# Bitch stripe just starting to show at 20 months?



## LeoRose (Jan 10, 2013)

I've noticed that Leo is getting some brown hairs mixed in with the black along her back. It is in a patch roughly the sized of an index card, just in front of her hips. Could she be developing a bitch stripe? I was under the impression that they tended to start at the withers, and at a younger age. I don't have a picture of the spot itself, because I just really noticed how large it is today, but this is from a couple of days ago. 

The girls, a mockingbird, and Connor 069 by RBElwell, on Flickr

She does have more red and less black than she had as a puppy.


----------



## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Usually a bitch stripe will start at the neck area and sometimes will be present as a young puppy all the way down the back. I think Lord had a sizeable bitch stripe as a puppy. Maybe I have a picture. 

You can see it strong on the neck here, but it went all the way down his back:


Rushie looked almost like a bi-color, certainly a blanket back as a puppy and young dog, and then the top of his legs started lightening up. I was worried it would become a saddle at 4 years old. But it didn't. Mabye I have a picture. 

I am not sure if this added coloring ever showed up on the back though before the hip:


----------



## LeoRose (Jan 10, 2013)

This is what she looked like when I rescued her. She was about 12 weeks or so, we think.


----------



## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Really depends on the dog. Nikon had a MAJOR coat blow early this past summer (so right before he turned 5 years) and blew most of his top coat. Now he has a little red bleed through on his croup/loin area of his back.


----------



## LeoRose (Jan 10, 2013)

She was being uncooperative, but I did manage to get a couple of pictures of it.


----------

