# Coat Color Change?



## clueless (Mar 24, 2011)

So I realize that a dog is born with a specific coat color, that's a given. What I'm not sure about is does the coat darken with age? The black hairs being more prominent as they grow into maturity and the brown hairs become not so visible? It seems the dog we have now has gotten darker since he came here. The black hairs are the guard hairs so do they just become more visible? Can anyone help me with this?


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## Catu (Sep 6, 2007)

It does happen with sables, which yours may be for your description. 

With black and tan pups it's the contrary, they are born almost black and the black goes back showing more and more than as they get older.

Sable pup, 2 months old









Sable pup, 5 months old









Black and tan pup, 2 months old









black and tan pup, 12 months old


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

clueless said:


> So I realize that a dog is born with a specific coat color, that's a given. What I'm not sure about is does the coat darken with age? The black hairs being more prominent as they grow into maturity and the brown hairs become not so visible? It seems the dog we have now has gotten darker since he came here. The black hairs are the guard hairs so do they just become more visible? Can anyone help me with this?


Oh, you're wondering what is the actual physical process of darkening? It's the same way humans go gray-- they slowly lose their hairs and the new ones grow in darker or lighter or grayer. Part of the process is when they gain their adult undercoat, but it's mostly just losing the old hairs and growing new ones.


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