My black doodle is turning gray lol

[Vicky Lee]

Hi its Vicky in BC Our doodle is 31/2 years old and man is her color changing ! Gaby was as black as coal as a puppy. When she was a bout 2 years old I kept noticing gray hairs every once in a while.

Well she is now 31/2 and LOTS of gray hair , the head is still black as top part of her neck , black legs and most of the rest of her is gray. The gray started on the belly came up over her back in angles lol

She now looks like a pinto horse !  Is this unusual all labadoodlers out there or is she just weird. Not that we care what color she is as she is one of the smartest dogs we have ever had. Gabby goes outside to go pee when told , does all kinds of tricks , loves kids and even the little dogs who steal her ball. Trained Gabby to ring a bell when she stayed with my daughter (in a big house with lots of kids) when she needed to go outside as we wnt on a cruise. and it seems she can learn anything with a few sessions and yummy treat BUT she never forgets what she has learned (even after a year when she went back to my daughters house and was asked to respond to a trick they had taught her which i was not aware of.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Are there any black doodles who stay a rich, deep, shiny black or do all fade or get more of a matte black?  Can those with experience tell the difference between dark chocolate and black in young puppies?

[Lynda Kamrath]

Sounds very normal to me. Silver poodles start off as black puppies and then continually get lighter. All of my doodles have changed color as they age. I would say, Nancy, that a black labradoodle with a black poodle parent and a black lab parent will probably stay black.Other than that, if either of the parents are a color other than black, the puppy with probably change color with age. That has been my experience.