A lady I often see when I'm in the park with my dog has a black labrador who is turning brown. It's not as noticable on the top but on her sides and especially when she's stood next to another black dog it's really noticeable.
Could the sun have bleached her hair?

are you sure it is not just a very dark chocolate lab? people often think max is a black lab as he is a very dark choccie?

Definately a black lab until about 1 month ago. Very strange.

Could be hormonal?

I would be interested to hear replies on this, as my dads black Lab who is 10 is turning brown on his sides too.

My black lab is 5 and is still jet black.

Ooops should have mentioned shes approx 12-14 month old

I'm not sure what causes it, but this is not uncommon with black labs. I once used a Field Trial champion stud dog with this colouring and his father was exactly the same. His owners put it down to the type of soil in that area discolouring the water they swam in. However not all their black dogs had this. None of the pups from that litter inherited it though.

Some seem to have a brown colouring permanently and others at certain stages of their moulting cycle. Some seem to develop it in later years, and others seem to have it all their lives.

I've also seen it suggested that it is something in / not in their food. Also the sun could be a cause. Whatever, it never seems to be any other bother to the dog.

Lots of black cats seem to have a similar type of discolouration.

Our black bitch has chocolate highligts - her father was chocolate. It's most attractive and people often comment favourably on her colouring. Her puppies are either solid black or solid chocolate.

Never saw that in a black. My chocolate gets bleached out a little in the summer.

My black lab (18months) is still black but i have a black cat, in the winter she is beautiful and black all over but in the summer she goes brown from the sun, it looks horrible because its so patchy.

Heidi

My 12 mth old black lab has brown hair on her hind legs.  Mother was yellow father was black.