Puppy Colour

[BlodwynTheSchnauzer]

Hi all

Quick question if you'd be so kind to help.

We bring our beautiful Blodwyn home in 2 weeks. Her Mum is Salt and Pepper and a lot lighter than our pup.

Do pups generally get lighter or do they stay similar?

TIA

Mike

[zeta1454]

Hi Mike - the colour of schnauzer coats does vary according to whether they are hand stripped or clipped. Although a dark puppy coat can get a little lighter once it is stripped out and the adult coat comes through, if there is a real difference in colour in an adult dog from its puppy days this is usually because the coat has been clipped. Clipping or ‘shaving’ removes the harsh top coat and reveals the softer undercoat which is often a lighter shade. We have seen very dark S&P puppies become almost silver white adults after repeated clipping over the years.
Having said that there are some variations in the pepper and salt miniature schnauzers anyway as to how dark or light they may be but this is usually due to the parents’ colouring and can be affected by one or both parents having a black or black and silver ancestor which can bring a darker colouration to some mini’s coats.
If you want to retain Blodwyn’s natural colour, hand stripping is the best way and this will preserve the harsh top coat too

[BlodwynTheSchnauzer]

Hi Mike - the colour of schnauzer coats does vary according to whether they are hand stripped or clipped. Although a dark puppy coat can get a little lighter once it is stripped out and the adult coat comes through, if there is a real difference in colour in an adult dog from its puppy days this is usually because the coat has been clipped. Clipping or ‘shaving’ removes the harsh top coat and reveals the softer undercoat which is often a lighter shade. We have seen very dark S&P puppies become almost silver white adults after repeated clipping over the years.
Having said that there are some variations in the pepper and salt miniature schnauzers anyway as to how dark or light they may be but this is usually due to the parents’ colouring and can be affected by one or both parents having a black or black and silver ancestor which can bring a darker colouration to some mini’s coats.
If you want to retain Blodwyn’s natural colour, hand stripping is the best way and this will preserve the harsh top coat too

That is really useful information. Thanks for taking the time to reply!

[schnauzer]

will try & attach photos of my boy who is now 5yrs old. Colour definitely changes
age 12 weeks first time on the beach

6 month old in this one

[BlodwynTheSchnauzer]

will try & attach photos of my boy who is now 5yrs old. Colour definitely changes
age 12 weeks first time on the beach

6 month old in this one

Thanks for the pics. Your boy is beautiful!

[Schnauzerluv]

Awww Blodwyn looks so adorable, congrats on your puppy! From what I've seen, the lighter they are to begin with as puppies the lighter they become as adults. The schnauzers I've had that had both a S&P gene plus one B&S gene stayed darker (in some cases they were actually black or stayed a very dark charcoal grey with clippering). But the ones with 2 S&P genes lightened up considerably by 6 months. The lighter they are as puppies, the lighter we could expect them to be as adults. Blodwyn looks a bit lighter than my schnauzers were, I think he'll be a nice light silver (probably similar to Gino or even lighter). I unfortunately don't have any digital pics of my past pups, and my current boy is full B&S).

[Schnauzerluv]

Awww Blodwyn looks so adorable, congrats on your puppy! From what I've seen, the lighter they are to begin with as puppies the lighter they become as adults. The schnauzers I've had that had both a S&P gene plus one B&S gene stayed darker (in some cases they were actually black or stayed a very dark charcoal grey with clippering). But the ones with 2 S&P genes lightened up considerably by 6 months. The lighter they are as puppies, the lighter we could expect them to be as adults. Blodwyn looks a bit lighter than my schnauzers were, I think she'll be a nice light silver (probably similar to Gino or even lighter). I unfortunately don't have any digital pics of my past pups, and my current boy is full B&S.

[BlodwynTheSchnauzer]

[zeta1454]

Lovely girl