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Home
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> Colors and Markings
Aussie Colors and Markings
Australian Shepherds Have a Wide Range of Coat Colors and Patterns
Allowing for Great Variety
Colour Gene Pair
Pattern Gene Pair
Tan Points and White Markings
Aussie 16 Basic Color Combinations Chart
Australian Shepherd Dog Breed Books
Aussie colors and markings
come in an amazing variety of combinations but are really
only made up of two gene pairs.
The first gene pair controls which colour an Aussie will be.
Australian Shepherds are either black or red.
The second gene pair controls the pattern and whether the coat
will be solid or merle. We'll talk about this gene pair later,
but first...
Color Gene Pair
In the gene pair that controls
colour the black is dominant and is denoted by a B.
The recessive red is denoted by a b.
This means that there are three possible combinations that an
Aussie could inherit. They could be BB, Bb
or bb.
When the inherited gene pairs are the same such as BB
or bb this is referred
to as homozygous as they have the same gene on each chromosome.
In a case where Bb
is inherited and we have a different gene on each chromosome it
is called heterozygous.
So, a dog with BB has two genes that are dominant
for black. They will be black and will only produce puppies that
are also black. Since it only has dominant genes to give its puppies
would all inherit the dominant B gene and would
be black even if mated to a bb.
A dog with the Bb
gene pair is a black dog but it carries the recessive b
gene for the red color. These dogs are called red carriers
or red factored. If bred with a BB this
dog would produce puppies that were all black. Some of the puppies
would be BB while some could be Bb
and also carry the recessive red gene.
If a Bb were crossed
with another Bb
they could have BB (black), Bb
(black) and bb (red)
puppies. If bred with a bb
(red) there could be either Bb
(black) or bb (red)
puppies born.
So, if a bb were
crossed with another bb
then only red bb
puppies would result.
Once you see how this inheritance works its fairly easy to determine
what the chances are of different colored puppies being born in
a litter.
Pattern Gene Pair
Australian Shepherd coat
patterns come in solid and merle. Merle is the mottled
blend of the dog's color (black or red) to a near white or white.
Merle is the dominant gene while solid is recessive. Merle is
represented by an M
while solid is shown as m. As with the color
gene pairs there are three possible pairings - MM,
Mm
and mm.
The homozygous MM
combination is of particular concern. This pair comes as a result
of breeding two Aussies with the merle pattern. This "double
merle" combination is often referred to as "lethal white".
Having two merle genes results in puppies that have excessive
white in their coats. This is much more serious than a cosmetic
concern about appearance. The lack of pigment around the ears
and eyes results in severe defects that can render the dog permanently
deaf, blind or both. This is why you should not breed
merles with merles.
For more information
about "lethal white merles" read our in-depth article.
>
If a dog with the MM
gene pair were bred with a heterozygous merle Mm
it would result in more MM
homozygous merles as well as Mm
heterozygous merles. However, because the merle gene is dominant
they could never produce solid offspring.
In the case of a Mm
heterozygous merle breeding with another Mm merle the puppies
could be MM homozygous
merles, Mm
heterozygous merles or mm solid color.
Finally we have the mm solid dog. When crossed
with a homozygous MM
it would result in heterozygous merles Mm
only. Breeding with a heterozygous Mm merle would produce merle
Mm
and solid mm puppies. If crossed with another
solid mm dog only solid mm puppies
would result.
Tan Points and White Markings
Common to many Aussies
are tan points that appear in many variations from a rich copper
to a lighter cream color. Tan points also cover a range of areas
from the "shepherd's spots" above the eyes, the muzzle
and cheeks as well as front legs, hind legs and feet.
In cases where the tan points are diminished the spot uder the
tail can be an indicator that the dog has inherited tan markings.
Sometimes this is the only location that the tan coloring is in
evidence.
Puppies can be born will no tan markings except in that one spot
under the tail and then develop them in other areas as time goes
by. This spot may be the only way to tell if a bicolor is really
a tricolor.
The Irish spotting gene influences white blazes, collars, legs
and feet. Plus and minus modifiers act further to change the amount
of white that appears. This can result in more white appearing
than is acceptable under breed standards. Excessive white is grounds
for disqualification from the conformation ring.
The Piebald gene is another gene that governs white areas and
can be responsible for white spots or patches appearing on the
body. Sometimes this modification is so extreme as to make the
dog appear to be a homozygous merle.
In order to discourage breeding dogs with excessive white and
the attendant health risks breed standards set limits on acceptable
areas of white coverage. White collars that extend into the body
beyond the withers and white patches on the body are to be avoided.
Aussie 16 Basic Color Combinations Chart
The following illustrated Austalian Shepherd
coat color combinations chart shows you the basic 16 possibilities.
These combinations are the most common accounting for colors (red
or black), coat pattern (solid or merle) and the degree of tan
points and white markings.
Self Black |
Black and Tan |
Black Bicolor |
Black Tricolor |
Self Blue Merle |
Blue Merle
and Tan |
Blue Merle
and White |
Blue Merle w/
White and Tan |
Self Red |
Red and Tan |
Red Bicolor |
Red Tricolor |
Self Red Merle |
Red Merle
and Tan |
Red Merle
and White |
Red Merle w/
White and Tan |
For further reading:
Inheritance
of Colors in the Australian Shepherd
| Australian Shepherd
Dog Breed Books |
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| Reader's Aussies |
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Holly sent in
this photo of her Aussie Bentley.
"Taken on his 1st birthday while we were on vacation
in Mammoth Lakes, CA. Bentley loved the vacation and
had a smile on his face the entire time we were there."
Send In
Pics of Your Aussie! |
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