How much did your F1b puppy coat change?

[Jess and Pippin]

Hi all,

Pippin is 6 months old and a redhead boy.  We've noticed his fur on his face is getting more golden, and new growth is lighter at the roots than the ends.  Is a change in color usual?  He has a lovely soft wavy coat and I'm also wondering if a change in texture is usual?  I've attached 2 pix.  One is at 12 weeks and one is at 6 months.

[Heidi]

Hi Jess!  Your Pippin is a cutie!  I have two F1B boys, same parents, but a year apart.  They both had soft reddish loosely wavy fur as puppies.  As adults, one has a soft curly/wavy texture, and the other is very tight, but soft, poodle texture.  As far as color goes, the longer I let their fur get, the redder it gets.  It's always something of a shock when I clip them down, as they go from reddish to cream!  I can let my older dog Newton get quite long in the fur, as his doesn't tangle much, but my younger dog Fritz has to be kept short as he mats up at any more than an inch or two.

 

Every dog, even within the same litter, will be different.  Enjoy your little guy! :)

 

~Heidi, Newton, and Fritz

[Jess and Pippin]

Thanks Heidi.  Pippin is our first doodle, so it's fun to hear some of the changes others noticed with their dogs.  I keep thinking that he will end up more apricot.  Right now his coat is 2 plus inches long, really red at the tips and in the sunshine, but more apricot closer to his skin.  Lovely, soft and wavy.  He has this funny patch of tighter curly almost brown fur at the base of his tail (underneath all the red), so at this point, it is a total guess!  Would love to see some pix of your 2.

[Lauria Orr]

Morgan started out white with a few good sized black spots on him.  Those dark spots are now golden and the tips of his ears still have just a trace of black on them.  Melody's went from very soft to quite coarse. She hates the brush, so I keep her cut pretty short,so we don't have to deal with matting as much as we would if it was long. Their coats changed at about 7 months or so, I would say.  Morgan is now 10 months old, and his coat is curly, and thankfully soft.  It is easy to manage.

Pippin is so cute!!!!  At first I thought he looked 2 toned on the 2nd photo, and realized that must be you holding him!!!!  Your dark wavy hair was in the background. What a cute boy!!!!!!

[Jess and Pippin]

Thanks for the reply Lauria.  Pippin is all redhead.  That's my dtr's hair you see, and yes, lovely and curly!  You have 2 lovely doodles!  Gorgeous coloring.  I took a peek at your profile and laughed at your beagle comments.  My husband grew up with beagles.  His folks had a 1/3 acre lot that the beagles ran all day, and very little training, so they ruled the house.  It was a tough sell to get him to agree to a dog! 

[Lauria Orr]

Hi Jess!  I adored our Beagles, even as quirky as they were. I miss them every day.  It is really nice, however to take Melody and Morgan for a walk in the nearby park and be able to let them off the leash. With the beagles, that may be the last time you saw them!  It took us 9 hours to get Hershey back one time! There are many pluses to having a Doodle breed.  Another plus is the non-shedding coat. They don't eat us out of house and home. All the same, I would have those Beagles back in a heart beat if I could.  They were very sweet. The Doods are just a kick, and I am crazy about them. I hope your husband is having a fun time with Pippin.  I think these are the coolest dogs in the world.  I love Pippin's coloring...he is just precious!!!!!!  And yes, your daughter's hair is beautiful!!!!

[Jennifer and "Cooper"]

Hi Jess.  Pippin is too cute!!  Cooper had much more red when he was 3 weeks old. (Picture attached)  As he got older and went through his (many) coat changes, most of him got lighter and lighter.  His ears are still red, though not as dark as when he was a puppy.  Most of him is actually almost dark blond now.   Cooper's coat was straight when he was a puppy (the straightest of the litter of 6).  People used to think he was a Golden Retriever when he was little.  He started getting wavy around 6-7 months.  In his litter, the lighter the pups the curlier the hair was. (Picture attached)    

I agree with Heidi about the color change after grooming.  Cooper looks even lighter colored after he is clipped too. 

 

    

[Jess and Pippin]

Hi Jennifer.  Cooper is a cutie.  Pippin was groomed for the first time last week, and is now more bronze colored than red, except for his red ears and tail.  He also has a darker, almost brown, stripe along his spine that is also more of a poodly, curly texture.  It sure is fun to watch them change!

[Becka]

Sadie is almost six months old, and I feel like her coat changes on an almost daily basis. She started out looking like a fuzzy lab (see seven-week picture) and these days people are always asking me if she's a wheaten terrier--I took the other picture yesterday. It's hard to see from the picture but she's definitely a two-tone doodle, with a wide area of apricot over her back and shoulders.

[Jess and Pippin]

What a gorgeous girl!  It is fun to watch them change.  Pippin keeps me guessing as to what his final look will be. 

[Becka]

Thanks!

 We met a doodle at the dog park the other day that was almost the exact same color as Sadie except for a reddish stripe down her back, and the owner told me that as a puppy she was a redhead--Irish setter red!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Fudge was a deep chocolate brown when we brought her home.

Now, she is two and almost a silvery brown:

Pippin is adorable!!

[Jess and Pippin]

What a beautiful girl she is!  Thanks for sharing the pix  ;)