Colour term list- Including body part diagram
Colour Terms
The frustrating thing about dog genetics is the vast array of different names given to the same colours in different breeds. For example, genetically recessive red Labradors are “yellow” but Golden Retrievers are “golden”. You can’t have a golden Labrador or a yellow Golden Retriever, yet they’re genetically the same colour! This can be a bit of a barrier when it comes to working out the genetics of particular breeds, so to make things easier, here’s a list of some of the terms you’ll find (either on breed standards or just being used by breeders), and what they actually mean in terms of the genetics we’ve studied on this site.
Term |
Breeds |
What it means |
---|---|---|
Albino |
Dobermann |
Not thought to be real albino, just a dog with very, very diluted pigment |
ASCOB |
American Cocker Spaniel |
Any solid colour other than black |
Ash |
Various – general term |
Isabella (liver dilute, bbdd) or very washed-out red |
Banding |
Various – general term |
When hairs have bands of more than one colour. Associated with agouti (aw) |
Beauty spot |
Various, but mainly Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and King Charles Spaniel (English Toy Spaniel) |
Coloured spot in the middle of the forehead blaze on a piebald dog |
Belge |
Affenpinscher |
Sable with black tipping |
Belton |
English Setter |
Roan or heavy ticking in any colour |
Bi-black |
Shetland Sheepdog |
Black and white with no tan markings |
Bi-blue |
Shetland Sheepdog |
Blue merle and white with no tan markings |
Biscuit |
Samoyed, American Eskimo |
Cream (appearing either as patches or on the whole of the dog) |
Black and silver |
Various – general term |
Black with tan points (atat) which have been diluted to off-white by the Intensity gene |
Black brindle |
Various – general term |
Heavily brindled dog (i.e. with thick black stripes, so very little red shows through) |
Blenheim |
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and King Charles Spaniel (English Toy Spaniel) |
Deep, clear red (recessive red, ee) with white markings in the piebald pattern. The same colour as the Red and White Setter |
Blue fawn |
Basenji, Rat Terrier |
Sable with blue (diluted black, dd) pigment, or sable with isabella (diluted liver, bbdd) pigment, giving a grey/blue cast to the coat |
Blue roan |
Various – general term |
Black-pigmented dog with roaned white, which appears a bluish colour |
Boston |
Great Dane, Boston Terrier |
Black (or brindle) dog with white markings in the irish spotting pattern |
Brindlequin |
Great Dane |
Harlequin with brindle patches |
Bronzing |
Various – general term |
A brownish cast to the coat of a longhaired black dog, usually caused by sun bleaching |
Butterfly nose |
Various – general term |
Partly pink nose on a merle |
Charcoal |
Various – general term |
Very dark blue dilute (dd), often appearing almost black |
Check |
Boxer |
Brindle or fawn (sable) boxer with the piebald white pattern |
Chocolate |
Various, but particularly the Labrador |
Liver (bb) |
Clear-coloured |
Various – general term |
One solid colour all over (i.e. no sabling on a red dog). Clear-coloured dogs may still have white markings (white is not a colour) |
Copper |
Siberian Husky |
Reddish liver (bb) |
Creeping tan |
Various – general term |
Pattern inbetween traditional tan points and saddle. Generally the tan covers the whole of the muzzle and eyebrows, most of the legs, and the front of the chest. Probably caused by a modifier that extends the normal tan points |
Cryptic merle |
Various – general term |
Merle dog with little or no visible merling, i.e. one which appears solid black (or liver, etc) |
Dapple |
Dachshund |
Merle |
Dark merle |
Various – general term |
A merle dog with a dark grey base coat (rather than the usual light grey). This is caused by intermingled black hairs |
Deadgrass |
Chesapeake Bay Retriever |
Light liver-pigmented red. A duller shade than sedge. |
Dilute spot |
Various – general term |
Patch on a merle which is lighter than the other dark patches |
Domino |
Afghan Hound |
Usually a dog with a greyish/brown back and cream/white underparts, caused by the grizzle gene (Eg) |
