# How to keep a black dog's fur from turning red?



## Bart (Jul 15, 2010)

My dog has fine black fur and it gets tufts that turn reddish due to sun damage. The roots of the hair are nice and dark but the ends turn red a couple weeks after being cut -- not everywhere but just some tufts. It's not really noticeable except that I wear these sunglasses (Maui Jim) with bronze lenses that filter some colors and I can see the damage more remarkably. The lenses make red and green "pop," so when I see all these mexican girls that dye their black hair red it really looks even more fake. Anyway, is there anything I can do to protect the dog's fur from sun damage? Should I use a sunscreen? How do I do that? Do I use the spray or rub cream all over his fur? It could get pricey if I'm doing that every day. Wouldn't it take an awful lot of cream? I'm just looking for ideas, maybe I don't need to do anything. I know I don't want to just dye it black!


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## Pai (Apr 23, 2008)

There is shampoo made especially for black dogs, like Black Pearl, but I don't know if that repairs sun damage.


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## Bart (Jul 15, 2010)

Pai said:


> There is shampoo made especially for black dogs, like Black Pearl, but I don't know if that repairs sun damage.


Yep, my understanding is that it is basically a shampoo with a black dye. It addresses the exact problem I have, so the suggestion is right on target -- but I'm hoping for a better solution than just covering up the problem. Since there are products out there for the issue, I know I'm not the only one!


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## Dog_Shrink (Sep 29, 2009)

How about providing more shady areas outdoors so that your dog doesn't have to lay in the sun. Once winter rolls around again the fur will go back to black. My mantle dane did this, so does my boston, and my black lab also did this. So naturally there may be no real way to deal with this aside of limiting sun exposure or putting some type of "jacket" on him Like a hunting vest, or you could possibly try sunblock for babies but I would use ti quite sparingly.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

They make cooling vests for dogs that will cover without adding warmth like a standard hunting vest or rainjacket would (Like "Chilly Dog", "Swamp Cooler" and "Cool Vest" brands). Keeping to the shade and walking in the early morning and later evening when the sun is not as strong will help too. 

Assuming his fur is thick enough to cover his skin and he isn't getting sunburnt on his nose, then its harmless; like a blond person whose hair lightens during the summer.


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## Bart (Jul 15, 2010)

Yeah, he flops in the house so the sun exposure is from when we're doing something. When he does hang in the yard it's always in the shade. I mean, he's black. The midday sun is the last place he's going to go. I'm hoping for a lot of snow this winter and myself, I can get burned in the snow more than in summer (the lake is pretty brutal too). I guess the damage is just from walks in the morning (around 7-8 AM) and evening (7-8-9PM) If we went earlier in the morning, the kids would have to get up earlier and therefore go to bed earlier which means we'd be walking earlier in the evening. At least we'll get some shorter days in a little while.


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

There are many brush out sprays that contain sunscreen. Just google. The Stazko spray is no longer being made, but there are many others. Not sure its going to help much..Really, your best bet is a shampoo for black dogs..Chris Christenson's Black on Black is the best I have found.


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## Bart (Jul 15, 2010)

Graco22 said:


> There are many brush out sprays that contain sunscreen. Just google. The Stazko spray is no longer being made, but there are many others. Not sure its going to help much..Really, your best bet is a shampoo for black dogs..Chris Christenson's Black on Black is the best I have found.


That's good to know. What happened to Stazko? I put in an order for a bunch of stuff a couple months ago and heard nothing back. Emailed them and still haven't heard anything.

I'll check out Chris Christenson's Black on Black. What I've seen so far is Double K Groomer's Edge Emerald Black. I haven't tried any of these yet.


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## MrsBoats (May 20, 2010)

Bart, how old is your dog?? My first rottie turned red as he aged (around 10 years old it happened)...now looking back, I think it was due to his Cushing's Disease. 

It doesn't sound like a couple of hours of sun exposure at less than peak hours would turn him red. If he were out all day, every day from 10 am to 4 pm...then I could see it. 

What are you feeding him too??


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## Bart (Jul 15, 2010)

He's just a puppy. He's not really red either, I can just see a little sun damage on the coat's tufts when I use color filtering lenses. It can be seen with the naked eye but you'd have to be looking for it -- it's not so obvious that you see anything like red streaking. It may be that the fine puppy coat is more vulnerable to damage. His adult coat is coming in (about half way there). Yeah, I'm nitpicking but on the Internet nitpicking is FREE.

I considered the possibility of any nutritional deficiency but the damage is at the hair ends not the roots. He's fed raw. Besides the meaty bones, he gets daily salmon oil with vitamin E, occaisional beef liver, occasional whole raw eggs with shell, and a no-iron multivitamin. There's plenty of biotin in his diet and all the minerals are there. No worms either, fecals are negative and he gets pyrantel pamoate with his ivermectin during the summer anyway.


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

Bart said:


> That's good to know. What happened to Stazko? I put in an order for a bunch of stuff a couple months ago and heard nothing back. Emailed them and still haven't heard anything.
> 
> I'll check out Chris Christenson's Black on Black. What I've seen so far is Double K Groomer's Edge Emerald Black. I haven't tried any of these yet.


John Stazko is very ill, and the company is now defunct as apparently there is no one to run it in his absence. If his health returns, maybe he will start it back up..looking doubtful at this point. :-(


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## Namrah (Jul 15, 2008)

Is a reddish tinge really a problem? Elka goes and sunbathes occasionally (her choice, through the dog door), and some of her hair and her tail have started to be highlighted in red - I think it looks stunning. When Elka got a pro groom the other day the groomer asked if I wanted him to use a shampoo that would "fix" the red highlighting and I was horrified. I think it's it's beautiful.

She's also raw fed.

It's not a bright red, just really a soft red highlight.

She has a beautiful, soft, shiny coat. It seems very healthy to me; is this really a sign of a problem?


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## borzoimom (May 21, 2007)

As long as you have ruled out possible coloring in the foods or treats, it is probably the sun. 
I know a lady that had Belgian Sheepdogs, and she would add some sun screen spray to the dogs coat, especially the back ( top line) of the dog. It obviously seemed to help alot. One safe say for children. 
Its worth a try..


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## Bart (Jul 15, 2010)

I think some of the problem may be due to damage of the hair other than the sun only. It's definitely the older hair that starts to turn reddish and that hair is the hair that's been subject to the most abuse over time. If I clip the dog down, he's a beautiful rich black. Now the furnishings on his legs are growing out and when you look at them in bright sunlight it's almost like they're two-tone.

I got some advice that the Mars Coat King I was using on the dog is probably cutting, breaking and damaging hair which could be contributing to the discoloration because split and broken hairs are going to have a frizzy, dry texture and dull color.

I'm going to start grooming him a little differently and see if that helps as his coat grows out. For crying out loud, we're going to be like a couple of women fussing over his hair! I can see him in a French Ring trial. When I give the command for the long send and he takes off to bite the guy in the suit, I'll say, "don't break a nail dear!" And he'll say, "does this brevet make my butt look big?"


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