The color of liver

[Casper]

I am not sure if this is the place for this topic but it might be.

As I meet more and more people with their dogs I started to knowtice the different tints of liver in the GSP but not just that breed. One dog inparticular is so light in his color that he almost looks blond, and it si suposed to be a solid liver All the dogs I have seen are all fed a quality food. As the dogs get older it becomes more prevelant. My dog is developing it also in just spots mostly on his head.

Is this typical?

Should I be aware of anything?

[Brittguy]

Liver fades very bad in the sun light. Top of head and ears and along the back. There is some variation in shade but I bet the almost blond you see are outdoor dogs.

[Ryan]

Casper I have wondered the same thing. At the last hunt test we had 4 of the puppies from Diegos litter together and not one was the same colour. Even the 2 puppies that were fed the same food were different colours.

[Ayres]

I've noticed lighter and darker shades of liver from littermates as young as a week old. No difference in environment or food. It happens. Sometimes, on a ticked dog, the white ticking gets pretty well blended with the liver. That makes the liver look a lot lighter too.

Personally, on a shorthair, I really like the coloring of a darker liver, hot ticked dog. High contrast.

Nothing beats that nice golden rust color though.

[Margaret]

About once a week I sprinkle 1/2 tsp or so of that health shop
edible kelp granules on the dogs dinner.
So far the dogs have nice depth of colour, but is it the kelp?
I dunno.


I'm sure sometimes it is dietry because Fred for instance would sometimes have a very dark rich liver coat and then it would all lighten up to a moderate liver for no apparent reason.
Never worked out why.

Of course it is hereditary too, some dogs are darker than others and nothing to worry about unless the coat is dry and lacks lustre.
And yes, they do bleach in the sun.

Chocolate Labradors seem the worst bleachers from what I've observed.

[Wagonmaster]

Liver bleaches in the sun as Margaret says. You will especially see it on the points of the head that have the most perpendicular angle to the sun for largest amount of time, such as right at the back of the skull (aboral), or where the ears join.

[snips]

Dogs will shed in the spring and the fall, then is when the livers get to their origional color if they are beached out. My dogs will be basking out in the sun in their kennel lots of the time if there is a sunny spot. They can get pretty orange. My Sally is so dark liver many people think she is black.

[ezzy333]

I think you will find the diet does not infuence the color directly. Color is genetic. However many other factors influence what we see. Oil, moisture, light, and age of the coat all have an effect. Check as the new coat comes in for the true color and be aware that it will only stay that way for a very lim ited time depending on the environment the dog is exposed to.

Ezzy

[ohiogsp]

Yep, The sun bleaches out the back of my male dog every summer and he is pretty dark.

[Kurzhaar]

My 3 year old DK, Ansel, turned Milk Chocolate when we fed him Science Diet. However, now that he has been on Pro Plan Performance for about 60 days he is again dark liver. Much nicer coat now.

Jim