# Strange black hair



## Joana (Apr 18, 2009)

Hello,

I have a 2 year old Golden Retriever named Gaspar with a beautiful light coat ("English cream"). Lately I have noticed a few black hairs growing, just scattered around his body. This is probably a silly question, but is there any comparison to human hair turning grey? 

Thanks,
Joana


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## maggiesmommy (Feb 23, 2010)

Never thought of it like that, but my first Golden, Sammi, was also cream colored, and she sprouted random black hairs, too.


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## 2Retrievers222 (Sep 5, 2007)

Is Gaspar a purebred?


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## Katie and Paddy's Mum (Mar 31, 2010)

My parent's doggie, Paddy, is fairly light in colouring and he always has a few black hairs here and there. He actually has one whisker hair that is black and thicker than all the rest!

I am not sure it means anything. I will be interested to hear what others offer here. 

I just think it adds character 

Kim


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## maggiesmommy (Feb 23, 2010)

Sammi was AKC registered, so we know she was purebred.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

I'll guess the stray black hairs were just more noticable because your golden was so light. 

My guys all have had the stray black hairs. Or whiskers. It happens. It isn't a disqualifying fault unless you have more than a few black hairs in the same area and you see them without looking for them.


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## Ranger (Nov 11, 2009)

On the opposite side of the spectrum, my black dog has some noticeable light hairs on the side of his face, 2-3 chin hairs, and the odd long blonde toe hair. Like Kim said, it just adds character!


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## Joana (Apr 18, 2009)

Thanks for all your answers.
Gaspar is a purebred Golden, he is registered at the CPC (portuguese equivalent to AKC). 
His random black hairs look quite funny and I wasn't thinking of them as a fault. Honestly, the first thing on my mind was "is he getting enough food?". He's always been a picky eater ever since he was a puppy. We had him on Acana first (different flavours) but now we've switched to Orijen Adult.
I'm glad it's just a normal feature and nothing to worry about.
Maybe the greys are stress related, like it happens with humans... I have a 14 month old baby and they keep competing for toys  Gaspar doesn't have the same laid-back lifestyle anymore! : He's definitely one of my baby's favourite "toys" and has to keep up with all that energy. Probably that's why his hair is turning grey, so is mine! :


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## annef (Feb 23, 2008)

Black hairs occur due to incomplete penetration of the 'yellow' gene as I understand it. All goldens were descended from flatcoats so it is quite common to have a few black hairs in the coat. Some puppies are born with black patches, they are obviously still pure bred but obviously cannot be shown. It is nothing to worry about and I suspect that Joannas dog descends from UK or European lines if she is quite pale in colour and it is quite common to see that. Annef


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## Ruby'smom (Feb 4, 2008)

Ruby has a couple of thick black hairs at the back of her head 
you cant really see them till you look closely though but yup they are still there 
sounds all normal to me, thanks for your post Anne it explains alot


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## Joana (Apr 18, 2009)

This is me and my babies, as you can see Gaspar has a really light coloured coat.
Thanks for clearing up my questions!


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## lynn1970 (Feb 6, 2011)

What a wonderful family photo. Both your babies are gorgeous.


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## Selli-Belle (Jan 28, 2009)

I think all Goldens have a few black hairs in their coat, but they are so random you really don't see them. My Gold and White kitty has random back hairs too!


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

I have never noticed any dark hairs on Brooks. I will look more closely the next time I brush him.


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## kwhit (Apr 7, 2008)

Chance has a few black hairs...I actually like them. And I think that what another poster said about the lighter coat making them more noticeable makes a lot of sense.


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## Hali's Mom (Oct 5, 2006)

Hali had one slight tuft of black hairs on one shoulder. I knew about the heritage thing so I just figured along with that and the black spots on her tongue it had to be a genetic pigmentation thing.


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