A chocolate male of my breeding, 7.5 years old, out of my old chocolate lines is rapidly turning a mottled white. Each day there are new areas involved. Seems he's turning Pointer. His age certainly doesn't warrant him turning white, and it's all over his body. The buyer's vet is trying to figure out what it might be. Any ideas? There's very little about it online, at least that I could find. I did find this: Poliosis, vitiligo, frostbite are some causes that are known to cause a generalized change of the haircoat to white.

If anyone wishes to see this dog, please email me and I'll forward you the pic that they sent me. I have emailed my own vet for their advice, but am quite interested in whether the Breeders here have had any experience with this or any ideas.

can you reach out to anyone to see if any of this particular dog's littermates have had an unusal change of coat color? I realize you would have to go back seven+ years in your records, but if they were available, and no other info comes in from the outside about possible causes, it might be worthwhile to check.

Who knows. Forget Silvers and Labradoddles. CHAMELEON LABRADORS !!!

My boss's black lab turned completely white almost overnight and she was told it was a zinc deficiency. Her coat did go back to black in time and it never happened again.

Thanks Ellen, re: the zinc, I appreciate that.

As for the littermates, I'm regularly in contact with several and nobody has mentioned it, but I will make effort to contact those that still have the same phone numbers or emails to see if it's happened.

Several half sibs are out there and one is used in a breeding program, but they are all still fairly young to know if they will get it.

That is interesting about the zinc. If that is the case and they supplement with zinc, please tell them to discuss with the vet the need to also supplement with copper at the same time.

Zinc binds copper and given alone can cause a copper defficiency.

I know someone whose older (9-10) chocolate Lab started turning mottled white and they finally switched foods and the dog is solid chocolate again.

LInda,
thanks for the photos, what a nice looking boy with an unusual coat!

I would lean towards mineral deficiency as well, mostly due to the pattern of the color change. see how it is not around his eyes or the bridge of the nose or the tips of the ears, this hair does not change as often as the rest of the body.
I would also add kelp into the diet.

I would be very interested in finding out the food they feed, bet it is missing something. over what time period this this happen weeks or months?

Janet