The Colour of Dogs

There have been a number of threads recently taking about a dog's coat or the colour of the eyes.

I hope she doesn't mind me quoting her, but I thought this was a brilliant comment by Kazz

But it has really made me think and here are some questions to ponder:

Why are a variety of colours acceptable in some breeds whereas for others even a few 'incorrect' coloured hairs would be frowned on?

How many of our existing breeds really need to be the colours they are for reasons other than pure aesthetics? (e.g. health or working)

Are dog owners in general too focused on the looks of our dogs?

If colour really doesn't matter, what would become of breeds such as Dalmatians where the markings are such an integral part of the breed?

If colour does matter, how can we criticise people for being willing to pay more for a colour they prefer?

Where do you draw the line?

Some dogs are just meant to be certain colours..

samoyeds..white (or variations of, cream, biscuit)

Why would you want a yellow Sammy or a black one

That quote by Kazz is the famous quote made by Max von Stephanitz breed founder of the German Shepherd Dog, and he's probably right in what he says!

However, where there is choice we can always make a choice can't we, some people have preferences, and if there's a choice to be made I for one will make it. I would never in a million years have gone out and purchased a WHITE german shepherd dog, they just didn't appeal to me, I like to see my gsd's in their standard colour and markings, but would I swap my white gsd - again, never in a million years!

I know there are a long list of things to consider prior to considering what colour a dog is, but as I said, if you do have the choice, then why not make it? In humans, when finding a mate to spend the rest of our lives with, not only do we consider important things first, such as kindness and likeability etc., but I would also consider looks to come into the equasion somewhere along the line? I would never have married a man who didn't APPEAL to me, just because he was kind and had a good s.o.h would I???!!! No, don't think I would!

There are 19 colour variations of Border Collie, and given the choice.....i would still go for a black and white


Jann

Irish Setters are allowed to have a certain amount of white in them - my 3 all have a white flash on their chests. We call it a "Wendover" flash.

The kennel club list as breed standard:

"Colour - Rich chestnut with no trace of black. White on chest, throat, chin or toes, or small star on forehead or narrow streak or blaze on nose or face not to disqualify"

A couple of pups from the litters Duke sired had white on them when they were very small - one of them had what appeared to be a large patch of white on his head - we nicknamed him "Smudge". He is now nearly 3 years old and we are told by his owners that it all but disappeared.

you can get white on rotties, its not desirable but it happens, Holly has a few white hairs on her chest, It makes no diff to me,

many rotties have white hairs on them, many rottie owners blatently fib about white in there lines,

dont get me wrong a white patch is not ideal, but a few white hairs dont bother me..

I have had some white in both of my litters, lets face it, all my dogs are from top show kennels so it had to come from somewhere?

look at danny, hes long coat,

In RR, their colour should range from light wheaten to dark red wheaten so they merge into the Bush when they are hunting. Some breeders breed to either end of the colour scale especially very dark reds which look almost mahogany.
Me, I like something in the middle but colour came way down in my list of priorities when choosing a pup.

White is allowed on the chest and feet but not socks.

Hi Hali in some instances a different coat colour can mean a different coat texture, this is particularly so in double coated breeds. Allow a different colour to become acceptable in a breed and this could change the whole nature of a dogs coat.

So why would this matter, in some breeds coat texture plays an important part in keeping out the elements, change the colour (and texture) of the coat and the dogs is not so well equipped to cope with various weather conditions and therefore to do its job.

I am aware polar bears have a specialised coat ,I wonder if some of the Nordic breeds have coats with similar qualities..

Weims can also have a flash of white on their chest which is permissible but I don't like to see it personally, a few white hairs is different to a large patch. The reason weims were bred for the colour they are was to distinguish them from the other pointing and retrieving breeds, otherwise they would have been black. Imagine a GSP, a Weim and a Viz all black, they would be very difficult to tell apart.

But colours within the same breeds differs as some breeds have a lot of variations and some have just one. Where there is those with the variation, everyone has a preference but it doesn't matter as long as the dog is well bred, the point is everything else should come before colour but sadly a lot of times it does not.

the tan markings on rottie can vary from washed out lemon to right mahogany also,

I have to say Im not keen on the very light shades, if the shade is too light it is not desirable,

sooty marking on the tan are not desirable either, holly is a prime example of a sooty dog,

but I have found over all in the ring, it wont hold her back to much,
many judges will be a bit forgiving so long as the dog is well put together and moves well.