10 week puppy coat becoming thin/coarse

[Emma Hill]

Hi all! This is my first time posting so bare with me if I don't upload the photo correctly... Our sweet boy, Finley, is having a weird change to his coat at just 10 weeks old. Primarily, his lower back, the area near and around his tail and hind legs. It has become short, thin and coarse in those areas and sheds so much when I brush him. Has anyone else experienced this? 

We just went to the vet last week and he was tested for just about everything - all tests came back negative. Vet said no food allergies or anything like that and he seemed fine to her in every other way except for his coat and I didn't get any answers about the coat change :( 

Any input is greatly appreciated! Thank you. 

[Ginny Nightingale]

Puppies have coats that change a lot--this is totally normal--he could end up lighter, darker, curlier--who knows? But it sounds to me like your pup is a shedder, which many labradoodles are! (Did your breeder mention this? There is no doubt he or she knew it)

Maybe brushing too much has thinned the coat out--I knew a pup with a coat like his and the daughter of the family loved to brush him--eventually he had skin showing thru because she was brushing out the hair too much. Just a possibility! 

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Luna started getting that at a few months old too I'm pretty sure.  She was a goldendoodle so different coat situation.  The coarse hairs started near her tail and eventually made a "stripe" of wiry hair all the way to her shoulders.  She somewhat kept that "stripe" into adulthood although it eventually blended in with the rest of her coat and wasn't as obvious.

She shed like crazy by the way... tumbleweeds all over the house even the day after vacuuming :p

Here's a pic when she was 5 months old and you can see the "stripe" of weird hair on her back.

[Emma Hill]

Thank you both so much for your responses! Finley is actually a Goldendoodle. We knew when we got him that shedding would be a possibility but we fell in love with him. But the more I researched, the less I saw on coat changes at such a young age and that's what had me concerned. And when I took him to the vet and got no answers, that confused me even more. 

But it sounds like this is normal and he's going to go through one (or more) awkward coat phases. I'll post a photo of him upright so you can see how funny his coat looks right now. I do brush him 3-4 times a week so I will cut back on that for the time being and see if it helps. Thank you again!! 

[Stephanie Bowman]

Reminds me so much of my Teddy! Teddy shed a lot during his first coat change and also got the coarse stripe Luna had.  I remember being concerned too. Now the stripe has blended in with the rest of his coat and has turned wavier. Definitely looking like a Doodle now at 8 months.

[Emma Hill]

Thank you! I was very concerned with it being an allergy issue or something else but vet wasn't at all concerned about that this early on and based on all of your feedback it sounds like his coat is just doing it's thing! I appreciate the response :)