# Color change and weight gain - when does it start/stop?



## havmum

Hi friendly Hav crew!

Just curious:

(1) When does a Hav start or stop changing color? My puppy is almost 7 months and mostly black with white tummy and paws. He hasn't started changing color yet - when will that happen? If he changes color, when does it stop? Or do they sometimes not change color?

(2) When do they stop growing? He's about 11 pounds now and I'm wondering if he's full grown or if he has a few more months and pounds to go.

Thanks everyone!


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## ruthann

At 10 weeks Annabelle weighed 2 lbs. She is now 21 months old, and has gained 1 and a half pounds in the last month. She now weighs 9 lbs. 8 ozs. I think she should be at her full weight. All the dogs in her pedigree weighed between eight and ten pounds when full grown.
She was born snow white. Her parents were black and white, parties, Her body is still snow white, but her beard is ale colored with black tips. The black tips hardly show. I know they are there but in pictures they bearly show. The color on her face did not begin to show until she was about a year old. It will be interesting to see if the face returns to the pure white that her entire body is.


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## Missy

Hi Havmum. not all Havanese change color. I am pretty sure most of the white Havs and Black Havs stay their color- although some black Havs do silver or turn blue (dark charcoal.) It is the sables and the brindles that change most dramatically. (Jasper my white dog was a brown sable and white puppy) But I have been told they can lighten and then darken again when they are about 3 or 4 years old. 

They say by 10 months most of the growing is done--- but I know Jasper gained both height and weight after a year. I sure hope Cash (11 months) is done gorwing- he is 18lbs.... 

Welcome to the forum.


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## Lina

Like Missy said, not all Havs change colors. I've noticed especially the black and white ones tend to keep their colors pretty well (though that's not always true).

I was told that by 6 months they should stop growing in height but not weight. Weight wise, I'm not sure, but based on what I've noticed from what other people say I would say anywhere between 9-12 months.


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## Atomickittyn

How tall is Jasper? Yoyo is now 12.5 lbs at (almost) 6 months and he's quite long but doesn't look proportionally taller...


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## Havtahava

havmum said:


> Hi friendly Hav crew!
> 
> Just curious:
> 
> (1) When does a Hav start or stop changing color? My puppy is almost 7 months and mostly black with white tummy and paws. He hasn't started changing color yet - when will that happen? If he changes color, when does it stop? Or do they sometimes not change color?
> 
> (2) When do they stop growing? He's about 11 pounds now and I'm wondering if he's full grown or if he has a few more months and pounds to go.
> 
> Thanks everyone!


Every Hav is different, but the best estimates will come by knowing what happens in the family lines. I have some very fast maturing and some very slow maturing Havanese, with two that are middle of the road. Likewise, color changes happen a lot in some dogs and not much in others. My black girl, Hillary, didn't start changing colors at all until she was almost two years old. Now she has a beautiful slate color streak in her tail, but everything else has stayed the same as when she was a puppy.


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## Amy R.

I would guess that at 7 months/11 lbs he will top out at 15 or more around a year old. My guy is 12 mos and I think he's still growing (at 15#). My dogsitter calls him the Studebaker (for those of you of a certain age.).


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## irnfit

Shelby just turned 1 yr. She is 11 lbs. Her color has changed a little. She lost the white streak in her head and has silvered a little.

Kodi will be 2 yr old in a few weeks. He is 11.4 lbs. He started out gold/sable and white. By 7 mos all his color was gone and he was white. He is now cream/white with some of his gold coloring back enough to be noticeable. When we were outside today, I noticed that his tail had a lot of gold in it also.


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## littlebuddy

django was jet black and white as a pup, the breeder told he us would turn grey where black just like his dad. there are definite spots where he is grey but he's mostly black. i don't think he's going to change any more, he's almost 4. he max out his weight of 9 lbs at a year.


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## whitBmom

Oreo seems to be steady with his colour, as it is reddish black, but his tail is going light grey - really neat!  As for height, well for the longest time he was more long than he was tall and now he is proportional and he has pretty long legs. This seemed to happen in the last 3 months. Oreo will be 1yr November 5th - boy does time fly. As for his weight, he weighed in today at 10.1lbs, so I believe he will be pretty close to the estimate my vet made of 11 lbs. I don't believe he will grow anymore but I am sure he may put on more muscle.


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## irnfit

Kodi and Oreo share a b'day, but kodi will be two.


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## whitBmom

Oh Wow!! That is so neat


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## Missy

Jasper is close to 13" at the whithers. give or take a 1/2 and inch it was kind of hard to measure. he is a pretty proportionate dog

Cash is longer than he is tall. I am hoping he grows in height a bit--- but then he would prob top 20 LBS.


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## jolynn

Skiver is a black/white parti, but he is changing colors because he has that...gene...can't remember the name, but under his coat he has black spots EVERYWHERE and the hair coming in there is turning black. It's like what dalmations have. So he is really changing. It's kind of cool. For a while it seemed like he got new spots everyday. He is still small at 11 months (almost 5 pounds) and will stay that way. Shaw is the one who is changing colors, too, because he is a chocolate, he is lightening up a bit.


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## irnfit

Joanne, it's called belton.


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## jolynn

Thanks Michele! Belten...even his tail has a black streak thru it. I call him my little shrimp tail!


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## irnfit

Shelby has black spots all over, too.


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