New coat at 3 months?

[MM]

Hello, My puppy is a 3 month old F1 mini GD. I'm writing because I am a bit concerned and curious about what my puppy is going through.

She's being a bit scraggly as she is getting older. Her head, ears, and neck areas are curlier, darker and a lot softer. Her back and body are lighter, more wavy, and more coarse. The hip/leg areas are little wiry. Her main coat is shorter but she has started to have long, fine, wispy hair as well. When I was examining her hair while she was sleeping, I found some new hairs are coming out and they are a lot darker -- similar to her ear color. They look to have a different texture than her current coat. The new hairs are on her back and body area. And she starts to shed a lot more than when we first got her at 9 weeks.

My question is that Isn't it too early for her to have a coat change though? Is it common to have new hair that has different texture and color at this age? And do you think her hair will grow longer as she gets older to fill out the wispy look? Has anybody experienced the similar things?

Thanks in advance. 

[Nancy Meacham]

My 4 month old has been having the same changes with her coat.  She basically has wavy hair on her back, and wisps everywhere else.  She is a mini F1b GD.  75% poodle, 25% Golden.  She has a small amount of facial hair, and it looks like she will be a shedder.  

I look forward to what what others say.  Thanks for your question.

Nancy

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Coats change gradually so your puppy may be be changing the texture as the new hairs grow in, however, you are correct it isn't that huge change that people speak about.  Many doodles go through a phase of getting a coarse darker stripe down their backs - we call those hairs hemp.  It seems to go away eventually.  You can really see the strip in the apricot  dogs.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Darn my answer deleted..... Coats can change gradually but 4 months IS too early for that coat change everyone speaks about. What might be happening is a phase that many doodles go through where hairs of a different texture and darker color grow in - causing a stripe down the back. It is temporary but lasts quite a long time and is most easily seen on the apricot dogs.

[Nancy Meacham]

Your pup is beautiful!  Thanks for your reply!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Thanks, Nancy.  He is ten years old now - far past his stripe, but I still remember wondering about it. Here he is now - no stripe, no coarser coat area. His adult coat isn't silky but more cottony.

[Nancy Meacham]

He is gorgeous!! ❤️

[S & Charlie]

Wow!! When did he lose his apricot stripe? My Charlie doodle is 2 and his stripe is going strong! 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I looked back at my photos and at age two, it was still there.

But it seems to have faded during his third year.

[S & Charlie]

Awww, so cute. Charlie just turned 2 on 5/16/18. The apricot has definitely started to fade, but it's still there. His tail is funny because it's like a pom pom- it curls onto his back, but it's long and straight so it just looks like a ball of fur. The end of it is apricot, which is so funny looking! His ears used tobe super orange, but those went away about a year ago. The apricot stripe on his back is definitely fading though. I don't have my phone with me right now but here's a current pic of him