# Roan colour change



## Rufus_Hound (Jul 8, 2015)

Hi Guys,

Rufus is my first Cockapoo and first roan, so I'm not sure how their coat develops. Rufie is 4 months old (and I'm totally in love!!) and people keep telling me that his coat will get darker, not to clip him etc and I'm getting a bit confused on what to do/not to do!! So, I thought I'd come on here and get some advice from people in the know! I know it's probably difficult to predict, but can anybody tell me how Rufie's coat will develop and when to clip etc?


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## Lindor (Feb 3, 2014)

Rufus is gorgeous! I see you have been trimming in front of his eyes. Lovely job done. Be sure to be brushing and combing every couple of days, right down to the skin to get all the tangles out. Soon you may also want to take him to the groomers for a nice bath, blow dry and just a very light trim so he gets used to it while he is young. No advice on colour change but I can't wait to see how he turns out.


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## Miss Lilly (Sep 12, 2014)

Congratulations! He's utterly scrumptious and, in my wholly unbiased opinion, roans are the superstars of the poo world!!

Here's Miss Lills as a pup:









Then after her first trim (and a hearty dinner) which would have been at roughly 7/8 months:









and more recently:








So yes, her coat has got darker (and the roan colouring takes a while to come in fully anyway - the pups are pretty much born white to begin with) but not much and not everywhere. Her black patches are now more salt and pepper than pure black and her nose is pretty much grey (her beard is usually a bit orange from her food etc!!)

Enjoy your lovely pup: however he changes coat wise he will remain utterly gorgeous. They all do!!


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

Lovely, lovely, lovely roan puppies and fantastic to see the scrummy Miss Lilly again.
Realistically at some point Rufus will need a hair cut and his coat will change as he grows. I absolutely guarantee you will love him just the same.


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## Miss Lilly (Sep 12, 2014)

Awww, thanks Marzi: we've been mighty busy recently so haven't been around much.

Until that changes, here's another of my gorgeous girl (again at about 6 months I think):


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## Rufus_Hound (Jul 8, 2015)

Thank for all your replies and advice. You are totally right and we've already said that no matter what he grows up to look like, we will love him no matter what! Their character never changes and he is exactly that! Such a little cheeky monkey and I love it! He's not naughty, but cheeky and I think they make the best dogs! 

Miss Lilly is gorgeous and I hope he grows to similar to her. I have given him a nice bath and tried to clip the front of his face (around the eyes) he's so good and just sits there like a statue! Lol he's not keen on the hair dryer though and so his hair has dries with like a centre parting down his spine lol Marzi, like you have said obviously I will need to cut him at some point, but I'm so worried about doing it too soon and ruining the coat - you can't glue it back on!! I'm thinking of becoming a dog groomer and I've looked into courses, but they are very expensive so best start saving!!


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## Miss Lilly (Sep 12, 2014)

I totally get your reluctance and I was the exactly the same! But your pup will not stay as he is now: sometime soonish his adult fur will begin to grow in and with it will come an abundance of matts. If Rufus is anything like Miss Lilly, then you can comb away all day and still have matts. They appear out of nowhere at that stage!!

For his first trim, I would say most definitely ask them to scissor rather than clip (but Dawn is the groomer on here, not me!). Your pup needs to get used to this as his fur won't actually stop growing... So its a good idea to get him used to being groomed from an early age. The first time just a bath and a scissor around his eyes, the next time a little more etc. Miss Lilly is a very timid, cautious little dog and so I've ended up doing it myself: she sports a 'mummy cut' (I'm not terribly good at it) but she just gets too freaked out when she goes to the groomer and last time, ended up with a nick to her leg...

When he does have his first cut you will probably want to either laugh or cry....or both. Miss Lilly came out of the groomer with little orange bows in her ears  and I didn't really know how to react!! But it grows back ... quickly!


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## Marzi (Sep 17, 2012)

I was trying to think of another choccy roan on here - and remembered Buddy who is a lovely big bear of a dog  I can't find a thread of him as a pup but came across this one of his holiday in Norfolk 
http://ilovemycockapoo.com/showthread.php?t=8254&highlight=pixie

I think Buddy might have had more brown on him as a pup - but I'm sure roan owners say that the dark patches get white hairs in and the white patches often have darker hair underneath.... or maybe that is sables - I get very confused.
As long as you are combing him through very regularly you may be able to preserve the look for a while longer.... but (in a voice of doom) Winter is coming! Mud mud rain mud.


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## dmgalley (Aug 19, 2012)

Oh I love roans! We don't get many here. Roo and Mabel!! A chocolate roan is delicious! Lucky you. I found these pictures. All the same dog. 
This to me is the fun of cockapoos. They change. Jake was black and white when he was born. I didn't know what a sable was so boy was that something to see. Willow was a deep beautiful red. Now she is strawberry blonde with red ears. 
Ozzy is a blue Merle. He had much more white as a puppy.
Can't wait to see how my Lily changes!


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