Dorsal stripe |
Various – general term |
Dark line along the back, often caused by sabling |
Dudley nose |
Various – general term |
Pink or liver nose |
Fawn |
Various – general term |
Clear sable, usually with a black mask |
Fawn |
Dobermann |
Isabella (dilute liver) with tan points |
Fawnequin |
Great Dane |
Harlequin Great Dane with sable (fawn) patches rather than black. Black patches may still appear on the muzzle, where most Danes have black masks |
Fawn merle |
Various – general term |
Sable merle. In clear sables, merle may only be visible on the mask (if present) |
Flashy |
Various – general term |
A dog with more white than normal for its breed, or a dog with clear white (no ticking) |
Flecking |
Various – general term |
Ticking |
Flowered |
Shar Pei |
Piebald |
Ginger merle |
Cardigan Welsh Corgi |
Brindle merle with an orangey base coat |
Grizzle |
Saluki |
Black/brown with tan points/underparts. Caused by grizzle gene Eg, as in domino Afghan Hounds |
Grizzle |
Terriers |
Intermingled brown and black hairs (usually on a saddle) |
Harlequin |
Australian Shepherd |
Merle dog with white patches in its merling (caused by an unidentified modifier – probably the same as tweed) |
Harlequin |
Beauceron |
Blue merle with tan points |
Harlequin |
Great Dane |
Merle modifier which dilutes the grey parts on a merle to white, leaving jet black patches on a white base. Overall appearance is similar to a Holstein cow |
Havana Brown |
Havanese |
Black brindle (brindle with very thick black stripes). When the coat grows in, such dogs can appear to be a brownish colour, like liver but without liver pigment |
Isabella |
Various – general term |
Dilute liver (bb on the B locus and dd on the D locus) |
Isabella |
Shar Pei |
A light, dullish red dog with a blue mask and blue sabling (so a blue dilute sable, dd) |
Isabella |
Siberian Husky |
Off-white (light cream), caused by dilution of phaeomelanin (red). May have a black or liver saddle. |
Ivory |
Various – general term |
A solid white dog with a slight cream sheen |
King Charles |
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and King Charles Spaniel (English Toy Spaniel) |
Black with traditional tan markings (atat) |
Lavender |
Shar Pei |
Light purplish tongue colour on a dilute Shar Pei |
Light red (and red) |
Siberian Husky |
Light reddish liver (bb). Dark liver is called copper in this breed. |
Lilac |
Shar Pei |
Isabella |
Lion |
Ibizan Hound |
Light red |
Maltese blue |
Various – general term |
Blue (diluted black, dd) |
Mantle |
Great Dane |
White markings in the irish spotting pattern (muzzle, neck, chest, lower legs and tail tip) |
Mask |
Various – general term |
Black (or liver, isabella, or blue) on the muzzle area (may include the eyebrows and the ears), caused by the Em gene |
Merlequin (aka merlekin, merlikin) |
Great Dane |
Double merle. The double merle causes broken patches of merle on a white base, giving a pattern similar to harlequin (but more regular) |
Minimal merle |
Various – general term |
Merle dog with very little visible merling. In effect, an almost completely black (or liver, etc) dog with just a small patch of diluted fur |
Mosaic |
Various – general term |
Generally a red dog with random black sections on its coat, caused by a very rare somatic mutation |
Mosaic spot |
Dalmatian |
A red or tan spot on an otherwise black-spotted Dalmatian. Caused by a mutation |
Muddy merle |
Various – general term |
Blue merle with a brownish sheen to the grey parts of the coat |
Mustard |
Dandie Dinmont Terrier |
Light tan (probably sable) with white furnishings and head |
Onyx brindle |
Various – general term |
Black brindle (thick black stripes) |
Particolour |
Various – general term |
Any dog with two distinct colours in its coat |
Pearl |
Rat Terrier |
Isabella (diluted liver, bbdd) |
Pencilling |
Various – general term |
Black lines on the toes of a tan-pointed dog |
Pepper |
Dandie Dinmont Terrier |
Black with tan points (atat) diluted to white by the Intensity gene. The black is diluted to silver by the progressive greying gene (G). Appearance is of a light grey dog with white underparts. |
