What do you think when you see that a dog should be merle, roan, or have ticking? Doesn't make any sense? Now it will! Here is a guide to dog colors!
| Color |
Description |
| ASCOB |
This term is used for Cocker Spaniels and is an abbreviation for "Any Solid Color Other Than Black". |
| Belton |
This describes flecking or ticking. Refers to the white with blue, orange, lemon or liver ticking with English Setters |
| Biscuit |
Light yellow/brown |
| Black and Silver |
The base coat is black and has silver markings |
| Black and Tan |
The base coat is black with tan markings |
| Blenheim |
Chestnut red markings on a white background. The English Toy Spaniel and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel are examples of this. |
| Blue and Tan |
The base coat has a blue-gray coloring with tan markings. |
| Boston |
Black and white dog that has a black mantle and white face, collar, legs and chest. |
| Brindle |
Light background, often gray or tawny, with darker streaks or flecks, sometimes called a tiger pattern. |
| Broken color |
Solid color that is interrupted by white or another color. |
| Cafe au lait |
Pale brown color similar to coffee with milk, like found on Poodles . |
| Chestnut |
reddish brown |
| Collar |
Markings circling the neck that are usually white |
| Dappled |
Dogs found with cloud-like or round patches of color on their coats in addition to the background= no one color is usually dominate. The Dachshund is a good example. |
| Dead grass |
Dull, straw like color used to describe on of the Chesapeake Bay Retriever's coat colors. |
| Domino |
Reverse facial masks pattern- lighter colored around the eyes. Example is the Afghan Hound . |
| Dun |
Varies from neutral to slightly brownish dark gray. |
| Fawn |
light brown. |
| Flashings |
White markings on the chest, neck, feet or tail tip. |
| Golden Liver |
Reddish brown with golden overtones, such as with the Sussex Spaniel . |
| Grizzle |
Black or red hairs mixed with white hairs, usually blue or gray, such as in the Scottish Terrier . |
| Harlequin |
White with distinct, irregular black patches like found on the Great Dane . |
| Hound-marked |
White, tan and black, usually white with black and tan markings. |
| Irish Marked |
A solid colored mantle, with white on the face, legs, chest, collar and tip of the tail, such as with the Saluki. |
| Isabella |
Fawn, mouse, or light red color. |
| Landseer |
Refers to a Newfoundland with a white base color and black markings. |
| Lemon |
Bright yellow color |
| Lion |
Tawny colored. |
| Liver |
Deep reddish brown. |
| Mantle |
Color on shoulders and back, somewhat down the sides. |
| Mask |
Dark shadings on the foreface, particularly around the eyes. |
| Merle |
A swirled color pattern of dark blotches on a lighter background of the same pigment. Usually black flecks marking a blue-gray coat. |
| Mole |
Any color coat shaded with gray. |
| Parti-Colored |
Having patches of two or more colors, one of which is white. |
| Pied |
Large patches of two or more colors, also called piebald, parti colored and pinto. |
| Pinto |
White coat with colored patches covering more than half the white. |
| Roan |
Red, black or brown base color muted and lightened by a mixture of white hairs. |
| Sable |
Gold, fawn, silver, or gray coat hairs tipped with black. |
| Salt and Pepper |
Light or dark gray sprinkled with black and white, like with the Schnauzer . |
| Sand |
Yellowish gray |
| Seal |
Black with red cast, usually in Boston Terriers. |
| Self-colored |
All one color, other than slight shading variations. |
| Sesame |
Red hairs with black tips. |
| Stag red |
Deep red with black hairs. |
| Ticking |
Small areas of colored hairs on a white background. Also called flecking or speckling. |
| Tri-colored |
A combination of three colors, black, tan and white, like the Bernese Mountain Dog . |
| Wheaten |
Degrees of brown or tan ranging from light fawn to mahogany red. |
| Whitelies |
White body color with red or dark markings, such as on the Pembroke Welsh Corgi . |
| Wolf |
Gray sable. |
