Where does the dog get his gray hair?

It is believed that the gray at the temples gives a certain nobility and charm to the image. And when it becomes more, people often start dyeing their hair to hide this defect. Dogs do not use hair dye, so the gray is completely natural. But is it a sign of age in animals, as it is in people?

Gray hair = old age?

Is it a precursor to approaching old age in dogs?

Grayish muzzles and flanks are not uncommon in dogs, but it is not a hundred percent certainty that an animal is definitely old. There is an opinion that gray hair appears in dogs that have reached a certain age, and even supposedly established differences, depending on the standard size of the breed. For example, large dogs go gray at age 6, medium dogs at age 7, and small dogs at age 8. But, in fact, it is not age that influences the appearance of gray.

Of course, puppies don’t go gray, but older animals don’t always go gray. And vice versa – if you see gray in a dog, it does not mean that he has lived a lot. For example, brown-colored poodles may have their first gray hairs in their coat when they are two years old.

How Graying Appears

It is untrue to say that only older animals go gray, for there are a host of other causes

In dogs with stiff coats, gray appears in the beard and mustache, but this is nothing to worry about. There are several suggestions as to why a dog is turning gray. The melanocyte production function is decreasing, or the hydrogen peroxide breakdown process is slowing down and its production in the hair follicles is decreasing. There is also a theory that air gaps occur between the keratin fibrils, which is why hair looks gray when light falls and refracts on it.

After a study involving 400 randomly selected dogs, scientists came to some conclusions. For example, that a pet’s health or the presence of diseases does not affect the amount of gray hair. If there are no triggers, a dog may start turning gray at age 4 or older. Regardless of color or size, a pet can go gray with fear and stress if it is more than a year old.

A hard life is a major factor in the onset of graying

Ensuring your dog lives a stress-free life, as one of the causes of graying, does not guarantee that he will not turn grey.

Scientists say that there may be many different reasons for the greying of dogs, so it is almost impossible to say for sure what is causing it. But it is certain that under the influence of frequent stress, a dog’s muzzle will start to turn grey. In very rare cases, however, the gray hair may first begin to appear on the back and sides.

This is the effect of the stress hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline. And being under constant stress can have a negative impact not only on the pigmentation of the coat, but also on the genetics of the pet.