Miley is starting to get some gray around her muzzle. The gray is really white. Because she’s relatively light in color, it’s hard to see.
But it’s much more obvious when she rests her head on my lap.
She’s getting white hair around her eyes.
She’s only four, but golden retriever prematurely gray. It’s one of their charms :).
For comparison, here’s her photo at age two.
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Miley is such a beautiful dog. I find this premature graying or white expression in many breeds from observations most interesting. Some reports state comes from anchestry while others state white hair may be caused by thyroid deficiencies or a deficiency of vitamin B-12 and anemia?
Some family lines of Goldens start graying early, others, later in life. And there is variation from individual to individual as well. One Golden fun event had prizes for the “whitest face” and “least white face”– both winners were very close to the same age! We with Goldens think that the graying just adds to their charm.
White hair in people varies similarly. My grandfather went completely white-haired before he was twenty– and lived to nearly ninety, still with a full head of snowy hair.
When is it going to be time for you to get a Chinese Crested pup?