Coat Color?

[Hagar]

It's generally accepted that a Cairn's final coat color may take between one and two years to develop. Renny started out a fairly dark brown as a puppy and gradually lightened to a very definite light Blonde. He is a little over 15 months old.

In the last week or so, we have had unseasonably cold weather and his coat is starting to show a definite Reddish color. At his age, is his coat color still developing, or is it most likely a seasonal change as his Winter coat comes in?

Hagar

[savannahsmom35]

Savannah's coat is always changing color. She started out very light and now she has patches of light and dark and red in her. I think that her color will continue to change throughout her life. She is almost 2.

[hallswel]

He may be getiing more undercoat and this can be a different color and that may be the color change.

Many of them change color. Some have dark coat with red undercoats. Some lighten up, you can never tell with a Cairn. I have seen pictures where I didn't think it was the same dog. I would venture to say that dogs that are brindle will probably be the ones to change the mosts but not in all cases.

Sugar has a red stripe down her back as the new coat is coming in it is a darker red but as it gets colder she is getting a wooly under coat and it is more a wheaten color.

My male who is red stays about the same color and has all 4 years of his life. His undercoat is red so you don't see much seasonal change.

I think Brad has some neat pictures of his crew where they had a complete color change

[Will&Grace]

My Cairn preious to Will (Mr Mack/Rainbow Bridge) changed color so drastically several time during his 4 short years that if you looked at photos you would swear I was showing you different Cairns. He had at least 3 very distictivly different colors. It is one of the very fun things about Cairns that I enjoy.... Linda

[bradl]

Age Two:

Age Ten:

[Nessie's Mom]

I found a great resource about coat colors. Check out this breeder in Denmark:

http://www.lachleen.dk/uk/Farver.htm

[Hagar]

Thanks for the responses. When I got Renny, they said he was definitely showing signs of a brindle color. It is interesting to have a dog who's color is constantly changing. I was just curious about the most recent change to a reddish tint. I guess I'd call it more of a reddish copper tone.

When my daughter visited last August, she said that she had figured Renny out. She said "He's a Terrier AND a Blonde".

Hagar

[Flyboy]

This is interesting. We've noticed Chewies coat beginning to turn dark on his back.

[Sarah]

Wow, bradl! That coat change is amazing!

According to that Lachleen website, Henry started out Red Brindle and has transitioned into Rich Red. I've been noticing that he's becoming lighter and lighter, though. I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up Light Brindle or Creme.

[Hagar]

It's getting to the point if someone asks me what color my dog is, I have to look first!

Hagar'

[bradl]

Hagar

[Fenway]

the color changes are so interesting to watch. Fenway is almost 5 months old and from the website above she started out from what i can tell the Dark Red Brindle, then changed to right now to be between the Red and Rich Red with a lot more lighter on her face.

[montdoug]

My wife is convinced Gus who was almost black at 8 weeks has been getting into the peroxide and frosting his coat at night. As I've said on multiple occasions "I don't care if he turns green with purple spots, he's not only my first small dog he's one of the very best dogs I've ever had and I care less about his color".

Brad was there an age or a point your dog "finalized" the color change or is it still an ongoing process? Very dramatic change and beautiful both ways.

[bradl]

Our oldest is twelve and she's still changing - although at this point she's just getting more and more silver Our red boy started going black (starting with the head) around four and had turned essentially black by six or so; at 11 he's beginning to get some silver too. He still has a reddish/cream undercoat, so if his coat's a mess - and it usually is - you can see the undercoat color leaking through, too. I've seen some start out red, go wheaten-ish/ cream-ish for a while, and then pass back through red on their way to black. If they have any brindling, it seems anything goes with these characters.

[montdoug]

Great. Gus is a brindle out of two brindles, should be exciting .

[Tracy A.]

Our red boy started going black (starting with the head) around four and had turned essentially black by six or so; at 11 he's beginning to get some silver too. He still has a reddish/cream undercoat, so if his coat's a mess - and it usually is - you can see the undercoat color leaking through, too. I've seen some start out red, go wheaten-ish/ cream-ish for a while, and then pass back through red on their way to black. If they have any brindling, it seems anything goes with these characters.

I wonder if the black ever starts going Red again in an older 8+ Cairn?

[kcsdogs]

When I first got Kipper he was a deffinite wheaten now that we have had him for four years and stripped him religiously he is a rich red and his ears are black now where as they were wheaten before.... go figure