Dogs hair changing colour!

[shivvy]

When I got my pup she was approx 6 months old and her hair was darkish red in colour. 7 months later her coat is much much lighter. Hopefully these photos show the difference.
<a target='_blank' href=&quot;http://s303.photobucket.com/albums/nn146/shivv y_photos/?action=view&current=Snow030.jpg& amp;quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;><img src=&quot;http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn146/shivvy_photos/Snow030.jpg&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; alt=&quot;Bella in the snow&quot;></a>
<a target='_blank' href=&quot;http://s303.photobucket.com/albums/nn146/shivvy_photos/?action=view&current=Bella058.jpg&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;><img src=&quot;http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn146/shivvy_photos/Bella058.jpg&quot; border=&quot;0&quot; alt=&quot;Bella in bandana&quot;></a>
I was wondering why this might be?
Might it be because she is getting older or maybe her hair will be lighter in the summer than the winter?
I love her either way but was just interested in other opinions.
Thanks.

[wolf63]

Can't really help with 'colour problem' - but she is drop dead gorgeous. You must be one proud mum/dad.

Come to think of it - my lab/GSD seemed more orangey some times. It could be dependant on the contrast between her coat and her surroundings and the light - day light or indoor light etc

[Roobeedoo]

WOW Shivvy What an absolute beauty Bella is!!!!
Got a Golden Retriever who was the loveliest cream colour when we got him... 12 months later more a ginger /gold but still handsome.

[blackcat77]

I had a yellow labrador who used to really tan in the summer! She was quite light yellow in winter and a definite deeper brown when she'd been in the sun!

[wildwood]

It is quite common. The coat colour is often due to a mutation where the melanin or other pigment granules are missing from the hairs, giving a lighter coat colour.

The hairs are damaged in the sun and reflect a different hue. I am confident that after the molt your dog will look like its old self again until the summer.

If she does have red eyes (can't be sure with a photo) you may need to watch the nose if she spends a lot of time in the sun, it may get sunburned with the chance of cancer.

[fredpuli47]

This is common, as said. In fact it's a feature of some breeds (none more so than with silver poodles where the pups are black and become silver only gradually. I've a poodle cross American cocker spaniel here.who has got some watered down version of the gene: her grandfather was a silver poodle and she was black and has only become silverish very slowly and gradually by the age of three!)

[shivvy]

Thanks for all your answers.
Interestingly enough her skin colour has been changing over the last 6 months as well. As you can tell, her hair is a bit see through and she has blotches of colour on her belly and chest.
What a strange litle creature she is!!

[fredpuli47]

Blotches of colour, eh? Well, she's not unique in that, strange little thing. She's got pink and what, brown, black? She's got confused ancestors who couldn't make up their minds, that's all , and she's trying to settle on what she looks best in for the moment (female, you see)
.Black skin (which, with that non-logic of dogdom, is known as 'silver') is highly desirable sometimes. Years ago the perfect white poodle would have had black skin all over.In practice, it's usually blotchy pink and black or grey now.

[shivvy]

Hi fredpuli47. So instead of her being nothing but a scruffy little crossbreed, she is probably hiding a multitude of desirable pedigree traits?! I can go with that!

[wolf63]

She is adorable and isn't a scruffy little crossbreed.

She has terrier in her somewhere. Not sure about the rest of her though. It is her personality that counts though.