turning into a dalmation?!!!

[daveonyx]

i know it's not a life threatening issue but i have a white boxer 9or 10 yr old, she's starting to develop small (10cm) black dots of hair in her coat, is this normal? she's probably got about 20 or 30 of them. i've only noticed it over the last 3 or 4 weeks.
is it a whites version of grey hair!!!

[gmacleod]

Originally Posted by daveonyx

i...she's starting to develop small (10cm) black dots of hair in her coat, is this normal?

Very normal I'm not even sure that I've seen a white or flashy boxer that didn't develop pigment spots.

Usually the development of pigment on the white areas of boxers (white coat colour being caused by lack of normal pigment) is restricted to the skin - and rarely is strong enough to start colouring the hair as well. It's a process that continues throughout the dog's life (so the spots will become more prolific as the dog matures). Usually they're much more obvious when the dog is wet also.

[Bruisersmomi]

Ollie is just shy of 6 months, and has the spots everywhere....we call them his bratty marks When I brought him home at 8 weeks he didn't have any but within the last few months he has them everywhere! Nothing to worry about, they give them character and uniqueness Really bad after his bath's, I swear he gets more every morning when I wake up!

[Jan]

Same here! Moto is covered in spots. I figure by the time he is old he will be covered in spots and just look gray instead of white. A white boxers version of turning gray with age.

[kayboxer]

Wow! That's so interesting, I had no idea!