New Here... My shorkies fur is changing color!?!?

[Murphys Mom]

Seeing more pics on here it kind of looks normal, but is it. My puppy had black and tan and now his head is changing to silver! I like the black!  Also what do you do about the constant eye watering?? Thanks!

[Bailey]

Hi and welcome....what a cutie you have.......Bailey was tan & black when we got her at 3 months....now at 10 months she is all light tan...almost blond....as far as the eye watering....hers sometimes have a discharge but not often....so sorry can't help with that

[Mai Tai]

There are drops they sell to keep the tears from staining the fur.  I don't use them because the stains don't bother me as my dog's faces are dark grey adn tan so the tear stains kind of blend in. 

[Murphys Mom]

I am not worried about staining. But it make his face wet and it stinks! You can't see the tears because he is pretty dark too. I did see some grooming videos on cutting the hair around his eyes so maybe I will try that. I also read about allergies or the cold. We are in the midwest and it is FREEZING!

[Mai Tai]

You know Murphy, you have a good point there.  Mai Tai's eyes tear a LOT less when he is groomed and the hair is not bothering his eyes.  The tears do not smell at all though.  I wonder if your dog might have some kind of eye infection if it smells or if this is normal.  Does anyone know?  By the way, welcome to the sight.  Keep posting.

[Kim]

Welcome. Murphy is adorable.

Max used to have tear stains a lot. We would clean it before bed and by morning it would be a lot with gunk in them. It wasn't because hair was getting into his eyes because we always keep the area around his eyes trimmed. Although it is a problem when we take him for a car ride and he sticks his head out and all the dust gets into his eyes. Since I've tried giving him a tsp. every other day of apple cider vinegar his tear stains have become a lot less. Also I've read that it also helps his digestive system, allergies, and repels mosquitoes.

[brenlynn]

my dog was pretty dark like yours when we got her as a puppy. now she is a little over a year old and A LOT lighter. she barely has any black left, she is mostly a honey blonde color. she tears a lot too and it smells but only if i like touch it with my finger and the stink is on my finger then. my boyfriend used to have a shihtzu and they are known to have chronic tearing problems as a breed and his shihtzu's face smelled from it, too. we always called it stinky shihtzu face! pretty sure the color changing gene also comes from the shihtzu... their fur also changed colors while the yorkie does not.

[teddybear]

It's like the yorkie. They are always born black and tan, but then they grow lighter. Teddy has an odd coloring, it has shades of this pretty auburn color, and the tips are black, and he started off as a sable coloring. It's pretty common, he's already 11 months old so they grow lighter.

[bat27]

Hi, Ozzy has the same eye problem watery and yuckies in am, I'm going to the vet on Tues because he needs blood work (getting neutered in next 2 wks) I will ask him and post info.  Also I read that if you give bottled wated it decreases the stains, I sometime do but not enough. My first shorkie had slight discolor and I tried bottle water and must say it wasn't as frequent as Ozzy's. As far as fur color I know once i have a close cut his coat will get lighter, the black seems to never come  back and thats my experience from my first shorkie, who had the most beautiful colors and coat (so nice my sister wanted to take him to her colorist)

[teddybear]

Yeah, Ted too. We have this spray that's called a waterless bath, on the back it has instructions on how to use it for the body and face. You just spray it, covering his eyes, and then wipe it off with a towel and brush as usual. It works really well for us. We also sometimes give Teddy bottled water.

[max]

We also received Max at 3 months and he was black and tan also but now he is a little over 5 months and is quite a bit lighter, sorry but I have not figured out how to download a picture yet not very computer knowleagable.

[Murphys Mom]

I think maybe his head will just change. If you look at the base of his fur on his head it is silver but from his neck back it is all black. So I don't know. He is cute no matter what! I just trimmed up around his eyes too. He is so cute now, I can actually see his eyes when I look at him! Maybe that will help with the watering. I think maybe his fur was poking him!

[Ann]

Hi great to see you here. Murphy is such a cutie.

[bat27]

Hi All, I took Ozzy for a haircut yesterday because I wanted him a little cut down beacuse he getting neutered on monday and his fur did get a little lighter he was brown/grey auburn. Going back about eye staining I had him checked the other night by vet and he gave him drops because his eyes have discharge in am and its been more then week(could be conjuntivitis)  so we will see. the vet checked his teeth and he has a baby tooth there(which never fell out) & the adult tooth moved into spot where that should be, so now he is also having baby tooth pulled and found he had a dew claw on back foot(must not have been cut all the way when first removed) so that too will be removed monday when he is under. Then at haircut they told me thought ear was infected so off to vet last night and has double ear infection.  But though all this he is such a good boy and lets us give him all his meds with only a little fuss.

[Cash]

Cash got lighter.  He's lost most of his red and black coloring and is now mostly tan.