Roan Colouring

[pwhite48]

As we know, the blue roan colouring that we see on puppies changes quite a bit as they grow into adulthood.  But why?

I've been trying to work out the biology of it (I've an A level in it but I can't work this one out!)

When Paddy was born, he was white with black patches, then at 8 weeks his coat was much darker. Now at 11 weeks, he's getting a white line along his back, and his muzzle is going whiter.

What I can't work out is whether this is all the same hair, but changes colour as it grows out, or whether the older hair is falling out and this is the new hair underneath

I've parted his hair, but can only work out a mixture of white, grey and black hair.

It doesn't bother me what colour he is, but it really interests me how his coat seems to be constantly changing. So thought I would ask the question  

[Cob-Web]

I had assumed, and this is not based on any known facts, that the changes in coat colouring correspond to the maturation and pigmentation of the hair follicles  

It happens in human babies, too...their baby hair is often a completely different colour to their adult hair colour  ::

[Annette]

Yep, Dalmatians also get their full colouring as they get older.

Think I read somewhere that the colour of the skin is an indicator of what colour the hair will be, but not sure if this changes as they get older too.

[scooby's mum]

Yep, Dalmatians also get their full colouring as they get older.

Think I read somewhere that the colour of the skin is an indicator of what colour the hair will be, but not sure if this changes as they get older too.

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Where Scooby's leg and backside have been shaved for his op, it's just like looking at a dalmation    it looks really weird.

[clairep4]

Bella's coat has really changed colour in the last couple of days - almost seems to be from yesterday to today, it's suddenly looking longer and got lots more white in it and you can really see her legs getting darker. Her tail is getting bushier as well (she has a full tail) and at the end of it the fur is longer and curled up like a little piggy because it's not yet long enough to hang down - looks very cute!

[Annette]

Where Scooby's leg and backside have been shaved for his op, it's just like looking at a dalmation    it looks really weird.

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That's sooo cute.

Buddy's coat is still like that in places (9 weeks old), I expect he, too, will change a lot as he gets older.

[Cob-Web]

Where Scooby's leg and backside have been shaved for his op, it's just like looking at a dalmation    it looks really weird.

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Roans that are clipped short look 'spotty' as it is easier to see the individual black and white hair roots - I personally prefer the softer roan look, (hence my steep learning curve with the coat-king   ) but loads of roan cockers around here are clipped short because their owners prefer the *spotty* look    

[scooby's mum]

Where Scooby's leg and backside have been shaved for his op, it's just like looking at a dalmation    it looks really weird.

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Roans that are clipped short look 'spotty' as it is easier to see the individual black and white hair roots - I personally prefer the softer roan look, (hence my steep learning curve with the coat-king   ) but loads of roan cockers around here are clipped short because their owners prefer the *spotty* look    

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My friend has a blue roan and she has him clipped short - personally I too prefer to leave the coat longer.  I've just done Scooby with the coat king and thinners and he looks fantastic, I'm really pleased with the results  

My friend is also getting an orange roan pup in a few weeks time (I'm green with envy) and she says she going to give the coat king a go when the pups older.  She's calling her Lilly and she's going to see her for the first time on Saturday.  I'll get my friend to download some pics  

[wahm]

We had a white bulldog but when he was wet he looked like a fat dalmation!.

Changing hair colour is common in cats too.We have a chinchilla persian that has white fur with a black tip~~how on earth does that work?