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  1. #1
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    Oban's Coat Has Changed Colour - Due to Food?

    I think most of you here know Oban's medical history. Till he got sick Oban's black coat only ever showed highlights in silver. Even his shed came out grey. He never had a good coat, dry and harsh since puppyhood. EFAs helped but still, his undercoat was greyish with silvery highlights in the sun. He got sick, his outer coat fell completely out, we went raw, it came back in and looked glorious, best ever, but still grey undercoat and highlights.

    He got sick again and now we are on this Rayne KSP and he is much better and his coat is not as gorgeous as when he was on raw but it's better than when he was on his previous kibbles. And now he definitely looks brown in the sun. Some undercoat and shed looks brown too. He's not ever going to be taken for a really dark chocolate in the sun, as Jet was, but there are those shiny brown highlights where there was never any brown before. He is not on EFAs but is on TCM but was on the same TCM before.

    It must be the food? Kangaroo? Has anyone else noticed a change like this? It's not a worry but it is peculiar, I think.

  2. #2
    Senior Dog Maxx&Emma's Avatar
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    I don't feed a kibble with kangaroo exclusively but I do have one in my rotation. My 2 black dogs do not show any coat color change from that kibble. Neither of mine have health problems, Emma has arthritis but nothing compared to Oban.
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  3. #3
    Best Friend Retriever Sue's Avatar
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    Is it kind of a dark reddish brown?

    Most of the blacks I've had or known would have those rusty brownish-red undertones if they were out in the sun a lot, or during sheds.

    I wouldn't worry about it, it actually sounds normal to me. I've really not seen the silvery undercoat on a black.
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  4. #4
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    Chase definitely has brownish tones when he's shedding. Lark blew her coat recently and I didn't even realize it was happening, except for the ungodly amount of hair on the floor that I thought was from Chase. Interesting that Oban has a changed undertone. I've never noticed a change in mine from switching foods. They have different undertones but it doesn't seem to change and they eat the same food (as each other). I switch up proteins, depending upon what I feel like buying. I wonder if it could be unrelated to his food but i don't know what would cause it. Interesting observation! Hmmm...

  5. #5
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    I know it's not a worry but I've never heard of it happening. Jet's undertones were dark, dark chocolate brown. I've seen a few Labs that were bluish, not very many. I've never seen a Lab with the grey undertones that look silver in bright sunlight. it's tricky saying they are silver because that brings up a whole other connotation but they are, like the chrome on a car bumper silver, for those who remember when car bumpers were chrome. And now he has brown undertones, very weird.

    Sue, no it's not reddish brown. You're thinking his coat is bleaching out? No, I don't think so.

    I didn't notice this till this springs shed was finished. That shed was quite light in amount and it was greyish underneath. This does seem to be post shed.

    Oh well, not a worry but I do like to know why weird things happen.

  6. #6
    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    Potion and Bandit had beautiful black, black coats. They did get a mahogany brown color to the undercoat when shedding. Made it great to spot areas that needed more brushing attention.
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  8. #7
    Senior Dog janedoe's Avatar
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    Oh yeah. Our Fran's coat when from a kind of rough sickly yellow to a soft rich reddish yellow after a diet change and supplements for her allergies. It's really pretty. We were just talking about it the other day.

  9. #8
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    One of my black labs had some serious allergies and his undercoat was more of a brown/red and what I'd call "sticky" -- just really thick, somewhat oily and came out in clumps. Sam is also black and his undercoat is more grey and dry.

  10. #9
    Senior Dog windycanyon's Avatar
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    If you have a copy of Mary Roslyn Williams' Reach for the Stars book, it discusses the various under coat colors as related to what color genes they may have behind them. I have one black w/ the light grey undercoat (Mata is dominant black), and some w/ a browner undercoat. Mata's grandma was Byc, and she turned the most beautiful choc cherry just before her shed... was actually mistaken one day as a chocolate by a long time breeder and we had fun w/ that one.

    I'd really not worry about it. As labs age, their coat textures change. I've seen interesting changes w/ spaying here too. Was told by other breed owners about how "fuzzy"/ soft the undercoats can get but I'm seeing just the opposite w/ my oldest who has developed a better texture w/ age/spay. Maybe it's all the sunbathing she does! If all bloodwork (thyroid etc) is good, I'd not be too concerned.
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