Showdog.com Forum · Real Show Dogs

Hello,

I would like to have this thread for those with dogs with black coats. I own a black chow and I would like to find out more information on the care of black coats.

When I got Shadow( 6 - 7 weeks) he had a heavy reddish cast. However I groomed him more frequently and hand stripped his coat in (I took dvantage of this in the shedding season). Now at the age of 2 3/4 its not very much (just slight around the mane and at the tips of the coat on his back thigh). I've notcied that it is his under coat that is reddish. It somewhat pretrudes the outter coat (around the mane) and recently I now use a scissor and clip the coat to remove the under coat and ahpe it up a bit.

To get a total black coat, should i keep doing what I do or would it just be better to dye it black.

Sounds to me like the sun's bleaching the fur. Some dog shampoo companies sell products designed to protect the color of the coat. These are usually somewhat more expensive but they do work to keeping the coat color.

I have never worried about it to much, but my black lab mix get a lot of amber, mainly along her hindquarters, during the summer. I have foudn that the more it is brushed the less it shows.
Ashpups

I looked at that thoery about the sun, also how we live in a warm climate in the caribbean its almost always sunny. It may be possible, however, he doesn'e stay outside much because he stays inside. He is usually outside three time on an average first thing in the morning, evening and at night. Those are the times I let him outside to do the doo, strech his legs and exercise and those are usually when the yard is shaddy.

The other thing i problly may be over looking is probally his genetic. i've seen both his dam and sire. the sire is jet black and his dam is fawn. Could it be that his sire fawn genes causes this reddish cast. Same occurs with sables, black and fawn or red.

We have the same problem with our black Pugs... may I ask what food you are feeding?

We feed Eukanuba (please do NOT turn this into a Eukanuba/Iams blasting thread) and have had great success, but we co-own/co-breed dogs with a woman in California, and most of the dogs come back from there with semi-red coats... We supplement with a Synovi G3 Omega Fatty Acid Chewable Tablets between two and four times per week in the summer, and like once a week in the winter, and it really helps. We also supplement (on and off) with a squirt of fish oil - I'll have to get the bottle to tell you what kind - in their kibble at night.

With our Australian Shepherd, though he's not black, to improve/help his pigment, we use Solid Gold Seameal (kelp extracts basically)...

For shampoos, you may want to consider using something specifically formulated for blackcoated dogs. We use Chris Christensen Black on Black and it works WONDERS (I use it on the black dogs all over and on my fawn dogs' ears) and follow it up with Midnight Black conditioner (though I don't know that you'd use a conditioner with a Chow) and I believe thats made by #1 All Systems...

Hope that helps!

I second the black on black idea. I use both on my BC (Black on black, White on white) and her black comes out jet black.

I was told that for some reason, Eukanuba can cause reddish tones to come up in black dogs, especially dogs with a heavier coat.
Sun can cause bleaching of the hair, and I know some people will only exercise their show dogs in the early morning and late evening because of that.
There are also many shampoos/conditioners/sprays out there that can make a black dog, blacker.

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posted by CaboodleIWS
may I ask what food you are feeding?

(please do NOT turn this into a Eukanuba/Iams blasting thread)
(though I don't know that you'd use a conditioner with a Chow)
Hope that helps!

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I feed them Members Mark Exceed and supplement wih brewers yeast tablets and cod liver oil, however I have to get my hands back on some. (I don't know if you'll need this) I bathe both of my chow once a week, however I use a flee and tick shampoo as a precautionary. After that I usually up with a Vo5 shampoo and conditioner after the flee and tick bath.

Hi,


I have two Rottweilers and as people on SD can tell you, those coats shine like a new penny.


I use the shampoo, Miracle Coat, followed by a gel that is blow dryed in called Pet Silk.

I also feed Nutro Natural Choice and this food helps SO much. The results are fabulous.


Good Luck!
Ryan

I second the seameal because it gives some good coat results but, it has actually been shown to redden the coat. It hasn't ever really affected the black and white springers but a friend with a red poodle got a deep, rich, red coat because of it.

I was wondering the same thing. I have a tri sheltie and although she is not shown anymore, this was a problem. I don't think it was the sun because she wasn't outside that much, and besides, we live in Oregon... She could be outside all day and not get a ray of sun!

My mentor thought she needed a supplement but I wasn't sure what would be the best to give her.

Blackening shampoos help but most shampoos not specifically made for harsh coats made her coat too soft. Shelties aren't supposed to have soft coats.

I own shibas, they have similar coats!!! I don't think you will get a pure black coat as the hue of the undercoat will always influence the overall color. My bnt girl gets very red when she sheds, I just strip it all out but it is always there as that is the color of her undercoat.
I am not sure about the chow standard but for shibas we are NOT to have a pure black coat but rather a flat black coat with red or cream undercoat.
Leslie

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posted by KrazeeFoxx

I am not sure about the chow standard Leslie

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Color
Clear colored, solid or solid with lighter shadings in the ruff, tail and featherings. There are five colors in the Chow: red (light golden to deep mahogany), black, blue, cinnamon (light fawn to deep cinnamon) and cream. Acceptable colors to be judged on an equal basis.

Some foods contain beet pulp or beet sugar, both of which can cause a reddish cast to a black coat, especially if the dog is a 'recessive' black color. It's worth checking into.

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Some foods contain beet pulp or beet sugar, both of which can cause a reddish cast to a black coat,

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How is that? The beet pulp used in dog food is not from red beets, it's from sugar beets. Not a good ingredient IMO, but nevertheless, I'm curious as to how it could cause the coat to redden.

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I second the seameal because it gives some good coat results but, it has actually been shown to redden the coat. It hasn't ever really affected the black and white springers but a friend with a red poodle got a deep, rich, red coat because of it.

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Yes, but the Poodle was already red! lol It sounds like the seameal just helped her color to become more intense. Everything I've read about seameal is that it helps reduce, not cause a red tinge. If it caused reddening, then the black and white Springers should have gotten a reddish cast to their coat...

Lol, I'm not certain how the beet pulp works to cause some reddening in the black coats of certain dogs, but I've heard it a lot! I first heard it from a Belgian Sheepdog breeder, who had a problem with reddening coats when a dog food company changed ingredients and added beet pulp to the food. I've also heard it from Great Dane and Newfie folks.

Some dogs may have a sable gene in their family. I know Borzoi can appear one color, but then change with time.

I have a tri sheltie and a black and white (mostly black) border collie mix, I don't have a problem with the coat turning red, my mutt stays outside all the time, lays in the sun and everything, she stay's jet black. My sheltie's black is jet black as well, no fading, or bleaching, maybe its your dogs genetic's?

Dream Shelties
Samantha

You will find in long or double coated breeds, the black hair tends to go red when it is ready to drop - that is, it's "dead" coat.

While waiting for the hair to drop I found the most effective way was to go in and use thinning shears and gently cut the red ends off, blending it into the black coat & not losing so much length.

Genetics can play a role, those that carry the blue dilution (or are blue) will tend to 'brown-off' easier than those that don't. I had a black bitch who went khaki, she grew through golden hairs that mixed with the black gave her a khaki green tone! Turns out she carried blue (she doesn't carry gold - so it wasn't incomplete dominance).

Color enhancing conditioners work better than shampoos (especially if left on) but you don't want to dye your dog - it's against the rules in almost every country I can think of. All it takes is one person to make a complaint and your in trouble.

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posted by Dream Shelties
maybe its your dogs genetic's?

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I thought about that seeing is how his mother is fawn and although his father is completely black. Maybe the black and fawn genes fuse abit although abviously the black dominates the fawn genes.

Well it wasn't like she bred black to black.