Premature ageing in dogs

[Cardiparty]

I was wondering if anyone knew anything about this.

I was looking at my girl tonight who is three and a half, and I noticed that her mouth was looking a bit white. Granted, we've been thought alot in the past few years.

Is premature ageing different per breed? Is there anything that causes it in particular- ie genetics vs environmental? She has great grandparents that are sixteen and seventeen years old. The youngest that died was 15.

Out of curiosity, I was wondering also if the greying around the mouth could just be a pigment change occurring with out being related to ageing. She is a merley girly, and sometimes merles can change as they get older.

I'll have to look and see if the brindling she has on her face has lightened.

Has anyone experienced it? Has it just been a pigment change, or has it affected drive, stamina or mental faculties?

 

[Equinox]

Don't worry, you and your girl aren't alone! My dog's gray hairs have been driving me crazy

He's a 4 year old German Shepherd, has had a few gray hairs ever since puppyhood but recently it's really been spreading.

Here he is almost exactly a year ago, with a little graying:

and here are some recent pictures from the last few weeks:

I'm not sure if it's breed specific, but my neighbor owns a German Shepherd that's right around my dog's age and he's graying a bit, too. I also checked the pictures I took of another GSD (also around 4 years old), and he definitely has gray hairs too. He just pulls it off better than my dog could :rofl1:

 

[Laurelin]

Beau went totally white faced very early. He's 9 now and still doesn't seem to stop moving. He's also not that mature, lol.

 

[Southpaw]

I don't know that early graying really has much relation to the aging process in general. Ie, I don't think it's an indication that the dog is actually "old" and is going to be sick or die young or anything like that.

Juno seems to sprout more gray hairs with each passing day, but aside from the fact that it makes her look older, there's no other effects from it. She's 4 years old; she still acts 4 years old. Er, actually, she still acts like a puppy.

This is an awful picture but you can see the gray around her eyes.

It makes me sad that she's starting to look like an old lady, but other than that? Meh.
I can't even imagine how many more gray hairs we'd be seeing if she had a black muzzle!

 

[Julee]

I've noticed this quite a bit in goldens, around here, particularly from one breeder. Not just the greying early, but they seem to get... old very quickly.

 

[BostonBanker]

You mention brindle on her face; in my experience, brindles often grey very early. I denied Meg's greying for a long time, until I looked at pictures from when I got her and just about fell over.

Meg at about 18 months:

Meg at maybe 4 years:

5 years:

6 or 7 years- starting to get up around her eyes:

7 years:

Last summer at nearly 8 years:

Like others have said, I don't think early grey is in any way a sign of premature aging. Meg is almost nine now, and still can tear up an agility course and hike for several hours. I fully expect her to live up to our deal of living to be at least 20

Yikes, sorry about that huge first picture. Apparently I didn't know how to size my photos back then!

 

[Cardiparty]

First off, wow you guys have some really handsome dogs!!!! And Equinox, what kind of camera do you have? Those are lovely pics.

I'm kind of a panicker when it comes to the dogs. I'll take a picture of Miz Naughty and show you when I have the opportunity next.

Physically, she hasn't slowed down at all! Just the pigment change around her mouth. And she's also not all that mature (to say the least!!!!) lol

 

[Laurelin]

Here's beau at 4 or 5.

the kiss by Summer_Papillon, on Flickr

 

[Shai]

Yeah as others have said, premature greying <> premature aging. But it's still tough to accept!

Webby is grey, though not as much as some here (I've heard the same as BostonBanker about the tendency for early greying in brindles... a cardigan I run sometimes is only 5 and her face is whiting out quickly). Kim is greying some but it's hard to see because of her coloring. Web is a bit easier. They both turn six this year (Kim already, Webster soon).

When he first came home at 1 yr old:

We just call him "distinguished." He certainly hasn't slowed down one whit.

 

[MicksMom]

I know with Goldens, certain lines turn grey early. We had a friend who's Golden started greying at around 5 years old. We teased him about it being the air in his house because he and his father both started getting grey before they were 30.

Like others, I'm not so sure premature greying has anything to do with how fast a dog ages/slows down. I honestly think the aging has more to do with how old you treat your dog (as in- "OMG, my dog is greying! He's getting old, we must stop doing...").

