Different Dog Colors and Dog Marking

One of the confusing aspects of color is that a specific word used to describe color in one breed may describe a subtly different color in another. Red and gold are prime examples, as both can range through various different hues. Grey is another color which varies widely, ranging from light silver-grey to dark grizzle.

Understanding coloring to exacerbate the problems of defining color, some breeds change color with age. The Kerry Blue Terrier does not acquire its typical blue color until maturing from puppy hood, while in a number of breeds black dogs turn grey with age. Bitches may change color due to hormonal change within the course of a year. Some breeds have coats in a wide variety of colors, but if their breed standard requires nose pigment to be black, effectively liver and chocolate coats cannot be accepted. This is because the dogs' genetic make-up means that pigment will be of a corresponding color and not black.

Then there are color combinations such as black and tan, liver and white or tri-colors which are black, tan and white. A parti-colored dog is one which has white with another color broken up in fairly equal proportions, whilst pinto, also termed piebald, indicates irregular black patches superimposed on a white background.

MERLING
Merling as seen in the Shetland Sheepdog, is due to a dominant color pattern expressed as irregular dark blotches against a lighter background, both being of the same general basic pigment. The term 'merling' is usually applied to breeds with long coats but there are some short-coated breeds so colored. One such is the Smooth Collie, another the Cardigan Corgi. The term 'dapple' is often used as an alternative. Perhaps blue merle is the color one most associates with this particular color type, but there can also be other variations such as liver merle or red merle.

TICKING
Ticking is a term often used in relation to Gundog and Hound breeds. It means that very small areas of hair are of a different color to the basic ground color. Ticking is usually distributed throughout the coat and often indicates dark spots on a lighter ground. Ticking, sometimes called ticks, can also be referred to as flecks or speckles.

SABLE
Sable is a specific coat color pattern which is produced by black-tipped hairs overlaid on a differently colored background. Sables can be of various colors, such as grey-sable, silver-sable, gold-sable and so on. The undercoat is usually light in color and dogs with sable coats frequently also have dark masks.

BRINDLE
A brindle-colored coat is one in which a subtle striped effect is produced by black or dark hairs against a background of lighter colored hair.

SADDLE MARKINGS AND BLANKETS
Both saddle markings and blankets are areas of usually dark or black coat over the region of the back, but blankets are marking that extend further down the flank of the dog than do saddles. These terms are frequently used in relation to hound breeds.

MASK
A mask is usually dark hair on the head, forming a pattern which is like a mask. Often, as for example in the Boxer and Great Dane, it affects only the region of the muzzle, but in other breeds it can be a mask around the eyes and on the top part of the head, as can often be seen in the Alaskan Malamute. Apart from color, the term 'mask' is also sometimes used when the length of coat varies, being shorter on the head than on the rest of the body.

PIPS
Pips are spots above the eyes of most breeds which are black and tan in color. This term is not used universally for all breeds but such markings can be seen typically in the Dobermann, Rottweiler and Gordon Setter. In black and tan Basenjis these marks are frequently known as 'melon pips'.

PENCILINGS
Penciling is the term usually used to describe the black markings which run along the top of each toe, as in the English Toy Terrier.

STOCKINGS AND SOCKS
The term, ‘stockings' is used for areas of usually white coat covering most of the leg and creating a striking contrast from the main coat color. When the color only covers the feet or reaches up the pastern no further than the wrist in front and/or behind hocks, it is referred to as the 'socks'.
 
SPLASHED
A splashed coat is one which has irregular markings, usually white ones, on a more deeply colored background. Often splashing is an undesirable type of coat marking, but not in all breeds.

SPECTACLES
The circular, light-colored areas around each eye, typically in the Keeshond breed, are usually called spectacles.

DOGS LOZENGE MARK OR SPOT The terms ‘lozenge mark' or ‘spot', which can sometimes also be known as the 'kissing spot', are used for single marks positioned in the centre of the skull, which is highly typical of the Blenheim-colored Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Although usually relating to marks on the head, these lozenges or spots can also be found on other parts of the dog's body, such as the chest.