# Color Change?



## sweetheartsrodeo (Sep 19, 2012)

Hi y'all. I was wondering if some one could explain to me why Remington is changing color. When I brought him home at a little under a year his coat was nasty and after a shave he had this beautiful creamy white - almost a winter white color. Today I bathed and groomed him, and his back, all they way down his sides has turned a light cinnamon color. His head has remained white, so have his legs and tail. He used to have a very light golden stripe down his back... Is it common for that to get darker over time? 

Thanks!
Mindy


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## sweetheartsrodeo (Sep 19, 2012)

My feelings are officially hurt LOL... No advice nothing? At this point I would even take a "Mindy it is just your imagination" answer


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

I was waiting for someone to answer you too! lol....Misha has gotten whiter and whiter as time has gone on. But after her last groom I noticed a champagne colored area right between her shoulder blades on the top of her withers. A beautiful color, but it wasn't there before


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## Angl (Nov 9, 2012)

I'm sorry I just saw this. PF did an update on my phone and things don't show up right anymore. How old is he? Max is still changing color and he turned one in May.


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## LEUllman (Feb 1, 2010)

Beau has pretty much the same coloring. I've noticed his apricot "dorsal stripe" really seems to vary in intensity from groom to groom and also depending on the lighting. It's a lot more noticable when he's out in the sunlight, freshly bathed and clipped.


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## sweetheartsrodeo (Sep 19, 2012)

N2Mischief - Remi's color is beautiful too... But I did a double take when I washed him.... He was a mud puppy, so after a few washes the color didn't come off and I was shocked. It seems the longer his coat the darker he gets... it seems to me it should be the opposite. 

Angl - He is 3 and 1/2 - 4.


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## sweetheartsrodeo (Sep 19, 2012)

LEUllman - this is good to know... I was wondering if his choice in shampoo was not as good as we thought


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## PammiPoodle (Jul 16, 2011)

Lumi is white and she also looked cream as puppy, like many dogs that mature to white do. She blows her coat whenever she comes into heat and then when it's over she gets a new wave of growth which begins cream like her puppy hair and becomes white after about a half inch of growth. Remington could've lost some hair do to diet, hormones, stress, etc. and now you're seeing a new wave of growth. Or, his health could've just improved to to a new better diet, exercise, or relief of a chronic stressor. Also, we all know Poodles do actually shed but it's just less than most other breeds and the shed hairs remain in the coat. I wonder, though, if they still shed more seasonally. Maybe he's just regrowing from a big Spring/Summer shed? It he stays cream I'd be surprised, and interested because that's an unusual change! Btw, can you follow any of the hairs down to the skin and do you see them fading back to white?


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Many light colored poodles have a darker stripe down their backs. Poodles can change color throughout their lives, actually. Not from one extreme to another, but my white poodle developed orangey patches when she got over about 9 years old.


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## Gilly (Feb 18, 2013)

PammiPoodle said:


> ... his health could've just improved to to a new better diet, exercise, or relief of a chronic stressor...


I wasn't aware of this Pammi, but this is evident with our poodle who was a breeding bitch then came to us with "dark cream/orange" patches, particularly on her back. When we first got her we took her to the vet and I mentioned her coat colour. He said that when she loses this coat the "patches" will probably come back in white. I was sceptical, I remember thinking 'how can a dog change colour'. Anyway, he was absolutely correct. We have had her for about 4-5 months and sure enough she is just about completely pure white now. Just a very tiny patch of "orange" on her back, probably not noticeable to most folk. 

I believe she is a really happy dog, enjoying life being a pet with no pups to look after any more! I am sure she was happy before, but like to think she prefers her life with us :clap: - I jolly well hope so anyway! So surely all this must affect her coat.

BTW, I dont bathe her a lot, she's been shampooed twice in the time we've had her. I brush her a lot though. She bounces around behind me as I trudge through paddocks tending to sheep and cattle. So she gets grass and manure marks on her, but they seem not to permanently stain. I clip her every 4 weeks or so. I do use a coat conditioning spray when I brush.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

sweetheartsrodeo said:


> Hi y'all. I was wondering if some one could explain to me why Remington is changing color. When I brought him home at a little under a year his coat was nasty and after a shave he had this beautiful creamy white - almost a winter white color. Today I bathed and groomed him, and his back, all they way down his sides has turned a light cinnamon color. His head has remained white, so have his legs and tail. He used to have a very light golden stripe down his back... Is it common for that to get darker over time?
> 
> Thanks!
> Mindy


Most poodles have a dorsal stripe that is somewhat darker.
Additionally, any injury to the skin can cause a spot of color very close to the original color that they were born with which will take a couple of months to grow out. This is particularly evident with silvers who are born black - I thought it was pretty funny when Teaka was young and 4 teardrop shaped black spots appeared on her rump - they were the exact distance apart as her older sister's fangs, so I surmised that she had not been fast enough getting away from a warning snap!


