Chocolate coat turning silver???

[Mallory Johnson]

My 7 month old mini labradoodle had the most beautiful chocolate coat when I got her. It is starting to get a lot of white hair amongst the chocolate-- mainly between her shoulder blades and down her back. The breeder said it must just be a dilute gene?? Is this what her adult coat is going to look like?? Is there anything I can do to save her chocolate color?

Thanks!

Mallory and Paisley

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

The short answer is NO, there is nothing that you can do. All of us as doodle owners have learned one thing and that is that when you get a Doodle puppy it is very rare that you know for sure exactly what look you will end up with ..... however, you will always end up loving whatever you end up with! Blacks and Chocolates are notorious for fading! If it is just a few white hairs coming in and they are a different texture, it could be kemp but chances are the dark dark choc will fade! How much it fades will be known probably by about 2 years old. You can check out some recent discussions that included pictures in the Pup to Adult Group, as well as doing a search for "coat change". You can also go to my page and look at the pics of my Lucy --- she was black, but is turning very silver. I was disappointed when she first started to turn, but now I love her uniqueness.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Yes, I have heard that is quite common with chocolate doods. I know there have been discussions on it.
My peri is a basically a cream doodle with apricot ears and stripe down her back now. When she came home at 8 weeks, she was much darker and more apricot all over. They really do change! You won't care in the end, trust me :)

[Adina P]

If she has the dilute gene...she will lighten for sure. If she doesn't, she may just have a few lighter hairs speckled throughout. With chocolates and blacks, it is FAR MORE common to see them lighten than for them to keep their rich dark colors.

For your dog, silvering doesn't mean she will be actually 'silver' in color...it just means she will lighten. Look up "parchment" and "Lavendar" and "cafe" labradoodles to see some possible colors she might turn into just in case.

[Adina P]

Just for fun, check out some of these photos of silvering doodles and the many colors of chocolate:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/photo/albums/doodles-of-unusual-colors

http://www.doodlekisses.com/photo/albums/2065244:Album:53624

http://www.doodlekisses.com/photo/albums/a-box-of-chocolates

[Adrianne Matzkin]

Not the best shots but you get the picture - WOL!! Samantha started out chocolate and now is a latte color

May 2008

September 2008

May 2010

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

When we first put our names down for a puppy we were told we would likely get a cafe or parchment puppy, but when she arrived she was very chocolatey but with a blondish nose! Cooper now has streaks of silver on both her ears, sprinkles on her dark brown back (which we first thought was kemp, maybe it still is...) and almost all her tail is grey. She has reddish/blondish brown on her back legs, and pale brown chest. So many different colours.... shes 1 year 2 months, so lots of colour developing to do still... but I love her colours... Every morning when I was waiting for her to be old enough to come to us, i would look into my morning coffee (with milk) and get very excited!!!!! Haha looking into my coffee still reminds me of that :)

[Mallory Johnson]

Thanks everyone for all the replies!! It has helped me understand the puppy to adult coat change so much more! I have enjoyed looking at the pictures and reading all the posts. Happy 4th of July!

[Deborah Eiermann]

The same thing is happening to my year old chocolate labradoodle. When we got him 2 months ago, he just had a few silver hairs on his tail. Now he has silver hairs sprouting up all over. I hope he stays chocolate. I don't remember if it was Parker's mother or grandmother, but one of them ended up to be a lavender. But of course, we will love our doodles no matter what color they turn, won't we! =0)

[Minga & Malu & Costa]

Yep, you can see in my photos that Malu was milk chocolate when I brought him home, however he already had the beginnings of lighter hair on his face at 8 weeks. He will probably end of being parchment, although I was hoping for cafe like his daddy. Some doodles actually stay a true chocolate, they are the ones who do not carry the dilution gene.

It is funny to me, because a lot of cats carry the dilution gene so I was familiar with it. Just not that many dogs have it. I think it is pretty cool!

[Lorraine Bromley]

Would it help to have seen the adults of a previous litter from the same parents to see if they others had faded? I may want to add to our family and red or brown is what we were originally looking for.

[Deborah Eiermann]

My 1 year old doodle Parker was chocolate brown, but now his ears and head have an auburn cast and he has lots of white hairs popping up all over! I wonder what he will look like when he "grows up"!

[Minga & Malu & Costa]

It can help, but it is no guarantee that every puppy from those parents will have the dilution gene.