# Sudden appearing of dark patch on peach coloured poodle



## lucasogluna (Jan 12, 2022)

Hello all friendly folks. 

Recently Luna has been to the groomer and when she came back we noticed a few days after that there was a dark patch of fur suddenly noticeable. The patch has shorter length of hair and is straight instead of curly, the skin underneath appears unchanged. We asked the groomer and she said it can happen if a dog itches the area, however Luna does not itch in that area at all and there is no indication of physical pain when we inspect for it.
I will attempt to attach a photo below.

Any replies would be helpful, and should we contact the vets? The pup (of 7 years) is otherwise in perfect health, happy, is eating and drinking as per usua







l.

Thank you from Luna and owner


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## LittleCloud (Apr 21, 2021)

I had the same thing with Nano. After one of his vaccines the area lost it’s fur and grew back darker and coarser, but as it’s growing out it’s returning to normal. 

I’ve heard that it can happen around wounds as they heal and that it’s more noticeable in coats that naturally fade(silver, cream).

Not sure about why it happens.


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## Misteline (Mar 10, 2019)

It's likely that there was some injury or minor abrasion to the skin and the fur is growing back its original color and texture. Probably the clippers irritated his skin during a groom or he rubbed up against something rough. Over time it should clear again to his current color. Unless you notice some change in behavior this probably doesn't warrant a vet visit.

As dogs get older their skin gets more sensitive (like most living things) so it's probably more likely to happen now.


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## Pavie (May 4, 2021)

This looks like something discussed in this thread:









Coarse, Dark Hair Patch on Mini GoldenDoodle (Poodle...


Hello, My 2 year old mini golden doodle has recently developed a patch of coarse fur on her back. It’s darker than the rest of her fur. It doesn’t seem to cause her pain and she doesn’t appear to try to itch it. It doesn’t seem to bother her, even when I try to look at it. She has no known...




www.poodleforum.com


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## ShamrockPoodle (Jan 22, 2017)

My female mini poo had a small bump for several months. I showed it to the vet during her checkup. She said it was a pimple type thing that would gradually go away—and when it was gone—the hair in that spot would be darker for awhile. Well—one day I noticed a small black spot of hair—sure enough the skin bump was completely gone!!! It has been a couple of months and the black patch of hair is still there (she is brown/cafe).


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## Misteline (Mar 10, 2019)

It takes a few grooms before you notice a real change, the longer it took the dog to clear originally the longer it'll take for the darkened fur to clear. Ev currently has a few dark patches from small injuries he picked up in the yard. The dark areas are often significantly bigger than the original injury.


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

From the linked thread on why the color change

_"Damage to hair follicles from a previous injury may also cause coat color changes in dogs, explains veterinarian Dr. Loretta. In the areas of previous trauma such as a surgical incision site, a clipper burn or even a hot spot, the hair may therefore grow darker in color.

This occurs because cells containing melanin, rush to the trauma site as part of the inflammatory process, which turns the skin and hair a darker color, explains Sandy Blackburn in the book: "The Everything Dog Grooming Book." "_

Why Do Dogs' Fur Change Color? - Dog Discoveries

Don't know anything about this site but it's the first explanation that goes beyond the possible exterior cause to offer a medical reason for the change.



Basically the same info here

*Fur Color Change Due to Injury or Surgery*

_"Another potential cause of color change is traumatic injury or surgery. When dogs heal from a skin wound, often the fur that regrows during healing is darker than the original color. This occurs because melanin surges to the site to heal and repair the lost tissue. The result is hyperpigmented fur in the affected area. Note this type of hyperpigmentation only affects the area affected by trauma, not the animal’s full coat.

Clipping or shaving a dog’s coat can also result in color changes, and groomers often caution their clients that long-term grooming can result in a change in pigmentation affecting your pet’s coat over time."_

Why Does My Dog’s Fur Change Color? (figopetinsurance.com)

This may not explain all these occurrences but it offers some (already known) causes, the visible effect as seen in all these pups, and a medical explanation of how the effect comes to be.

This feels like getting somewhere. 

So far, no member posting has had any vet diagnose a medical condition beyond the unexplained-in-almost-all-cases reason for the "insult" to the hair follicles which seem to cause a long-term but otherwise cosmetic only change after the original cause.

There are some medical conditions that might present similar appearance but in practically every instance posted here, the skin is unaffected but the hair/fur is.

It's always worth it to check with your vet to ease your mind but it's unlikely to be anything that requires treatment, just time.


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## Muffinguc (10 mo ago)

lucasogluna said:


> Hello all friendly folks.
> 
> Recently Luna has been to the groomer and when she came back we noticed a few days after that there was a dark patch of fur suddenly noticeable. The patch has shorter length of hair and is straight instead of curly, the skin underneath appears unchanged. We asked the groomer and she said it can happen if a dog itches the area, however Luna does not itch in that area at all and there is no indication of physical pain when we inspect for it.
> I will attempt to attach a photo below.
> ...


Hi,
Did you find the reason for that? My toy poodle Muffin started having those kind of patches on her hair last month. Now, there are almost 12 of them.


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

At some point during Tonka's construction, somebody dripped brown paint down his back. lol
It never affected the hair colour though. And disappeared under a #4 or #5 cut.


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

Muffinguc said:


> Hi,
> Did you find the reason for that? My toy poodle Muffin started having those kind of patches on her hair last month. Now, there are almost 12 of them.


Unfortunately, the member you're asking hasn't been back since Jan 13 this year. Without updates, I'd have to fall back to post #7 in this thread. 

Below, in Recommended Reading you'll see several threads, some older, some newer, on a similar topic. If you'd like to take the time to read thru them all, including the links to outside info, you'll learn all that we have so far. 

Here's more. The goldendoodle thread has the longest participation. 

(9) Coarse, Dark Hair Patch on Mini GoldenDoodle | Poodle Forum

(9) 8 Year Old Silver Beige Growing Dark Brown Fur Spot | Poodle Forum

(9) Coat change or health concern? | Poodle Forum


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## mcknockiterj (8 mo ago)

My standard poodle has developed a dark patch on hair but is pooing blood


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

mcknockiterj said:


> My standard poodle has developed a dark patch on hair but is pooing blood


Please get your poodle to a vet to rule out internal trauma or other serious issues.

If you’d like to share progress updates (and I hope you will!), best to start a new thread, as yours sounds like a very different situation from the original poster’s.

Sending good luck!


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## PeggyTheParti (Sep 5, 2019)

A good summary of this topic from Rose:



Rose n Poos said:


> Below, in Recommended Reading you'll see several threads, some older, some newer, on a similar topic. If you'd like to take the time to read thru them all, including the links to outside info, you'll learn all that we have so far.
> 
> Here's more. The goldendoodle thread has the longest participation.
> 
> ...


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## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

Definitely contact/get her to the vet asap. 
The two issues are unlikely to be related since the hair color change takes some time. 

Blood from any internal source requires medical attention and can be quite serious. 
Do not wait.


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