I have a 10 month old GSD, and have noticed when I give him a bath or treat him for fleas his coat slightly sometimes, and sometimes very noticeably changes, hes black and tan and on his top back he will turn a light sandy color, it starts at his mid back and tapers off to his tail. It comes and goes it seems with baths off and on. He'll get lighter than darker again. Is this common? Or could it also be because he hasn't reached full maturity? Thanks, Kelli. Also is coat color change a seasonal thing too?
Seasonal changes can affect GSD coats. Also please bear in mind that at 10 months old, he's still developing his coat as well a everything else adn will msot liekyl continue to change colour. Some changes will be very subtle whereas others wil be more obvious. However, if certain shampoos, flea treatments etc are causing colour changes I'd change the products you are using. How often are you bathing/treating him? Could you possibly be doing it too often? My dogs get a bath when they need it. That's it. They get flea treated more regularly - moreso in the summer than the winter. I'm no expert but I'd cut down on his baths and change the shampoo first. If the colour changes dramatically regardless of what you use, could you get away with just using plain water occasionally? Does he suffer from any skin conditions? If his coat goes back to "normal" afterwards, I wouldn't worry too much but certainly keep an eye on it.
Thanks for the input. He gets a bath maybe once a month to 1 every month and a half. I'm betting it's just his coat changing with maturity.
Bathing too often will strip his skin of the natural oils, so as said, try to only bath him when needed - e.g/ he's rolled in something that could be toxic or something really stinky that won't be shifted with babywipes/a damp flannel. GSDs do change colours from puppy to adult, it's gradual so sometimes you don't even realise it until you go back and look at their puppy pictures. Here was my previous pup, from pup, to teenager, to adult You wouldn't think the last photos were of the same dog!
Thanks! Oh I know, Jasper's coat has actually changed a lot over the months since he was a pup, I'll have to upload a baby pic of him in his photo thread. Also him now, lol. It's a beautiful trait of the breed! Thanks again
