# How do cafe au lait poodles clear?



## twyla

This is Beatrice at 21 weeks


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## twyla

Anyone? I've read through a lot threads and cannot find anything that might help explain it.


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## The Opera Poodle

Shasta cleared very slowly at first. She had a small white patch on her chest that disappeared. Then after one grooming, I noticed some white hairs on her rump. After that, ever time I took her in for a groom, she came back lighter all over. 








[/url]072 (2) by The 2spoos, on Flickr[/IMG]








[/url]2010-04-27 17.26.25 by The 2spoos, on Flickr[/IMG]


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## CharismaticMillie

A cafe clears like a blue. From the root, fairly slowly. My cafe cleared from the rear and tail forward.


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## catsaqqara

She looks like she's clearing in a phantom pattern to me. 

I first noticed white hairs on Bambi's rump then lighter roots. Here are some pics link


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## twyla

Thank you all for your responses, that's kinda what I thought about how coats cleared.

catsaqqara I think you may be right about the clearing out phantom, the pattern has always been there albeit fainter, she even has the faint eyebrows, chest markings as well the doberman butt. 

Interesting. 

Time will tell.


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## Shamrockmommy

She is clearing the same as Jack, whom I had assumed was just a bad brown. His face is slivery, as is his tail, part of his back, and the undersides and fronts of his ears, as well as the "eyebrow" area is silvery as well. 










Not the best lighting here. When I got him at 5 months he was completely dark brown, except for a small white spot on his back/hip area. 

So is this cafe as well? Or bad brown? It's funny because if you look at his feet, one front foot is silvery and the others are brown. 









He looks like he's "frosty" all over except his leg fluff now. 










Baby Jack!!
And his Mom:


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## twyla

All depends on the lighting I guess, because these are the inside and underneath Beatrice's legs in direct sunlight, but the sides of her legs are a darker brown, her front legs although darker are lighter than the rest of her body. It's weird. It's hard to photograph and to truly describe.


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## twyla

I just took these

Bea's Knee, shows the two tone on her leg









Underneath









Bea's other knee









Belly shot shows the difference









My Brown Bea and soon to be silver Miss Pia Maria who looks a bit blue









or Beatrice is dark on top and creamy underneath


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## twyla

how old is Jack?


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## Shamrockmommy

He will be two next week.


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## Shamrockmommy

I bet Bea is a phantom marked first and possibly might clear to cafe? 

It's fun watching them change color


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## twyla

He is a beautiful boy, I have a soft spot for the browns. Hopefully someone will chime in about his color. I think though I am not sure but poodles usually are finished clearing their coat by 2 but the final set color is by the time they are 3. My Tpoo Baby was silver beige and she finished to a lovely "blonde" ears included by the time she was three.


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## twyla

Agreed it is fun to watch them change and grow into the lovely adults they will be.


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## spindledreams

The blues often won't start to clear until almost 2 years old and can take years for their finial color to be reached. The "ghost" phantom pattern is often seen on blues, cafes' silvers, and silver beiges as they clear. Sometimes you would almost swear that solid you thought you had has become a phantom.


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## twyla

With Beatrice it is fun and a little bewildering trying to figure out what is going on with her color change, She will be a year old April 1st and I know I have a couple years to wait yet to know what color she will end up.


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## spoospirit

_twyla, we have had silver beige puppies in the past. I am going to post photos of the clearing of one of the from 1 week of age up to 2 years. 

One of the differences I have noticed between the clearing of a silver beige to the clearing of a cafe-au-lait is that the silver beige is most definitely going to clear with silver color and the cafe is going to clear with a yellow color. I believe they both clear much the same way as silver does meaning that it starts at the nose and works up to over the eyes; which gives the dog those lighter eyebrows and the look of a phantom. They will start clearing in the ears and at the bottom of their legs before the rest of the body. They may take several years to clear.

Here is the series of photos of our silver beige puppy clearing. 

1 week old - born very dark, solid brown.








3 weeks old and clearing on the muzzle.








6.5 weeks and now the clearing is going over the top of the eyes so you see that phantom pattern.








Here is Kieran with his brother, Dexter, and sister, Annie. They have all cleared to mostly silver now.








At 1 year old. He is in the sun so his color is heavily affected by the warm hue that goes with that. 








This is Kieran at 2 years old. He is mostly silver now. It only took him 2 years to clear to this color. He will continue to clear throughout his life.








_


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## twyla

I am familiar with silver beiges and how they clear, this is my old tpoo Baby, please excuse her red eyes she had severe KCS, I lost her last year broke my heart and that's I got when Princess Beatrice.

