Should I Be Concerned if My Black Dog Is Turning Brown?
The thought of a dog’s coat changing color is bizarre. It’s not something we think will happen when we adopt a new furry friend. Funny enough, this is actually a very common process for dogs to go through.
Haircuts, aging, nutritional balance, sun exposure, and health conditions (including medication) are all possible causes for this.
While coat color change is not something to be immediately concerned about, some signs will signal this is not a natural transition. If symptoms such as redness and irritation occur along with hair loss, there’s a possibility that the color is changing due to an underlying health condition or poor nutritional balance.
If your dog’s coat changes colors, we recommend keeping an eye on your dog the next few days, especially if they are on medication or have a known health condition. Otherwise, there’s no need to panic. In most cases, this is a natural process.
Why is my black dog turning brown?
If your black puppy is turning brown, it’s probably just genetics.
Everyone has a cousin who was blonde as a baby but brown-haired as an adult. You might even have been that cousin. The juvenile colors of an animal aren’t usually the final colors of an animal. Puppies, in particular, change a lot when they move into adulthood and get their final coats.
If you have a puppy and want a better picture of what your puppy will look like later, you should look at both of its parents. But that isn’t a guarantee, because of the way genetics work; there can be recessive genes in there that will change the way that your puppy looks even though it’s not visible in your puppy’s parents.
That’s one reason. But what if your older dog is turning brown…?
It’s pretty simple. It’s the sun.
Forget about your baby cousin, what about your cousin who surfs? Most people instinctively know that hair is going to lighten under the sun. But what they don’t realize is that dog fur is, well, essentially their hair. It does the same thing. This is because pigments start breaking down under UV light.
The more a dog is under the sun, the lighter it will be. And it will be the lightest in the areas most commonly exposed to the sun. If you have a black dog, you will likely see that its back becomes lighter than its belly.
You might also notice, however, the skin on its belly growing darker, too. Not only do dogs get sun-bleached, but they also tan!
Why is my dog’s fur changing color?
Many breeds have coats that change over time. Puppies will generally be a different color than the adult dog. Medications, sunlight, nutritional status and skin disease can all be factors in changing and dog’s coat color. … Sometimes changes in color is just the progression of that dog’s pigment in the hair.
What the Color of Your Dog’s Gums Mean
Cats and dogs produce a pigment called melanin (the same one humans have), which helps to determine the color in their hair and skin. There are two main types of melanin that the body can make: one is called ‘eumelanin,’ that results in a very dark black color and the other is called ‘pheomelanin,’ which has more of a reddish-brown color when produced by dogs and cats. For dogs and cats, the color of their hair coat is decided mostly by their genetics which result in variations in eumelanin and pheomelanin. However, in some cases, diet can also play a role.
Two amino acids, called tyrosine and phenylalanine, are important in making melanin (as a reminder, amino acids are the building blocks of protein). Dogs and cats must meet their needs for essential amino acids through their diet. Tyrosine can be made from phenylalanine, so diets need to either include enough phenylalanine and tyrosine or enough phenylalanine to meet the needs for both of these important amino acids. If there is not enough phenylalanine or tyrosine in the body to make the darker black pigment, eumelanin, then the pet will make the reddish-brown pigment, pheomelanin, instead, which requires less of these amino acids. Though research studies have determined how much phenylalanine and tyrosine are needed for optimal growth and general health in cats and dogs, pets with mostly black hair coats may have even higher requirements in their diet to produce enough eumelanin to make a darker black coat. Most pet foods have phenylalanine/tyrosine levels that are high enough to meet these needs.
If your cat or dog has a black hair coat that starts to appear more red, especially after a change in diet, we recommend talking with your veterinarian to discuss whether diet may play a role for your pet. The first step may be gathering more information: you should tell your veterinarian everything you feed your pet. If you’re feeding a lot of treats or table food, or an unbalanced home-prepared diet, the overall diet could be deficient in amino acids and other key nutrients. Your veterinarian may call the pet food company to determine how much tyrosine and phenylalanine is in the diet, and how much your pet is getting based on how much of the diet they eat every day (this is also a great example of why pets who need to lose weight should have a specially formulated diet and not just reduce the amount of a maintenance food – you may be cutting back calories, but you may also be cutting back nutrients, too!). Your veterinarian may also recommend testing the amino acid levels in your pet’s blood. Based on all this information, your veterinarian may recommend a change in diet first to see if that changes their coat color back to a darker black. If your pet is on a special diet or sensitive to dietary changes, your veterinarian may also consider a trial of tyrosine and/or phenylalanine supplementation with a product that has independent quality control testing. If changing the diet or supplementation don’t seem to address their hair coat color, then your veterinarian may recommend other testing for possible medical conditions if diet is not the underlying reason. Most importantly, make sure you talk with your veterinarian about your pet’s diet to ensure it’s optimal for their lifestage, health, and individual needs. If your pet has many medical conditions that require unique dietary modifications, you might consider working with a Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionist.