Do Pitbull Puppies’ Coat Change Color As They Grow?

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The fluffy puppies’ soft coats are one of the cutest features we love in them but you should not get too attached to them (the coats) too much because it will change over time, just as it does in any other breeed.

Do Pitbull Puppies’ Coat change color as they grow? Pitbull Puppies’ Coats change color as they grow and they change their coat pattern too. Their adult coat color starts to appear at the age of 12 weeks to a lighter or darker fur. This is one of the signs that your puppy is growing up and it relates to the dog’s health and personality.

Continue reading to learn more about why Pitbulls puppies change their coats and if you can tell what color your puppy will be?

Do Pitbull Puppies’ Coats change color as they grow?

Pitbull puppies change their fluffy and soft fur to their canine adult short and coarse coats. Pitbulls have more than 30 colors and patterns, and it’s very rare to find two Pitbulls that are exactly the same in their coat color and pattern.

The most common colors in Pitbulls are black, white, blue, red, fawn, brown, and brindle. The most special and rarest of them all is the tri-color (and it’s also the most expensive, no surprises there). Tri-color Pitbulls have a coat that is made of three colors.

You can learn why tri-colored dogs are rare and expensive in this guide to the tri-colored American bullies.

Why do puppies’ coats change color?

The main reason for color change in dogs is simply the natural aging process. Though some factors might affect a dog’s coat color such as:

Medications

Sunlight
Poor Nutrition
Skin disease

When do Pitbulls start to change color?

Most puppies lose their original coats between the age of 6 months and 18 months, Some Pitbulls will not have their full adult coats until they are 2 years old or more.

Pitbulls change their puppy’s eyes color too. They change it between the age of 6 to 10 months.

Their eyes and coat color change doesn’t happen overnight. It can take up to 1 year from this point for eyes and coat to take their permanent color.

By the way, Pitbulls have fur coats, not hair coats, and you can learn more about Pitbulls’ fur coats here.

What color will your Pitbull be? 3 Easy ways to tell

The Pitbull breed has many different types, colors, and patterns, this may give you a hard time knowing which coat color your pups will be when they grow up.

Family Pictures

Check the puppy parent picture to know their coat colors and if they have older siblings you can check their coat color too cause 80% of puppies get their coat color from their family.

Ask the breeder

The breeder knows the puppy family and their coat color history and this will make it easier for you. Ask him/her about their expectation for the dog’s adult coat color.

DNA

The main factor to define your dog’s coat color is their genes.

The genes determine coat color by controlling the cells to make eumelanin, and others to make phaeomelanin, also genes can order cells to stop making pigment, Here are simple ways to identify the 8 genes that define your dog’s coat color:

A (agouti) locus

This locus is responsible to balance and switching between the two pigments (eumelanin and phaeomelanin) which create the different coat patterns.

E (extension) locus

This locus has four alleles that can create dogs’ black facial masks and yellow or red coats. These are the four alleles:

Em, melanistic mask

Eg, grizzle
E, Black
E, red

K (dominant black) locus:

This site is responsible for creating brindle, black and fawn coats.

B (brown) locus: This locus is linked to brown, chocolate, and liver.

This gene relates to brown, chocolate, and liver coats. Also, in the yellow or red families, this gene can change their nose and footpads color to brown. The brown locus has two alleles which are:

B, dominant brown

B, recessive brown

The black pigment needs to get two recessive (bb) to change into brown.

D (dilute) locus:

This gene is responsible for creating light coat colors such as gray, blue, and pale brown. These gene alleles are:

D, dominant full color
d, recessive dilute

The black pigment needs to get two recessive (dd) to change into pale colors.

M (merle) locus:

Merle is one of the rarest pitbull coats. The dogs with red or yellow coats won’t have the chance to become merle but they still have a few chances to produce merle puppies.

This locus creates a mutation that changes the black pigments only to irregularly shaped batches.

H (harlequin) locus:

This site also creates different patterns of coats, but this is related to dogs with white dogs who have black patches.

S (spotting) locus:

This locus is responsible for creating artistic coats color with symmetric such as the random white spots coats.

Each one of these loci could work alone or in combination with others to create the dog coat color and sometimes dogs have some hidden genes that won’t appear in their coats but they will pass it to their puppies, and this is why puppies’ colors are not identical with their parents.

What is the rarest pitbull color?

Tri-color Pitbulls are the rarest coat color which is coats that contain three colors. Most of the time, these tri-color coats are a combination of one base color which is black or blue and the other color could be brown, tan, red, or fawn.

Black

This is the most common color in the tri-color Pitbulls. They are a combination of black as a base color with tan and white on their neck, chest, and around the legs.

Liver or chocolate

These Pitbulls have a shin brown coat with patches of tan or light brown shades on their face, chest, and around their neck, plus white under the neck and chest.

Merle

Merle Pitbulls are a new breed and some studies say that this breed has poor health but they don’t have enough evidence yet.

This pitbull has a merle coat pattern that usually contains shades of black or red that are scattered or swirled over blue and white.

They are famously known for their blue eyes or odd eyes such as blue and tan. I have a guide on Merle Bullies here that is definitely worth checking out.

Lilac

This is the rarest tri-color Pitbulls because it’s hard to breed them. They have a lilac base color with white under their neck and tan around ears, paws, snout, and hindlegs.

Blue

These Pitbulls is known as (blue nose Pitbulls) and it is rare as lilac. Their base color is dark blue or bright silver with white and tan on their face, chest, neck, and legs

Purple

Purple Pitbulls have a blue base coat with a shade that makes the blue look like purple with a special tan marking and white under the chest and neck.

Remember that the color of your pitbull doesn’t have any effect on their personality or behavior, and we believe just because a dog is a certain or a rare color doesn’t mean he is worth more.

There are many unethical breeders and shops out there that will try to sell you “special” or “rare” dogs for a lot more money, but remember that all dogs are equal, and that the dogs looking for home in the nearest shelter to you are ready to give you just much as love and affection and will not empty your wallet.

All dogs are good dogs, and every dog is a special one. Please consider adopting from your local rescue or shelter and save a life instead of spending money that will support unethical breeding practices. #adoptdontshop

Do Pitbull Puppies’ Coat Change Color As They Grow?