Toy Poodle Coat Color

Question
Our poodle who is about 1 1/2 yrs old has a spot on his back that is coming out a dark apricot color.  He had a skin infection and the vet shaved it down...it is coming back dark.  he has been white since we got him but I think the mother was apricot...will he be turning a darker color all over eventually?

Answer
Hi Brenda,
Your question "will he be turning a darker color all over eventually?" The answer is no.  When aniamls have skin infections or trama to the skin it is common to see a color change in thoes areas.  I have never seen one change back to its original color, they retian the new color in thoes areas.  To be honest I am not sure why this happens but I know that it does.  It is really quite interesting.  In equine we use a zinc oxide products like one you would use in diaper rash on the areas prior to the hair growing back in and that helps insure the hair color comes back in the same or normal coat color.  I've not seen anyone use this in dogs but I would bet it would have worked on dogs as well.  None the less, once the hair has started growing back in, the color is what it is.  Glad to hear you got the skin infection under control and your baby is on his way to a full recovery.  Take care

Regards,
Brandie