It is well known that stress, emotions, bereavements and intense anxiety can cause premature greying of the hair. What was not known is that in dogs, our faithful life companions, stressful events can also cause grey and white hairs and a greying coat. A study carried out in the United States by a team of veterinarians led by Dr Camille King, a veterinary surgeon from Denver, in the American state of Colorado, has shed light on the close relationship between stress and premature white fur in dogs.

A study on stress in dogs

For some time there had been a suspicion that stress could be spoken of in dogs too, and that prolonged stressful events led to premature greying of the coat in our four-legged friends, particularly around the muzzle and eyes. Now, however, the American research reaffirms and confirms this in a scientific and detailed manner. Published in the journal Applied animal behaviour science (December 2016 issue), the research was no simple undertaking and involved as many as 400 owners who were asked to complete a specific questionnaire of 42 questions relating to the character of their dogs. The questions also deliberately included "misleading" items so as to "distract" the respondents, in order not to influence their answers and to make the whole process as neutral and objective as possible. Furthermore, in the interest of the study's reliability, dogs with light-coloured coats were excluded owing to the objective difficulty of identifying early white hairs, and the selected subjects were at most four years of age (otherwise the likelihood of coat greying for age-related reasons would have been too high).

When dogs suffer from stress too

The researchers focused above all on the tendency towards anxiety in the dogs examined and on their impulsive temperament. With regard to the latter aspect, the researchers looked at the dogs' desire to play and their hyperactivity, excessive "greeting" behaviour and the tendency to play even after a long walk, as well as the subjects' difficulty in maintaining sustained concentration. They also assessed how, in these cases, the owner's commands and reassurances could help restore a state of calm in the dogs examined. Possible hair loss during veterinary visits, the habit of destroying objects when left home alone, and displays of fear in the presence of strangers were then evaluated and analysed. Finally, the concluding phase of the Denver research involved the analysis of photographs of the animals, in order to classify them according to a scale ranging from zero (no white hairs) to three (completely white).

The conclusions of the research on dogs and stress

At the end of the study it emerged that female subjects showed a greater tendency to go grey than males, and that subjects who showed fear of loud noises or thunderstorms and those who suffered early from "separation anxiety" were also more prone to developing a grey coat. No correlation was found, however, with neutering or spaying of the subjects examined, nor with belonging to particular breeds. Similarly, medical procedures and operations did not prove to be significant factors. What remains, at this point, is simply the observation that stress now holds sway even over our four-legged friends, and that a peaceful life, as natural as possible, is beneficial not only for us but for our dogs at home too.