Thank you for the photos Keiran is handsome, I am a sucker for a silver beige.

It's good to know that Cafe au lait's clear out in a similar fashion.

Just really want to see photos of it.


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## spoospirit

_Ah... I'm sorry about your little one. 

I know they clear pretty much the same way but it is rare to see photos anywhere of them; at least not a series showing the clearing phase. It would be fun to have someone post those.
_


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## twyla

Thank you I miss Baby, the little bugger , but Beatrice is a bright spot for me and along with Miss Pia Maria, who's pending silver coloring is easier to sort out. 

Yes I do hope someone will post some photos


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## catsaqqara

Some pictures of Bambi clearing. I'm missing some pictures between her Scandinavian and summer clip. She seemed to get a little darker after getting pretty light.
Sitting Pretty by catsaqqara, on Flickr


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## twyla

I figure I would update this thread because Beatrice is looking different.

I finally understand that Phantom pattern clearing, Beatrice looks different depending on the lighting, her back end is getting noticeably lighter. This photo of her reminds me of Breyer's Triple chocolate. It is fun and bewildering at the same time to watch her color change.


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## MaceeChocKisses

Beatrice is beautiful makes me wonder how Lola will turn out although I havent noticed any marking or clearing. Her mom was a little cafe but her sister was much darker than she is... However I love them all colors... I had a mini poodle years ago name Curly... When I purchased him he was a deep red... At about 6 months he had already cleared into his cream coat. It's amazing how some change and some don't but what's even more amazing is no matter what color they are all beautiful!


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## poodlecrazy#1

Wow! The way she is clearing is so interesting. So the consensus was she is clearing in the pattern of a phantom?


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## twyla

the phantom pattern is starting to go, the stockings on her legs has almost merged with her chest coloring> I'll have to take some pictures of that, lighting is key.









This is the best shot of her head

I don't know if she is going to retain her mask

but it's been fun to what the color change thus far


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## twyla

Tish

Lola's color reminds me a lot of Beatrice's at the same age, if you check out her 52 week thread, you will see that minus the white bib they look very similar. Lola whose name I totally love is stinkin' cute


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## spindledreams

actually many silvers clear to a false phantom pattern then continue to clear until the pattern disappears totally, silver beige will do the same. 

I didn't notice it with my blues and my possible cafe' turned out to be a true brown...


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## poodlecrazy#1

I was going to say that's weird because Killa cleared from the back end up mostly. Then I realized duh! She is already a phantom not a ghost phantom! It was a long day and my mind is not working properly lol. So is that normal of phantoms to clear from the back end up or is Killa just a weirdo ?.


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## twyla

Killa's a doll no matter what, No sure how phantoms clear since I got my Blue and Apricot Phantom Flower when she was 6.

Beatrice is clearing from the back end, the only bits that are still dark dark brown are the tips of her ears and her elbows, which the same for Pia

Didn't notice a phantom pattern on silver Pia


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## twyla

Another update just because I had a hard time finding pictures of cafes clearing

Beatrice is getting lighter her legs and chest have now linked up, no more phantom pattern there


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## twyla

another update on Beatrice's clearing to Cafe au Lait, definitely an interesting color change

from this


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## twyla

Well another picture of Beatrice you can see how light she is getting now at 19 1/2 months


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## twyla

Just another post of how Beatrice is clearing to Cafe Au Lait

Beatrice at 21 months









It's amazing how much she's changed,


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## AngelAviary

Its been a fun ride watching her clear. I love these posts (and her cute pictures!) I keep learning more everyday from everyone here!


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## twyla

Beatrice nearly 22 months, her topknot is really light and that colring is now creeping down her neck


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## Tiny Poodles

poodlecrazy#1 said:


> I was going to say that's weird because Killa cleared from the back end up mostly. Then I realized duh! She is already a phantom not a ghost phantom! It was a long day and my mind is not working properly lol. So is that normal of phantoms to clear from the back end up or is Killa just a weirdo ?.



Taylee, not a phantom, but a silver X black, so I guess a blue cleared from the tail forward. Started at about a year old, and took about a year to finish, so around the time it got to her waist people used to laugh at her and say it looked like she was two different dogs spliced together. She continued to get gradually lighter her entire life - by the time she passed she was virtually the same color as silver Teaka.


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## Bluemoon

twyla said:


> Beatrice nearly 22 months, her topknot is really light and that colring is now creeping down her neck
> 
> View attachment 308409


Flower's expression in the background is too cute.


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## twyla

Bluemoon said:


> Flower's expression in the background is too cute.


