4 year old dog going grey?

My chocolate lab's going grey around her muzzle and chin. She's only just turned 4 - is this normal?

Yeah perfectly normal for a lab another thing that you may notice is loosing hair on the knee joint with labs they sometime seem like they are aging quickly even more if they have a dark coat

Reply 2

trixster

Yes, it is normal. In fact, it is not abnormal for some dogs to start greying on the muzzle as young as the age of 2.

Various reasons have been stated to why this occurs, but I believe the general consensus is that it is genetic. Some people start going grey in their teens and it is exactly the same for some dogs.

My black Lab, for comparisons sake, has only started going grey in the last year and he is nearly 9. :smile:

Reply 3

ilex_noemi

It fine people go grey when they aresn't old and its the same with dogs. Can actually make them look pretty cute!

Reply 4

amy19

Thanks for the replies :smile:

She's aged a lot, in other ways.. like she's so grumpy and barely plays anymore :frown:

Reply 5

somethingbeautiful

Original post by amy19

Thanks for the replies :smile:

She's aged a lot, in other ways.. like she's so grumpy and barely plays anymore :frown:

Aww bless, she's middle aged in doggy years though. She'll probably enjoy Radio 2 more than Radio 1 now :biggrin:

Reply 6

amy19

Haha :') Luckily i've got 2 other dogs that are younger so they keep her younger than she would be without them if that makes sense! x

Reply 7

trixster

Original post by amy19

Thanks for the replies :smile:

She's aged a lot, in other ways.. like she's so grumpy and barely plays anymore :frown:

Pretty normal for the breed. Mine is double your dogs age and still plays with me and my other dogs sometimes, but he prefers to be eating or sleeping. :smile:

Reply 8

redtortoise

Original post by somethingbeautiful

Aww bless, she's middle aged in doggy years though. She'll probably enjoy Radio 2 more than Radio 1 now :biggrin:

Not quite to the 6 music stage yet though :P

Reply 9

dragon500uk

Original post by amy19

My chocolate lab's going grey around her muzzle and chin. She's only just turned 4 - is this normal?

Keep an eye on your dog, while going grey can be normal for a young dog, lethargy and reluctance to play for a dog as young as four (especially gun dogs) is not normal if the dog is otherwise healthy (ie not overweight!). How is your dog eating? Are they eating/drinking more or less? Do they seem reluctant to move about? You could have a look at how much protein is in your dogs food. What are you feeding them?

Reply 10

dragon500uk

Original post by trixster

My Goldie's turning 11 and she has a single grey hair on her tail :P :P

Reply 11

username919394

Yeah its fine :smile:

My boyfriends dog is going grey and he's only 3, my Mum's pug isn't very old either and she's greying too.

Reply 12

Terminator7t

As mentioned above it is unusual for a Lab at the age of 4 to be lethargic. Four equates to a young adult roughly so hardly middle aged.

Reply 13

Kallisto

Entertainment Forum Helper

My dog is 4 years old and has not a grey hair.
But I think there is a lot of dogs which getting grey in this age.

Reply 14

Leooonie

very very common! dont worry unless he starts growing tentacles...

Reply 15

The Real Quaid

Original post by Leooonie

very very common! dont worry unless he starts growing tentacles...

The dog's a girl, so I think you mean testicles

Reply 16

Leooonie

Original post by The Real Quaid

The dog's a girl, so I think you mean testicles

no... I literally meant tentacles... I am not a complete ijiiit :wink:

Obviously if you notice any other unusual things, lethargy, weakness, then a vet should be talked to.
but greying is natural ..... growing tentacles isnt.

it was a joookke :wink: