Chocolate Labrador With White Hair

[Maddy]

White hair to the roots suggests skin damage to me. Scarring can produce white hair.

I've had a foster dog who had an area of white hair caused by skin damage but the amount of damage required to do it also caused obvious scarring. I'd assume that an injury (chemical, physical or otherwise) serious enough to damage the pigment producing cells in the follicles would do some sort of damage elsewhere in the skin but.. There are other reasons hair follicles can cease to produce pigment and they might be worth looking at?

[sandgrubber]

White marking was apparently very common in the lesser St John's dogs -- which contributed heavily to the Labrador breed. It was mostly chest and paws. The English tried to breed this out but did not totally succeed. A small white mark on the chest is accepted in the breed standard, and I've never heard of a dog being disqualified for white hair between the pads.

The collar markings you show are not normal. Here's a good article on the genetics of white marking. (I love the spread of white animation). http://www.doggenetics.co.uk/white.htm#series

Quoting: Whichever white pattern a dog has, its white will always follow the same rules of spread. White starts on the farthest "edges" of the dog - the tail tip, the tip of the muzzle, the paws and the tip of the breastbone. This is known as the "trim" pattern. From there it spreads to cover the muzzle and forehead, the front of the chest, the lower legs and more of the tailtip, creating irish spotting. Next it spreads round from the front to the back of the neck, and creeps up the legs and tail. On a piebald dog, only the head, back and tail base may still be coloured. The back colouring is the next to go, followed by the tail base, then the face markings. The ears will always remain coloured unless the dog has a very high amount of white. The ears are generally the last part of the dog to turn white.

[Two Best Dogs!]

White marking was apparently very common in the lesser St John's dogs -- which contributed heavily to the Labrador breed. It was mostly chest and paws. The English tried to breed this out but did not totally succeed. A small white mark on the chest is accepted in the breed standard, and I've never heard of a dog being disqualified for white hair between the pads.

The collar markings you show are not normal. Here's a good article on the genetics of white marking. (I love the spread of white animation). http://www.doggenetics.co.uk/white.htm#series

Quoting: Whichever white pattern a dog has, its white will always follow the same rules of spread. White starts on the farthest "edges" of the dog - the tail tip, the tip of the muzzle, the paws and the tip of the breastbone. This is known as the "trim" pattern. From there it spreads to cover the muzzle and forehead, the front of the chest, the lower legs and more of the tailtip, creating irish spotting. Next it spreads round from the front to the back of the neck, and creeps up the legs and tail. On a piebald dog, only the head, back and tail base may still be coloured. The back colouring is the next to go, followed by the tail base, then the face markings. The ears will always remain coloured unless the dog has a very high amount of white. The ears are generally the last part of the dog to turn white.

What a fascinating page!

Argh accidentally hit send too early. And again!

You wouldn't happen to know of a similar page - found it once and couldn't find it again - it was like the page you linked and was about merles, double merles and when white would pop up?

Edited August 12, 2015 by Thistle the dog

[Jannyj]

White marking was apparently very common in the lesser St John's dogs -- which contributed heavily to the Labrador breed. It was mostly chest and paws. The English tried to breed this out but did not totally succeed. A small white mark on the chest is accepted in the breed standard, and I've never heard of a dog being disqualified for white hair between the pads.

The collar markings you show are not normal. Here's a good article on the genetics of white marking. (I love the spread of white animation). http://www.doggeneti...hite.htm#series

Quoting: Whichever white pattern a dog has, its white will always follow the same rules of spread. White starts on the farthest "edges" of the dog - the tail tip, the tip of the muzzle, the paws and the tip of the breastbone. This is known as the "trim" pattern. From there it spreads to cover the muzzle and forehead, the front of the chest, the lower legs and more of the tailtip, creating irish spotting. Next it spreads round from the front to the back of the neck, and creeps up the legs and tail. On a piebald dog, only the head, back and tail base may still be coloured. The back colouring is the next to go, followed by the tail base, then the face markings. The ears will always remain coloured unless the dog has a very high amount of white. The ears are generally the last part of the dog to turn white.

What a fascinating page!

Argh accidentally hit send too early. And again!

You wouldn't happen to know of a similar page - found it once and couldn't find it again - it was like the page you linked and was about merles, double merles and when white would pop up?

This is an interesting link. From what I have read and now seen I am sure the collar is the culprit for the white hair. I was hoping someone else's dog may have had a similar reaction but doesn't appear to have happened.

[Jannyj]

I have heard back from the company supplying the collars to retailers and their vets opinion was a trauma around the collar area the most likely cause of the white hair. Not the collar we put on him. Either from the dogs first collar or even suggesting the umbilical cord may have caused trauma which has led to white hair which may appear weeks after the trauma.

The vet did think it may grow out.

When our boy goes back to our vets for his next vaccinations I will see what they think of the trauma idea.

[tdierikx]

Love how they are denying that it may be their collar that caused the issue... *sigh*

T.

[aliwake]

Yeah, still sounds pretty suss to me!

[OSoSwift]

Sounds like a chemical reaction to something in the collar to me. Its in a very precise spot. Would love you to keep us updated.