Coat changing colour (!?!?)

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Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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Hi everyone

My White Swiss Shepherd's coat, which was originally bright white, is turning pink/salmon, particularly on his back and flanks... See the photo at the bottom of the post

He has some digestive issues, so I mainly feed him salmon dry food (it's the one he likes best) – and I think it might be linked, but getting him to change his diet is proving quite difficult...

Assuming it is related and I manage to get him to switch dry food, will the pinkish parts of his body go back to being white?

Has anyone else had this kind of problem with their dog?

Thanks

Coat changing colour (!?!?)

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9 answers
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    Czarbuck Icon representing the flag French
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    My White Swiss Shepherd had the same symptoms. He started turning pink after I changed his food, specifically when I switched to Royal Canin. After moving over to Virbac (Virbac Veterinary HPM Baby Large & Medium puppy food), it all cleared up within a few months. So, I can definitely confirm it was a dietary issue.

    PS: I don't have any shares in Virbac or anything! I just wanted to give an example of what worked, as it’s really hard to find dry food without salmon, carrot, or beetroot... although I’m not sure if all three are actually to blame.

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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    Vado79: this thread is quite old and the answer has already been posted, so there’s no point in bumping it.
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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    It’s often down to fish-based foods; salmon oil or salmon itself can cause white fur to turn yellow. It’s best to avoid fish-based dry food for a White Swiss Shepherd...
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    E
    Emericky Icon representing the flag French
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    Was your dog's coat really white before?

    Otherwise, switching their dry food and waiting for a moult might help things improve.

    Keep us posted

    And just out of interest, how much does he weigh (in lbs or stones)?

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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    Thanks for the link, I’ll have a look. As for Pro Plan, the lady at the breeders where I got him from as a puppy told me I absolutely had to feed him only Pro Plan, specifically because of his coat and so on.
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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    Pro Plan isn't great; both overall and for their coat, it’s not a good dry food.

    Their dry food is full of grains (which isn't suitable for a dog at all) and the rest of the ingredients are of fairly poor quality.

    I'd recommend looking into grain-free dry food, and here’s a helpful file on the matter that might help: https://word.office.live.com/wv/WordView.aspx?FBsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fattachments%2Ffile_preview.php%3Fid%3D1385787091725560%26time%3D1426523309%26metadata&access_token=100003715464532%3AAVI-yTJKcrov-LTxQ-A3IZ2yoToTAL5Q-P13IPCT2pEfzg&title=croquettes-que-choisir.doc

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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    Hi again

    I’m feeding him Pro Plan dry food, the sensitive digestion range...

    The bag we’ve had on the go for a few weeks is lamb instead of salmon, but there’s no improvement so far :/

    He’s just turned 3.

    I didn’t realise grains, salmon and so on weren’t recommended

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    Emericky Icon representing the flag French
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    Hi, I’ve also got a 7-month-old White Swiss Shepherd and I’m having a similar issue. Since he was 5 months old, his coat has turned a bit of a yellowish-salmon colour near his ears, on his back and his tail. I’ve read that you should avoid anything with carotene, grains or salmon in it, so I’m currently switching from Royal Canin to Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy to see if it helps. Mind you, dogs do tend to get this during the winter, so let's wait for the better weather to arrive. How old is your dog and what dry food is he on?

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    Anonymous user Icon representing the flag French
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    Hi, Usually, this issue is indeed caused by the dry food, and things tend to get back to normal once you switch brands or ranges. What are you currently feeding him?
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