Thanks
Flower's the resident photobomber


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## twyla

Beatrice at Almost 23 months as she continues to clear, her color seems to change depending on the light very hard to capture her true color in a picture


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## twyla

This is Beatrice at 2 yrs




















She has lightened up a lot in the last six months, she has a patch of even lighter brown on her back so I think she will continued clear to an even lighter shade of Cafe. I realize it takes at least 3 years but it is so cool to watch.


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## Tiny Poodles

twyla said:


> This is Beatrice at 2 yrs
> 
> View attachment 324641
> View attachment 324649
> View attachment 324657
> 
> 
> 
> 
> She has lightened up a lot in the last six months, she has a patch of even lighter brown on her back so I think she will continued clear to an even lighter shade of Cafe. I realize it takes at least 3 years but it is so cool to watch.



Just like silver, every shade is a beautiful treat to behold!


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## Streetcar

Wow, amazed at the change in Beatrice. She looks lovely in every color I've seen her wear!


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## twyla

Thanks guys, watching her change these days is like wow, I will do my best to keep this thread updated.


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## twyla

Beatrice outside at 2 years


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## sarahebeth

twyla said:


> Beatrice outside at 2 years
> View attachment 328505


Gorgeous photo of Beatrice!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk


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## TrixieTreasure

Precious picture. ❤


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## twyla

Beatrice 2 years and 1 month


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## twyla

Beatrice's white bib is blending in spots as she clears


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## Kassie

catsaqqara said:


> Some pictures of Bambi clearing. I'm missing some pictures between her Scandinavian and summer clip. She seemed to get a little darker after getting pretty light.
> Sitting Pretty by catsaqqara, on Flickr


Bambi is lovely. Is she a brown or a cafe au lait? I'm confused myself of the difference. The Dark Brown pups and the Cafe Au Lait pups seem to have the same dark coat colour initially to start. I am confused how you even begin to know what color you are getting. And, do the Cafe Au Lait and the Dark Browns clear to the same colour?


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## twyla

According to her person Bambi is a Cafe

Cafe's are like blues and don't start to clear until much much later

Really dark browns, at least to me are so dark as pups the look almost black in photos I can't explain it. I have had both a silver beige she lightened much like a silver dog does b, yes she was born brown, and Beatrice whom I got as a brown puppy, I suspected she might lighten to cafe because of her slightly lighter muzzle and leggings but as she got older she had a faux/fake phantom pattern to her coat as she lightened. It wasn't until she passed 18 months that you could really she was cafe


I don't know it that helps this is why I started the thread, if you look back at the beginning of the thread at pictures of Bea you can see how dark she was

if not here she is at almost 18 weeks


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## Steffie

This is an EXCELLENT page on coat colors.I love this lady she is great!
POODLE COAT COLORS: BROWN & CAFE AU LAIT


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## twyla

Beatrice at 26 months









blending in with the dog bed

looks like she's wearing lipstick


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## twyla

*Beatrice at 27 months*









Getting even lighter


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## twyla

*28 months*

Beatrice is 28 months

a lot lighter part of that is the trim but her white bib is partially blended in

my girl is clearing nicely to a lovely light Cafe au Lait


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## Myleen

spoospirit said:


> _twyla, we have had silver beige puppies in the past. I am going to post photos of the clearing of one of the from 1 week of age up to 2 years.
> 
> One of the differences I have noticed between the clearing of a silver beige to the clearing of a cafe-au-lait is that the silver beige is most definitely going to clear with silver color and the cafe is going to clear with a yellow color. I believe they both clear much the same way as silver does meaning that it starts at the nose and works up to over the eyes; which gives the dog those lighter eyebrows and the look of a phantom. They will start clearing in the ears and at the bottom of their legs before the rest of the body. They may take several years to clear.
> 
> Here is the series of photos of our silver beige puppy clearing.
> 
> 1 week old - born very dark, solid brown.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 3 weeks old and clearing on the muzzle.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 6.5 weeks and now the clearing is going over the top of the eyes so you see that phantom pattern.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Here is Kieran with his brother, Dexter, and sister, Annie. They have all cleared to mostly silver now.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> At 1 year old. He is in the sun so his color is heavily affected by the warm hue that goes with that.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This is Kieran at 2 years old. He is mostly silver now. It only took him 2 years to clear to this color. He will continue to clear throughout his life.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _


This is soooooo interesting!!! BEAUTIFUL dog!!!! Thank you for sharing all of these photos!!


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## Myleen

twyla said:


> View attachment 344257
> 
> 
> Getting even lighter


I never knew all of this about poodles before!! haha!!