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

N2Mischief said:


> I was waiting for someone to answer you too! lol....Misha has gotten whiter and whiter as time has gone on. But after her last groom I noticed a champagne colored area right between her shoulder blades on the top of her withers. A beautiful color, but it wasn't there before


Does she get anything topical like frontline?


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

outwest said:


> Many light colored poodles have a darker stripe down their backs. Poodles can change color throughout their lives, actually. Not from one extreme to another, but my white poodle developed orangey patches when she got over about 9 years old.


Patches could have been clipper burn or from the dog scratching! It really. Only takes a minor skin injury to darken the hair! Many will even get it from vaccinations!


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Tiny Poodles said:


> Most poodles have a dorsal stripe that is somewhat darker.
> Additionally, any injury to the skin can cause a spot of color very close to the original color that they were born with which will take a couple of months to grow out. This is particularly evident with silvers who are born black - I thought it was pretty funny when Teaka was young and 4 teardrop shaped black spots appeared on her rump - they were the exact distance apart as her older sister's fangs, so I surmised that she had not been fast enough getting away from a warning snap!
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App










This is the spot where Teaka had a skin punch biopsy 4 or 5 months ago - it took a month or more before I could see the dark hair and can already see that it has returned to normal at the roots- it would be gone if I shaved it


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## sweetheartsrodeo (Sep 19, 2012)

PammiPoodle said:


> Lumi is white and she also looked cream as puppy, like many dogs that mature to white do. She blows her coat whenever she comes into heat and then when it's over she gets a new wave of growth which begins cream like her puppy hair and becomes white after about a half inch of growth. Remington could've lost some hair do to diet, hormones, stress, etc. and now you're seeing a new wave of growth. Or, his health could've just improved to to a new better diet, exercise, or relief of a chronic stressor. Also, we all know Poodles do actually shed but it's just less than most other breeds and the shed hairs remain in the coat. I wonder, though, if they still shed more seasonally. Maybe he's just regrowing from a big Spring/Summer shed? It he stays cream I'd be surprised, and interested because that's an unusual change! Btw, can you follow any of the hairs down to the skin and do you see them fading back to white?


Remington was a rescue, and I would think that his life before he came to lice with me was pretty rotten. He does have lasting effects, such as hollow toe nails. In looking at his skin, he has always had a darker undertone, and it looks the same, but the hair is golden all the way to his skin. Would it make a difference in the length of time he spends sunning? This year he has enjoyed the pool more, as we did not use the amount of chemicals. He also has spent more time playing outside at the farm. 



outwest said:


> Many light colored poodles have a darker stripe down their backs. Poodles can change color throughout their lives, actually. Not from one extreme to another, but my white poodle developed orangey patches when she got over about 9 years old.


Remington has always had the stripe, but now it is wider, and darker. 



Gilly said:


> I wasn't aware of this Pammi, but this is evident with our poodle who was a breeding bitch then came to us with "dark cream/orange" patches, particularly on her back. When we first got her we took her to the vet and I mentioned her coat colour. He said that when she loses this coat the "patches" will probably come back in white. I was sceptical, I remember thinking 'how can a dog change colour'. Anyway, he was absolutely correct. We have had her for about 4-5 months and sure enough she is just about completely pure white now. Just a very tiny patch of "orange" on her back, probably not noticeable to most folk.
> 
> I believe she is a really happy dog, enjoying life being a pet with no pups to look after any more! I am sure she was happy before, but like to think she prefers her life with us :clap: - I jolly well hope so anyway! So surely all this must affect her coat.
> 
> BTW, I dont bathe her a lot, she's been shampooed twice in the time we've had her. I brush her a lot though. She bounces around behind me as I trudge through paddocks tending to sheep and cattle. So she gets grass and manure marks on her, but they seem not to permanently stain. I clip her every 4 weeks or so. I do use a coat conditioning spray when I brush.


Remington has always been a bit funny about his shampoo. He liked, and still uses stuff from BBW that he picked out himself... Seriously.... Now though, he has found a few washes from Philosophy that he just loves. I do use a good condition from IOD on him, and he has a beautiful thick coat. 





Tiny Poodles said:


> Patches could have been clipper burn or from the dog scratching! It really. Only takes a minor skin injury to darken the hair! Many will even get it from vaccinations!
> 
> I am not thinking it is clipper burn, but will watch out for that... He has had his fft done recently, but not his back.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## ArreauStandardPoodle (Sep 1, 2009)

Most of the colours can fluctuate over time. Betty-Jo was dark red as a youngster, lightened quite a bit around three, and is darkening again at almost five. She looks a lot darker when her coat is longer. I presume that is guard hairs.


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## sweetheartsrodeo (Sep 19, 2012)

Thank you all! I am glad to know that getting darker can be normal.


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