New here! Question about gray hair in Bo's face fur

[Black Doodles]

Hello! We have a 4-month old Goldendoodle named Bo and he's black and sooo cute. And yes he's very difficult to photograph. The photos I have of him on here don't do him any justice. I'm still waiting on my husband to load some better pics for me...anyway, I have a question: Is it normal for Bo to have bits of gray in his face color? We've noticed this lately cuz it seems like he's aging or something, lol. BTW I love all of your photos!

[Leslie & Axl Sacks]

I've noticed Axl getting a lot more grey hair in his old age of 5 months, lol.  I guess it just comes with being a mix of the blonde golden retriever & black standard poodle.  He does have an adorable white patch on one of his ears that wasn't there when we first got him, but his muzzle & paws are really getting to be a mottled gray.  It's more pronounced when he gets wet from the grass or playing in the sprinkler.  I'm wondering what it will really look like when we get him groomed for the first time next week.  I know that doesnt really answer your question, but you are not alone!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Hi Daniece -- I can't really tell from your photos about the white hairs, but it is perfectly normal in the black doodles for them to have some white (silver) strands, some more than others.  Our Lucy, who was coal black as a puppy, is now almost a pewter color.  Some will just get the few white strands while others will turn like Lucy did.  We sort of all agree, that whatever we end up with we love so it doesn't really matter.  You can see some pics of Lucy on my page.  Bo is adorable though.

[Wendy Shapiro]

Maddy is 7 months and she too was a totally black labradoodle when we got her. I have seen silver coming through on her back near her skin. Thanks for the explanation. I agree, whatever color she is doesn't matter. I have one picture where you can see her but find it impossible to catch her true adorableness!

[Lynette Main]

Mya was jet black at birth and she will soon be two.The hair around her face is now turning grey and her front legs are turning grey.The rest of her body is still black. I know that as dogs age the dark ones do grey up a bit but not at two years old. Does this happen that early in Doodles.OR do just the black ones turn and never stay completly black???

[Melody & Bruin]

hope you get some answers to that one...I am very curious too

[Cheyene, Leapfrog Labradoodles]

Hi Lynette,

I just noticed your post (yes I really am 6 months behind. lol). The vast majority of doodles of any color fade or grey by two years of age. This is because blacks have not been used consistently in the lines. Some breeders, including myself, are reintroducing blacks to strengthen coat color. It is possible to find blacks (and all colors) that don't fade, but they are very rare. Blacks are much harder to sell for a variety of reasons, including the fact that they are harder to photograph. Hopefully we will see more of them in years to come.

[Lynette Main]

Mya was jet black at birth and she will be two next month.She is still black on her body but her legs have started to show more grey.I find a few white hairs on her but mostly on her legs. I'm waiting for her whole body to turn grey.They go through coat changes as well as color changes.

[Joanna, Zoe & Bender]

Hi! Zoe is just a week shy of 3 months and shes super black with a white chest, white two back feet, and a little white on her chin.  The breeder did tell us she will turn silver and although we like her color and could've chosen her sister who will most likely stay black we got Zoe because we LOVED her face.  I can see that her roots are Silvering around her back and butt area but her head looks like it will stay black.  =)

[Meghan & Buster]

My Buster came from a Phantom litter.  His sister was already turning gray/silver by the time she was 8 weeks old.  I was told because he hasn't turned yet, that he wouldn't.  He is 8 months old today, and I am noticably seeing his ears turning gray, and he has a small spot on the bottoms of all of his feet.  I am wondering if his whole ears are going to turn, but his body won't!  Will have to wait and see.  I do see some stray strands of gray thru his body...but that wasn't until we got him shaved for the summer.

[Suzanne & Jack]

My Jack was very black as a puppy.  At about 2 he developed a lot of gray on his legs and now I would call him more of a soft black. 

[BettyAnn, Holmes & Lucy]

Hello! I just joined and just got my black doodle, a boy w/ no name right now who's 8 weeks old. Had NO idea that his color may change! Thanks for the info. Can't wait to see what color he ends up being. 

[Marnie, Stanlee's Mom]

BettyAnn, Stanlee will be a year old next month and he went from a charcoal black to the color of the dog in the photo above laying on the grass.  He's a dark smokey balck with a chocolatey muzzle and white hairs here and there running down the length of his back.  He's also scruffy like the two dogs in the photo and not curly at all.