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## Myleen

twyla said:


> How do Cafe au lait poodles clear?
> 
> I understand Silvers clearing out from the roots out and that they do it young, you can tell a silver just by shaving their face after the few months, same with Silver beige.
> 
> I cannot find a decent explanation or better yet photos showing the coat clearing on a Cafe.
> 
> Beatrice is either a Cafe or a bad brown, it is just such a weird color change to watch. the coloration on her legs from coffee ice cream color to a warm brown, her muzzle/ mask is lightening as well. She looks dramatically lighter to darker depending on the photo and lighting.
> 
> View attachment 234873
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> View attachment 234881
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> View attachment 234889
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> View attachment 234897
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> 
> Any ideas?


Sooooooo cute!!! :-D


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## NatalieAnne

This has been such an interesting & fun thread. The pictures have helped so much in watching the color changes. 

It seems in purchasing a poodle puppy one is getting a surprise package as to color? My little puppy appears to be lightening up as the coat grows longer. He is an apricot. But I see brushing his coat the hair is lightest nearer his skin.
So it goes from apricot to lighter apricot to cream & then near white.

His nose is also changing at this time - time to get some sea kelp food additive to see if there's any effect on color?

My first poodle was solid black as a puppy. With each grooming the coat showed more & more silver on his body. The interesting thing to me is as the coat grew out before the next grooming, he always appeared solid black.

Many thanks all for the wonderful pictures.


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## twyla

*Beatrice 29 months*

Forgive the mess, it's bsthroom grooming, but here is Beatrice still clearing
to Cafe au Lait


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## Myleen

She is soooo cute!!!!!!

Isn't it interesting how some of our dogs change colors!!!


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## twyla

*30 months*


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## Myleen

Awwwww look at her pose for you! Just darling!


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## King Louie

This thread is amazing my new girl Harmony is a cafe too I just got her and she's 9 months so I missed the beginning of her color changing but looking at some of the pictures I can get an idea of where she is now and what to expect next.


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## twyla

*31 months*

My coffee with cream colored girl, it's crazy I knew this is the color Beatrice was cafe au lait but wow she is an amazing color.


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## twyla

*32 months*


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## twyla

*33 months*

Beatrice continues to clear

her feet and her face look like she's a silver beige poodle


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## twyla

*34 months*








I don't know if she'll continue to clear but she is definitely coffee with cream color or cafe au lait as the french say


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## twyla

*35 months*

Beatrice is lighter than I thought she'd get


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## twyla

*36 months*

oh how you have changed Beatrice


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## twyla

10 weeks







1 year







2 years







3 years








oh really how you have changed my Princess Beatrice


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## twyla

*43 Months old*









Beatrice how light you are, and your ears and tail continue to lighten


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## Charmed

It has been so much fun to see the posts of the color changing that Beatrice has gone through. Wilson has transformed, too, but because it is only his blue spots, the change is much less dramatic. At over three years, he is still changing colors. When Pia and Bea are together it is much easier to see the silver versus the buttery shade of color. Thanks for the pictures.


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## twyla

Beatrice at 47 months, my cafe girl looks silver beige


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## twyla

*four years 5 months*

Beatrice is lighter than my coffee with extra cream from Dunkin







A woman in the pet store called her Oatmeal colored :wink:


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## sairbnon

What a fun transformation to follow! 

Makes me curious about our new guy Gus, I'm pretty sure we'll get to watch him lighten over the years too - his mom was cream and dad was parti with brown spots - since he's already got some white/lighter areas at only 14 weeks old.


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## twyla

Beatrice had a lighter nose and and slightly lighter feet when I got her at 18 weeks. The change in her color has been an adventure. Photograph Gus in bright sunlight and if there is a dofference you'll see it.


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## twyla

Beatrice at 5 years


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## Mufar42

Oh my goodness what a total difference in coloring. I never realized how much they change. Your a real beauty lil Be a.


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## twyla

Yeah it is amazing, I never thought Beatrice would end up this light, I thought she be a little bit darker shade I mean this is lighter than I would have my coffee which is with loads of cream


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## twyla

Beatrice at 5 years two months, you can still s just see her white bib


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## Vee

What a brilliant thread, it's amazing to see the transformation of a coat like that. Beatrice looks so sweet!


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## twyla

Vee said:


> What a brilliant thread, it's amazing to see the transformation of a coat like that. Beatrice looks so sweet!


Thank you, I had a hard time finding information regarding cafes myself it was fun to track how she lightened


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## twyla

Beatrice at 6 1/2 years old


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## twyla

Beatrice at nearly 7


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## dogsavvy

Beatrice is so adorable & thank you for sharing the pictures. How fascinating!


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## Tulsi

What a great thread. Really interesting.


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