when she was a baby too but it vanished like dosia's nose marking. another great example is my mothers cat Rex when we got him as a kitten he had a black nose but as he got older it turnd brown and he has a small black marking on his nose by his lips. they pretty much change colors their whole lives and they will get lighter with age of course. xD
> 
> I like Dosia's many colors. =)


Thanks he's a color changer lol.


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## Patch-O-Pits (Jan 12, 2008)

LOL chameleon APBTs. LOL
Coat changes colors for many reasons, for example, climate changes, food/supplements things like kelp and sea meal have been known to darken pigment at times, health reasons blowing out winter coat, loosing puppy coat, pregnancy, &sun exposure to name some reasons.

Also add to that I see MANY dogs that are not truly black being called black to begin with and the reverse black dogs being called blue by people trying to make a pay off on the blue fad...


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## Indigo Bully Connection (Dec 21, 2006)

Patch-O-Pits said:


> .
> Also add to that I see MANY dogs that are not truly black being called black to begin with and the reverse black dogs being called blue by people trying to make a pay off on the blue fad...


Patch, is that what happened to me? not that the price was any different... I thought I litterally picked out a black puppy... annnnd... reverse black.. this is a new term for me, what does that mean if you don't mind me asking?


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## Black Rabbit (Nov 14, 2009)

Thanks for all the info guys. Since he is 15 months is the shedding his puppy coat? At what age does this usually happen? He still feels super soft like when he was tiny, and also I'm wondering what is reverse black?


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