 

[Aleron]

I agree, the early graying doesn't have much to do with "early aging". Certain colors in certain breeds tend to gray early (black whippets anyone?). And some lines seem to carry early graying/pattern graying in lots of breeds. I met an 11 year old Belgian at the National who was very gray in the face and had gray socks but my 11 year old very has any gray. Other than looks, I don't think one seemed "older" than the other. One of my GSDs started graying at 1 or 2 and had a good, long life and was healthy right up until the end.

 

[AdrianneIsabel]

Sloan was greying at 1 year. lol My RT did the same at 2 years. Backup started a bit at 3. Arnold is eight and starting to grey. Shamoo is greying now but at ten when I got her she was not. Go figure.

 

[Red.Apricot]

Elsie's two and already has quite a lot of grey. She's not in any way old, lol.

 

[sassafras]

My brindles have also had a tendency to grey early, but I agree with others that it doesn't necessarily say anything about aging in general. My grasp of color genetics is not firm, but I think there is an "early greying" effect that is simply a color effect.

Maisy,who is brindle pointed, has started visibly greying in the last year and she just turned 5 with no signs of slowing down EVER. I had a brindle and white greyhound whose whole face mask almost whited out by the time she was probably 10 or 11, but lived to a relatively active 15.

 

[SpringerLover]

We've discussed this at length in springers and the conclusion is that there has to be a greying gene. Many lines of dogs NEVER grey, some grey after 10 or so, and some grey as yearlings. A friend has two ESS from the same lines, 13 & 16. Neither of them is the slightest bit grey.

Bailey's had silver ears since she was 2-3. Buzz's ears have a few white hairs and so does his face but it's spreading SUPER slowly.

 

[JessLough]

Yep, Rosey started greying really early. Yet everybody always thought she was a puppy. LOL she greyed early and went white in her old age.

FWIW, she was GSD x BC x whoknowswhats

 

[Hillside]

Saga by the time she was a year and a half had a grey spot the size of a quarter on her chin. Now her chin is almost all white and it's creeping onto her muzzle, she will be 6 in July. Nico has a couple singular white hairs at the age of two and his mother barely has any at the age of 5.

 

[milos_mommy]

Like others, I don't think it has so much to do with aging (aside from the fact that it happens as a dog ages...) as genetics, coloring, etc. and not in a way that affects livelihood or the dog's well-being or physical/mental state aside from appearance.

People go grey at all different ages, and it seems to run in families, but I don't think it correlates to health or longevity. Same with dogs.

My friend's black pit bull started going grey around her muzzle young - maybe at 5 or 6? She's 10 now, her face is almost totally grey/white, and she's just starting to slow down a tiny bit and not act like a wild puppy all the time. She's still perfectly healthy, active, has plenty of stamina, just sleeps a bit more when things are quiet.

I know plenty of dogs that have "aged" young - passed away young or had issues such as arthritis, fatigue, difficulty hearing/seeing, basic "old age" stuff early on, and never showed any signs of greying, even as they got older.

 

[Equinox]

Wow, Meg really did start greying young! I think it adds to her look, though What a beautiful girl <3

I don't know that early graying really has much relation to the aging process in general. Ie, I don't think it's an indication that the dog is actually "old" and is going to be sick or die young or anything like that.

Oh yeah, I forgot to add this. Just like it's no indication of actual age or failing health in humans... at least I hope not? Otherwise I have a few friends and family members who aren't going to last much longer I tease my dog for acting like a grumpy old man, but that's just his personality. He's as active as ever.

And Equinox, what kind of camera do you have? Those are lovely pics.

Thank you! Everything besides the first two were taken with my Nikon D90 and 50mm f/1.8 lens Love the combination, and definitely an upgrade from the Point and Shoot I was using a year ago!

 

[ThoseWordsAtBest]

Smalls was pretty grey in the muzzle by 2. She's now 6 1/2 and it has remained about the same. Jack REALLY greyed out over the years. We've had him over 5 years now and it was like night and day.

Jonas is nearly 8 and not a grey hair on him.