# Blue Coat



## Beau's Mummy (May 27, 2010)

Hi All,

A coat colour question for you -

Beau is a Blue/Tan colour with a white chest. I love his colouring and am hoping that he will keep it but I have heard that Blue Chihuahuas tend to lose their Blue colouring. Does anyone know if this is true? Also, do you know when this would usually happen by?

Thanks
xx


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Some will go to a more grey/silver as they age. 

You should also be aware that many blues carry a gene for alopecia or baldness. As he grows, you may notice thinning of his coat. In severe cases, he can lose most of his hair and be mostly bald. Not saying that will happen! It is genetically determined. But just be aware that it is a possibility with his color.

He is a cutie.


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## Beau's Mummy (May 27, 2010)

Thanks Brodysmom. Oh I hope he doesn't have any problems!!! His coat is currently quite thick for a short coat and both the parents had nice coats. Fingers crossed he's OK!


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Harry, a blue chi here, has alopecia. He's healthy and happy. Just bald. It is inherited, so hard to tell if your baby will have it as he grows or not. 

Here's a thread with pics of Harry....

http://www.chihuahua-people.com/showthread.php?t=51283&highlight=harry


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## Terri (Aug 21, 2009)

My Darla is a blue tri and she is almost 8 months and her coat hasnt changed colour much at all.
She was darker when she was days old, then from about 3 weeks till 8 weeks she was quite light, now her coat is a little darker, but still blue.
She hasnt got any bald patches either.
She did have a bald belly at first, but even that has come in now.
Of course she could still change again at some point who knows.

Your little one is gorgeous!! x


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

Your boy will always be blue. He may darken up since he's still young. Some lighten but usually they darken as they age (even more so if they are LC). Some darken to a steel blue that looks almost black...but they're still considered blue. Marleys mom was a steal blue & very dark. Some do have alopecia...that happens when both parents carry the dilute gene. Chocolates & fawns can also carry the gene but it's much more common in blues. 

I have 2 blue Chi's. Matilda has a different kind of coat. I don't know if I'd say she has alopecia but she is 2 1/2 & has a darker stripe down her back & her lighter fur is very very soft. But her coat is full except on the top of her tail & on top of her head the fur is very short...but not bald. Her color hasn't changed much though. Marley's coat is thick & full. He's darkend a tad...but not so much it's very noticable. He is 8 months. Sometimes it takes a couple years for the alopecia to show or start but so far his coat is nice & our breeder is careful about who she breeds so I'm hoping nothing pops up!


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## huskyluv (Oct 24, 2008)

I agree with what has been said about him staying blue. They may lighten or darken with age but will always stay blue. You may have heard of blue disappearing on dogs that are born as "blue fawn" for example. Blue fawn chi puppies often do lose their blue coloration and become primarily fawn colored as they age but that is not the case with regular blues, blue and tans, blue and white, etc. I would say that most blues darken a bit as they age, our blue/tan Faith darkened a bit from when she was a puppy but is still blue. Our Glory is also a blue/tan and has not changed since she was a puppy. I would say that your Beau will probably end up the same color as Hairy, Darla, Faith and Glory.


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## foggy (Oct 12, 2009)

My Roo is a chocolate blue and she does have alopecia as Brodysmom mentioned, it's fairly common for blues. Roo has very little hair on her head, no hair on the front of her neck/stomach, and on her back she has a very thin stripe down the middle where the hair is slightly thinner, but it's nothing major. 

Your baby is a real cutie.


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## Ciarra (May 6, 2008)

I have 2 blue tri's and once had a silver blue. One has partial color alopecia and the other doesnt. They have just darkened up as they have aged. One is almost 1 and the other is almost 4 and starting to get some white in his blue.


