Has anyone had a 6 month old Choc. Puppy boy suddenly develop white hairs mixed in around the neck,back and base of the tail? This is not the blowing coat type of white at the base of the hair shaft but totally white hairs? Both parents of this puppy are Choc. Dominant coat color tested with no brindle or recessive yellow.
Looks like early aging flecks of white.

Neither parent nor any of the other puppies from this litter have developed this. Someone has mentioned something called a Hailstorm coat.? But I can't find any information on it. ? this be nutrition, immune system related issue?

This puppy was solid choc. with no white at birth and up till now solid color.

Any ideas?

Here's some info to check out. Likely after your pups blows its coat the first time, they'll be gone.

http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/mismarks2.html

I had the same thing happen with my chocolate girl now at the Rainbow Bridge. She turned out to be one of my best labs ever, conformationally and what she produced. None of her pups had it happen and no one behind her as far as I know or any littermates from the litter of 12 she was out of, 10 chocolates 2 blacks, the same litter no.'s and colors she produced once. Breeding was Byc to Cc. I thought it was caused by the yellow genetics when I first saw the white hairs.

The only white hairs to remain forever were the ones less then 1/3 of the way down from the base of her tail wrapped circular. They were covered by chocolate coat as her adult coat came in wrapping her tail well. I had to look under her top coat to see them in the tail area that they remained in. No one else realized she had them unless I rubbed against the grain of her tail coat and showed them.

She was 5 mo.'s when they first began to show up. At 12 mo.'s they were mostly gone except the tail hairs and a few stray hairs. The strays disappeared in a few more months.

Try not to worry, she'll probably lose all of them when she fully blows puppy coat and gets her adult coat. She might keep the tail hairs beneath her top coat which happens sometimes.

I have a 4 month old boy that has the same ring on his tail. It is only visible if you pet it against the grain but I was told by his breeder that that is how you can tell a very excellent coat in chocolates. She said chocolate breeders want that when they are looking at coats. He does have an excellent coat already at 4 months and since she has been breeding chocolates for 20+ yrs I am taking her word for it :)

Jessica, the general concensus among breeders is that the "white ring means a good coat" is just an old wives tail, an urban legend.

I formerly bred field lines, and had chocs with white tail rings who had sparser slick coats lacking proper undercoat when compared to my conformation line chocs - who had no white rings. I really don't think that what you were told about the white ring has any merit; a choc with a good coat may have it or not, just as an improper coat may have it or not.

It's just 'one of those things'. And I've never had a dog with white hairs interspersed in their puppy coat, so can't speak to that.

The white ring on the tail of any color is normal. White hairs throughout the body is probably a zinc deficiency.

I agree, white ring on tail has NOTHING to do with better coat or anything. It just happens.

The white ring on the tail of any color is normal. White hairs throughout the body is probably a zinc deficiency??

I have wondered if it could be a zinc deficiency.

I have seen this all over a chocolate coat from about seven months. The dog now 4 has it comming in on the top of his back and neck heavy. How would you know how much Zinc to supplement?

I am hopeful that this is just a blowing coat phenomenon.

I could find nothing about hair turning white with a Zinc deficiency, mostly about dry scaly skin and skin issues. Does anyone that suggested this have any kind of reference?

I will double check with the owner regarding nutrition and perhaps suggest they talk to their vet about it as well.

Not dealt with this but if you think it is a zinc deffeiciency be careful.

I have heard supplementing for zinc without the proper amount of copper can be harmful.

check with a holistic vet first.

do you have a photo? a lot of my chocolates, have white near the base of their tail. I can rub my thumb in an upward motion and you can see it. When they are blowing coat, I can pull a hair out of their shoulder area and that tail area and it is about 1/3 white. Some have white hairs on their groin. I've had puppies that show this ring around their tail when their coat is coming in. Not everyone has it though.

Hi,
Sorry no photo, but I appreciate all of your responses. This puppy is from a litter I whelped this spring. I asked the owner if it could be the blowing coat, with the hair shaft partially white at the base as it dies. She said no as she is well familiar with coat blowing and has 2 other adult Choc. Labradors.

She said the whole hairs are white. Guess we shall have to wait and see.

Susan, the Dam of this puppy does blow coat exactly as you describe. Long hairs with 1/3 of the shaft turning white particularly on her back and at the base of her tail. She has never had a white ring.