Wait, Did Your Puppy Suddenly Change Colours On You?

This isn’t exactly like The Wizard of Oz’s Horse of a Different Colour, but it’s not not that

19 December 2023

A while ago, a woman in a Havanese-owner Facebook group posted a question for her fellow Havi-fans: how was it that her beloved dog, who had had a chocolatey brindle coat as a puppy, now had fur the colour of milky tea?

Other devotees of Havanese – a small, perky companion breed from Cuba that has the long, lustrous locks of a Pantene model – shared that their pups had undergone similar colour transformations as they aged. I was in the group because my parents had recently adopted a Havanese, and after scrolling through dozens of images of small, dark pups who had grown into far paler adults, I looked suspiciously at my parents’ young puppy. Would Lorenzo be unrecognisable in a couple of years? This leads to a question: can you ever really know a dog? OK, maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but can you ever really know a dog’s fur?

“The changes we see from a puppy to adult coat are very breed-specific, and are genetically determined,” says Dr Mitzi Clark, an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

Though not all pups change colour as they get older, almost all dogs experience changes to their fur’s texture and appearance as they age. Here’s what you should know about how a dog’s fur can evolve over time, and how to (kind of sort of) tell what colour your puppy could be when they grow up.

Your puppy’s coat will change as they age

Lots of puppies have downy, cloud-like coats. This fur doesn’t last for very long, though. According to Dr Clark, puppy coats are generally thinner and softer than their adult counterparts. As they age, the coat becomes more dense, and the hair itself grows more coarsely. Just picture, say, a Golden Retriever: as a puppy, it’s a tiny fuzz ball, but as an adult, it has a coarse, water-repellent topcoat and thick undercoat to keep it warm while it swims. How the transition from puppy fuzz to adult fur happens depends on the dog.

“Some puppies will noticeably shed before the adult hairs come in, while others will simply ‘gain’ the adult hairs in addition to their puppy ones,” explains Dr Clark.

This stage is usually when a change of colour happens. Even if it doesn’t happen then, a dog’s adult coat will continue to change as they age. “When going from an adult coat to a senior coat, often dogs’ hair coats will lose lustre and appear dull,” Dr Clark says. She adds that, just like humans, dogs go grey as they get older, and some may experience hair loss.

Dogs change colour slightly as they get older

During the transition from puppy fur to adult fur, lots of dogs will get a little lighter or a little darker. Others change more dramatically. How much they change depends on their breed and genetics. Your yellow Lab pup isn’t going to grow up into a chocolate Lab, for example. But Dr Clark says that, according to the American Kennel Club, Dalmatians, Bedlington Terriers, Kerry Blue Terriers and Shih Tzus are among the breeds that may undergo major colour changes as they get older.

If you’re curious to know whether your new puppy is likely to change coats as they get older, research the breed (or the breeds you think they might be). And if you’d like to be super scientific about it, websites such as Paw Print Genetics offer a coat colour and trait calculator where you can input the genetic markers of your puppy’s parents to find out how their broods might look. (If you figure out how it works, feel free to let those of us who didn’t pay attention in GCSE science in on it.)

Your dog’s coat indicates their health

At the end of the day, a dog’s colour doesn’t really matter for most owners. It might be surprising to look up one day and realise your small brown puppy is now a large cream-coloured dog, but that’s fine. None of us are the fuzzy young pups we once were. It’s still important to keep an eye on your dog’s coat to make sure it’s in good shape: a coat can be a good indicator of a dog’s health. And what should a healthy coat look like, exactly? According to the American Kennel Club: “A healthy coat, whether short or long, is glossy and pliable, without dandruff, bald spots, or excessive oiliness.”

The best way to maintain a healthy coat, Dr Clark says, is a good diet and routine veterinary care. “Some coat changes are actually related to disease states, so being sure that their pets are regularly examined by their veterinarians and on a nutritious diet that their veterinarian recommends is key.”

Madeleine Aggeler

Madeleine Aggeler is a freelance journalist and copywriter in Washington, D.C. Previously, she was a writer at New York magazine’s The Cut. She lives with her dog, Cleo, who works primarily as a foot warmer.