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## Chihuahuasloveme (Jan 8, 2010)

Brodysmom said:


> Some will go to a more grey/silver as they age.
> 
> You should also be aware that many blues carry a gene for alopecia or baldness. As he grows, you may notice thinning of his coat. In severe cases, he can lose most of his hair and be mostly bald..


this is so true I have 2 blues and my male has alopecia he is half bald from his neck down he is all skin not even 1 strand of hair no problems with that tho only that his chest is always cold lol


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## Chihuahuasloveme (Jan 8, 2010)

example of coat change










my chi prada on the far left the day she was born











Prada now at almost 2 years old. 


she is a lot darker now than as a pup even at 8 weeks she was bright silver.


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## Chihuahuasloveme (Jan 8, 2010)

Brodysmom said:


> It is inherited, so hard to tell if your baby will have it as he grows or not.


Not completely true Prada is Ninjas offspring and she has no alopecia so just because 1 parent may have the gene it doesnt automatically mean the offspring will. Luckily because he didnt have the alopecia until after he got neuteered and they shaved him it was then that his hair never grew back and just fell off and went completely bald. I wouldn't recommend anyone breeding a dog with alopecia I'm just sayign that it's not all the time that it will be passed on from what I learned.


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## roughhouse (Mar 1, 2009)

My Neeci is a blue tri and she has no hair loss issues and is certainly still blue. She may have gotten a hint darker but that is it.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Chihuahuasloveme said:


> Not completely true Prada is Ninjas offspring and she has no alopecia so just because 1 parent may have the gene it doesnt automatically mean the offspring will. Luckily because he didnt have the alopecia until after he got neuteered and they shaved him it was then that his hair never grew back and just fell off and went completely bald. I wouldn't recommend anyone breeding a dog with alopecia I'm just sayign that it's not all the time that it will be passed on from what I learned.


I am pretty sure that the alopecia gene is recessive so both parents would have to have it in order for the puppy to inherit it. Hopefully NO ONE would knowingly breed a dog with alopecia.


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## Guess (Sep 23, 2009)

I have a LC blue & tan female who looks nearly black. Infact her coat actually has a chocolate tinge to it. She's an odd ball!!

She was certainly a true blue when she was a pup, but when we got her at 9 months she was as dark as she is now. She still has a light grey stripe in the middle of her nose.

She has what we believe to be alopecia on her ears, but we are in the midst of running tests to see if that is actually the culprit as we think she may have underlying health issues. (She is very thin despite every effort to plump her up)

We wont know for sure until they do a biopsy when they spay her, which of course, wont be until we rule everything else out and can try and get her in shape for it.

Cute pup BTW!!


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

Ooo, good idea to share pics. 

Marley as a newborn:









Marley at 8wks:









Marley now at 8mo:










Matilda I can't find her newborn pic at the moment but here she is at about 2-3wks:









Matilda 10wks:









Matilda now at 2 1/2yrs:


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## Terri (Aug 21, 2009)

I will add my pics too then. lol
here is Darla,
Days old here....








3wks old








6 wks








8wks








Very recently 7months an a bit lol








a goofy one recently too haha!!







[/quote]








She had just been spayed in the last pic so belly shaved.


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## Beau's Mummy (May 27, 2010)

You all have gorgeous Chi's! Thanks for replying. I was just wondering because we've noticed that Beau's head is becoming more red (the red patch around his eyes is spreading) and the cream on his legs and underbody is spreading further around his body, also across the rest of his body his coat is beginning to look a little chocolate/golden in some lights!


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## Chihuahuasloveme (Jan 8, 2010)

mchis said:


> ooo, good idea to share pics.
> 
> marley as a newborn:
> 
> ...




i just wanna say for the 1000th time i love matilda and marley if you wanted to give them up for adoption i'd totally take them :d


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## svdreamer (Feb 20, 2010)

My Billy is 7-months-old and a blue fawn. He has very, very short hair on the top of his head, like fuzz, and basically just bare skin from under his chin to the underside of his tail. His coat is very short and feels like velvet.

