# A freshly groomed Gigi and a question!



## sandooch (Jan 20, 2011)

I just got done bathing and grooming Gigi (remember...I'm still learning ;p) and I noticed that her one large apricot spot on her back is now surrounded by several little apricot spots. She is also developing apricot hair at the base of her tail. She still has one apricot ear and a little on the other but they seem to be fading (something I expected would happen as she got older). Can someone explain why at almost 7 months old she had developed these new spots? I was under the impression that all her spots would fade by the time she was around a year old.

Here are some pictures of her groomed self and the spots in question. Sorry for the blurry ones; she was on my bed and I held it too close.

Why, yes, I am adorable!









What was that noise?









Side view









Spots on her back









Spot on base of tail









Grooming is exhausting!









And I'm spent!


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## LEUllman (Feb 1, 2010)

Gigi is looking great. As you know, Beau started out with apricot highlights just like Gigi. He's now 22 mos, and has faded to an almost pure white. For awhile though, he developed an apricot stripe down the middle of his back, in roughly the same place as Gigi's new spots. Then this, too, faded and is now all but invisible. So if our experience is any guide, you can expect highlights to come and go over time.


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## sandooch (Jan 20, 2011)

Thanks LEUllman. Someone from another poodle forum told me that they tend to get darker when the adult coat starts coming in but will fade again over time. Still someone else said that if they get a bruise in a certain area, the bruised area can turn apricot but will also fade one healed. It's all very interesting.


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## 4Paws (Dec 11, 2010)

Sandooch, Gigi looks great! You should be proud of your groom job! I, too am learning and will post pics soon but your job looks better than mine!


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## sandooch (Jan 20, 2011)

4Paws, yes, I need to see pictures of Gigi's twin. And thanks for the compliment. I'm sure Polo's groom in lovely.


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## Pamela (Sep 9, 2008)

Gigi is adorable! what a cute face!


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

She is adorable! I love the creamy color of her white. 

My last standard poodle was white, but technically a light cream as a puppy. She turned pure white at a little over a year after developing some new spots across her shoulders that faded again (just like gigi). She spent about 9 years completely white. In her last year of life (I lost her at 11), she again developed apricot spots all down the backs of her legs and across her shoulders and a tad on her ears (it wasn't terribly attractive, but we didn't care much). I think when the adult coat comes in new spots appear and then fade again? 

That may be the difference between a cream and a white poodle. The pure white ones have none of these spots.


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## Purley (May 21, 2010)

I am just wondering -- if you register a poodle as Apricot and then he turns white -- do you say he is white? If I looked at Beau now I would say he is a white poodle. So are some poodles born white and stay white and some are born apricot and fade to totally white?

Gigi is really cute. Its so darn hard to take a photo of a black dog - your photos are gorgeous.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Apricots stay apricot for the most part. Creams fade to white. A cream is an odd color as a small puppy- like the color of a paper bag. An apricot is orangey colored. My puppy is a cream wo right now is the color of my beige tile floor. LOL Hopefully she will fade to creamy white, but may keep a little apricot color on her ears or shoulders. We shall see. Here is her paper bag color at 12 weeks. The breeder told me she would end up the color of her face, which is creamy white:


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## Purley (May 21, 2010)

Oh -- so an apricot puppy would grow up to be the colour of her ears would it. And cream puppies have apricot ears and grow up to be kind of an off white colour?


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## sandooch (Jan 20, 2011)

Well, I'd miss the apricot on Gigi's ears, but if her coat did become white, I think it would look really nice. Funny thing is, when I started my search for a poodle, I was adamant on "any color but white". lol


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