There is our specialty coming up in August but our 2 chocolate dog's coats are somewhat dry and faded out from all the good weather we have had. There is plenty of shade trees for the dogs to lay under on the warm days but they are silly dogs and love to run around in all this sun.
I've been googling sunscreens for dogs but there are too many to chose from. Anyone have any favorites or any home made recipes that will help prevent our dog's coats from turning orange and brittle ?

What about human over the counter sunscreen products that could be used on dogs ?

I've never heard of using sunscreens of any type on chocolate labs or dogs in general for that matter (unless they've been shaved down for some reason)?! Interesting to see what responses you get.

Sorry, but think this is silly also. Chocolate are chocolates. They will turn all shades right before they blow the coat. They are what they are, mine do not turn colors in the sun. They love to lay in the sun all the time. And beleave me its hot here.

I was told by a pro handler to use Mane and Tail Conditioner on chocs. Use it straight, a small amount in your hands, and rub it on as if it were lotion, with the lay of the coat. Do it daily and then just rinse a few days before a show. Keeps coat moisturized and helps with sun fade.

Another pro tip is to mix a small amn't of Nexxus Humectress (a human product) with water in a spray bottle, and use it as a grooming spray daily on the dog. Keeps the coat moisturized. Again, just rinse the dog before you go to a show.

Best of luck with your chocs; they were my first love when I started with conformation lines!

I used to use BioGroom Mink Oil Spray with sunscreen on liver Springer Spaniels in Florida. Worked great.

Thanks for all your advise !! I saved it in my choco girl's file for safe keeping.

It's not so much the color fading as much as their coats are turning almost brittle. They are eating a fish kibble diet, rich in Omegas but I am sure it is the fun in the sun catching up to them.

I have one chocolate who got this type of coat after last summer. It's taken nearly a year to fix it. It just depends on the dog, but their coat can "burn" and it has nothing to do with blowing coat.

A professional handler told me to use Ring 5 Showring Mink Oil. It conditions and has some sun protection in it. I also use watered down Kolesterol hair conditioner (for humans)...the lanolin really helps fix up the coat. I have about 3/4 of a tail still burnt, but he's blowing coat now, so maybe it will get fixed now.

Guys get ready for this one! I have plenty of chocos, and I feed them a pill of KELP everyday once a day with their meals and year round they stay dark, very dark, certainly much darker that without the KELP. A breeder in Florida told me about this years ago and mine were faded and ugly. In about 2 months they were all dark after they blew the old coat and have remained like this since. Try it you may like it and its certainly cheap. Found at all health food stores!

Seems like that would soften the coat.

Some fade, some don't. It seems to be genetic. I don't think it is possible to keep them dark if they are faders.

Mane and Tail softener will make them soft. It is great if you have a area hairless to heal back. Like a female after a litter. When they really go bare. Yep, I know, some do and some don't. Had those too.

AGain, thanks for all the great tips !!!!

This is the first summer that our 2 choco girls have had coat issues where it turns brittle and faded. I'm going to run to the beauty supply store and pick up some of those items and get to work on their coats. I doubt that they will looks great for the specialty in just over a month but there is always this winter shows when they will be even more mature !! Also going to see if Costco carries Kelp and give it a try. How MUCH KELP SHOULD I GIVE ( TO THE BREEDER WHO SUGGESTED KELP )

The Kelp I buy comes in pill form, I give 1 pill with each feeding, so its 2 pills, I have read these posts as I hate it when chocos are all faded and Kelp does it for my clan. I have 13 chocos and ALL are given Kelp and ALL are rich and dark, even the ones that werent before the Kelp.

I've been told about the benefits of Kelp for chocolates as well, however, I've not used it.
For sunscreen, use Mink oil. It is a natural sunscreen and Bio Groom makes one in a spray bottle. It works well, I use it all of the time.

Just taint their coats with any product we use for ourselves to paint our hair. Use dark brown.
At the Potomac I saw a yellow lab with a lot of white powder all over him, don't know why but I'm sure there was a reason.