Change of color?
Our girl Shayleigh had a fine litter of puppies in March. Since then, however, her lovely gray coat has in many places changed to an almost tan color. A bizarre look for an OES. Now, we changed her food during pregnancy and lactation so as to promote milk production. After weaning the puppies we put Shayleigh on a new food - Nutros Large Breed - which promoted coat quality (hoping to reverse her color change but it seemd to speed it up). Only recently have we changed her food back to her normal pre-pregnancy non-puppy kibble. Could the stress of birth and feeding the puppies have caused a change in her coat's color? Could the change in diet have been the root of the event? Is her coat likely to change back to its normal (pre-pregnancy) color? I have never seen the like before. Does anyone here have a spot of experience or wisdom to share that might shed some light upon this strange event? Your thoughts would be appreciated. |
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| I dont know much about breeding, however, I do know that a sheepdogs color can range from( tan)khaki color to black...Willowsprite would be the one to ask....I would trust her with good answers. |
Thansk for the vote of confidence Darcy  There are a lot of people with far more experience than me though... but I think that yes, the hormonal changes along with diet change could have been part of it, along with staining (the root of the hair shaft could've become stained with puppies crawling all over and may just be showing now?) Has she been in the sun much? A darker coat will get "sunburned" even if not in the sun very much. Also, the puppies urine (no matter how clean you keep them, that's what they do! ) can "burn" the coat and change it's color.
Even though there are things that could explain this, I would also take a good long look into her pegidree, as any shade of fawn or tan or brown of any sort is not acceptable in the breed. I would also mention it to your vet when you go in for her next check up, or sooner if there are any other symptoms. I don't know if any of these suggestions are of any help, or if they even apply... but it's all I can think of at the moment |
| Saliva from the puppies sounds like a probable cause. Since we kept two pups and they still pester her a good bit this sounds reasonable. Her change in diet could also be involved.
Shayleigh's hair roots are grey, it's just the last two inches of her hairs that has changed color. It's almost like the 'older' hair 'died'. |
| I have a very good friend that is an AKC judge and has I think 6 sheepdogs all with impecable pedigrees. One day while visiting last year one of the dogs, I don't remember male or female, the last inch of hair was dark brown. No clue as to why all the rest of the dogs were fine all the same diet, exercise, sun exposure etc. go figure. We discussed it the conclusion was to cut the hair down and start over. |
| Clyde's front paw is also stained brownish because he sleeps on it and drools. I, too, thought something was wrong with his coloring until I put 2 and 2 together. His roots are white, just the last inch or so turned. |
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