Phantom merle |
Various – general term |
Dog which has the merle gene, but is solid red because of the recessive red gene (ee) or clear sable. As there is no visible merling, it can be impossible to tell the dog is a merle |
Pinto |
Akita |
Piebald |
Pips |
Various – general term |
Tan markings above the eyebrows and on the cheeks on a tan-pointed dog |
Platinum |
Various – general term |
Silvery white |
Points |
Various – general term |
Markings (usually tan, or a variant of) on the sides of the muzzle, the neck, chest, eyebrows, lower legs and vent |
Porcelaine |
Great Dane |
Harlequin with patches of any colour other than black |
Powder merle |
Various – general term |
Pale-coloured merle with only a few dark patches |
Prince Charles |
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and King Charles Spaniel (English Toy Spaniel) |
Tricolour (black with tan points and white markings) |
Red speckle |
Australian Cattle Dog |
Red roan |
Reverse brindle |
Various – general term |
Black brindle (very heavy black striping) |
Ruby |
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and King Charles Spaniel (English Toy Spaniel) |
Deep, clear red (recessive red, ee) |
Sable |
German Shepherd Dog |
Agouti or wolf grey (aw) |
Salt and pepper |
Schnauzer |
Wolf grey (agouti, aw, with very strong dilution of phaeomelanin, turning the red to white). Appears as a grey dog with white points in the traditional tan point pattern. On longer fur, banded hairs are visible |
Seal |
Various – general term |
Appears black with a brownish tinge. Genetic basis is unknown. |
Sedge |
Chesapeake Bay Retriever |
Liver-pigmented sable, sometimes with a liver mask |
Sesame |
Shiba Inu |
Shaded red sable with urajiro markings |
Silver brindle |
Various – general term |
Brindle with greyish stripes (but not a blue brindle – silver brindles are not dilutes) |
Slate |
Various – general term |
Dark blue (which is diluted black, dd) |
Slate merle |
Various – general term |
Merle with diluted pigment, dd (i.e. a proper ‘blue’ merle!) |
Sooty |
Various – general term |
Sable with black sabling “muddying” the red. Sometimes called a sabled fawn. |
Spectacles |
Keeshond |
Cream colour around the eyes on a wolf grey dog |
Splash coat |
Siberian Husky |
Piebald |
Tiger brindle |
Various – general term |
Light brindle with sparse stripes |
Tricolour (tri) |
Various – general term |
Literally “three colours”. Usually a black and tan-pointed dog with white markings (to any extent), although liver, blue and isabella tris occur too |
Tricolour |
Terriers and hounds |
Tan dog with a black saddle and white markings (to any extent) |
Trim |
Various – general term |
A small amount of white on the chest, muzzle, toes and/or tail tip |
Trindle |
Various – general term |
Brindle tricolour (i.e. black with brindle points and white markings. Brindle never appears as the main colour on a tan-pointed dog) |
Tweed (tweed merle) |
Various – general term |
Modified merle, causing patches of brown and tan to appear on a blue merle. |
Urajiro |
Shiba Inu and others |
White markings on the underside, roughly following the same pattern as tan points. Urajiro is caused by a specific gene and affects only phaeomelanin (red) |
Vent marking |
Various – general term |
Tan patch under the tail on a tan-pointed dog |
White collar |
Various – general term |
White reaching all the way around the neck |
Widow’s peak |
Various – general term |
Brown or black marking running down the middle of the forehead on a shaded sable dog |
Wolf grey |
Various – general term |
Agouti (aw) with phaeomelanin dilution turning the base coat to grey and the points to cream, leaving some black on the back. This is the colour of the Keeshond and Norwegian Elkhound. |
Apricot |
Various |
Used to describe various shades of red, from the lightest (cream) to the darkest (mahogany) |
Parts of the Body
Just a diagram with some of the main terms used to describe body parts in dogs. This may help if you’re trying to interpret breed standards.
“Dog Coat Colour Genetics.” Dog Coat Colour Genetics. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 June 2014.