EDIT: I just picked him up and he does have some hair growing on his underneath now. It is still extremely short, but he is not bald there any more. lol


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

Chihuahuasloveme said:


> i just wanna say for the 1000th time i love matilda and marley if you wanted to give them up for adoption i'd totally take them :d


LOL...thanks.  I know they'd have a good home with you. But as much as Marley pushes my buttons sometimes...I think it's safe to say they're with us for life. hehe



Beau's Mummy said:


> You all have gorgeous Chi's! Thanks for replying. I was just wondering because we've noticed that Beau's head is becoming more red (the red patch around his eyes is spreading) and the cream on his legs and underbody is spreading further around his body, also across the rest of his body his coat is beginning to look a little chocolate/golden in some lights!


Marley totally has that chocolate tone...and I think you can tell in his most recent picture. When he was born he was silver & even as a wee pup he was light but he does have a more "warm" tone to him now. Matilda did for a while but she's most a lighter blue (silverish on her sides) and a more steel blue down her back. Also...in Marleys newborn pics - that is his mums head. She looks black in the pic but she's a prime example of a dark steel blue.


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## TLI (Sep 3, 2008)

Jade is Blue & White. Her coloring has darkened some as she has aged. No problems with Alopecia, though.


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## Tiptoe (Apr 17, 2010)

Wow did not know SCs change color too, some of the silver pups seem to turn light choc??
I know Cocos Lc but she was blue grey wen we first got her now shes got fawn highlights, greys must change alot compared to other colours by the looks of it!


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## BellaLina's Mom (Mar 16, 2007)

Bella was born a light grey blue tri color short coat. After she turned one year old, her fur started turning into a light grey chocolate blue. During the day time in the sun, her fur looks light grey blue. However, during the evening inside our home, her fur looks chocolate blue. She has very short velvety thin fur that doesn't shed. The white fur from her chin down to her waist is so sparse that the fur looks as if it was lightly paint brushed on her. She has no fur from her belly down.


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## tricializ (Jun 1, 2010)

My Maya's cousin dog is what the breeder called a "true blue". ??? Anyway, a friend of mine just got him and he is a double coat or thick coat (whatever you call it) so he is very full. His coloring is beautiful. He is taupe colored with a stripe of dark blue down his back and on his muzzle. Also, his eyes seem light. Is this normal for blues? I love love his coloring and he is the sweetest thing too. Then again, we drive 5+ hours each way to meet the breeder since we love her dogs. So far I know 3 of them. Trying to talk my husband into getting another as she has littlers due in a couple of weeks.
But does anyone know about the eyes?
Tricia


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

Yeah, I think most blues have the "luminous ruby" eyes. In low light situations they appear a ruby color. (Almost looks like red eye in a pic that used the camera flash) So neat! Matilda & Marley both have very light eyes. As does Maribelle actually but she's not blue. LOL


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## pigeonsheep (Nov 8, 2008)

dexter is blue tri. he was furry when we got him and then he started losing parts of his back hair and head hair as he got older. but he's still my cutie pie


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## Chihuahuasloveme (Jan 8, 2010)

Ninja and Prada both have bright blue eyes around the pupil and tan around the blue lol I love their eyeballs I wish I had eyes like that

Heres an example of the eyes



















Here is an example of the alopecia pure baldness Ninja suffers from


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## Terri (Aug 21, 2009)

Lovely eyes!!
I bet that belly is lovely and smooth for giving belly rubs and kisses. lol xx


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## Chihuahuasloveme (Jan 8, 2010)

i love his skin its so so soft i always blow on it and make farting noises hahahaha


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

Yep, those are the luminous rubies! That is exactly how Matilda & Marleys are. Marleys are more "blue" though while Matilda's are more gray in the center. Mari's are gray in the center & more a copper color around the outside. Kind of like her coat. 

Ninja's tummy does look so baby butt soft! I'd be making farting noises on it all the time too! hehe


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## FBRaRrN (May 1, 2006)

Hey I am the one that owns Harry.He is the sweetest boy.I don't care that he is hairless because he is so sweet.His hairlessness just adds to his cuteness.


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## Terri (Aug 21, 2009)

LOL at the farting noises. love it!!


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