You must choose a beautiful dog as a companion animal. The beauty of a dog depends mostly on coat colors. The most important thing is that, as per my knowledge, dog coat colors are based on the dog’s pigment, which is present in the epidermis of the dog’s skin. The epidermis is the outer layer of skin that covers a dog. This pigmentation is more critical for your dog’s coat color, and the pigment comes in two different varieties. These varieties are eumelanin or black, and phaeomelanin is red or yellow.
The Dogs Coat
The type of coat a dog has depends on variations in the size and number of guard hairs and under hairs within compounds follicles. Among the different dog coats is the wiry covering seen on many terriers and sporting dog breeds. The profuse double coat of the Nordic dog breeds ranges from the Pomeranian to the Alaskan Malamute; the long silky coats are seen on such breeds as Maltese and Yorkshire Terriers.
The curly or corded coat of the Poodle, Puli, or Komondor is the short or medium-length double coat of such breeds as German Shepherds, Labrador Retrievers, Beagles, and Pugs. Short coats can be coarse, like that of the Rottweiler, or fine, like the Boxer.
Dog Hair Coat Function
You need daily groom your dog’s coat to keep healthy and beautiful looking. The hair coat protects the dog’s skin from cuts, scrapes, and sunburn and serves as insulation from heat and cold. Hair become damaged by sun, air pollutants, dryness, and the normal wear and tear of being scratched and lain on. So periodically, the body replaces the hair coat with new hairs. The dogs we tend to think of as shedding breeds are both longhaired dogs and dogs with a dense undercoat.
Most Common Dog Coat Colors
Firstly, I give you a clear scientific explanation, and then step by step, I will tell you the various coat colors of dogs. Dog coats may come in various colors, and these coats come in four primary colors. The four colors are red, black, white, and brown. The standard for some breeds allows many different coat colors, while others have very little variety. These coat colors are:
1. Black or Solid black
The whole body of the dog is covered with black hair. Example: Black Russian Terriers, Scottish Terriers, Miniature Schnauzers.
2. White: Solid white.
The body of the dog is covered with creamy or white hair. Example: Chinese Crested, West Highland white terriers.
3. Dog Colors: Red
There is no presence of black pigments in the hair or coat of the dog. Example: Irish Setters, Vizslas.
4. Brown Color
The brown color is the dilated version of the black or eumelanin pigments. The dog looks reddish or whitish brown. Example: Havanese, Labrador Retrievers.
5. Blue Colored Dog
The body of the dog is covered with silvery-grey in color. Example: Italian Greyhound, Weimaraners.
6. Fawn Color of Dog
Fawn is a reddish-brown yellow coloration of a dog’s coat. Example: Mastiffs, Pugs, American Staffordshire Terriers.
Types of Dog Coat Patterns
After reading this article, you can find out your lovely dog’s color and pattern patterns. You will be surprised to know the types of dog coat color patterns. Here, I have summarized at least 37 different dog coat color patterns.
1. ASCOB: Any solid color other than black.
2. Badger: A mix of brown, black, gray, and white hairs.
3. Blaze: A strip of white down the center of the face.
4. Belton: The term used to describe spots of hair that are lighter or darker than the base color (ticking or roaning) in English Setters only.
5. Blue: A grayish-blue.
6. Blue Merle: Dark and light streaking that looks like tiger stripes.
7. Cafe au Lait: Creamy brown color of dog’s coat.
8. Chestnut: Reddish-brown color of the dog.
9. Chocolate: Brown coloration of dog’s coat.
10. Cream: Off-white coloration of dog’s coat.
11. Dead Grass: Tan color of the dog’s coat is a pattern of dead grass.
12. Fawn: A reddish-brown yellow.
13. Grizzle: A mixture of white hairs with black or red hairs.
14. Harlequin: Patchy black or gray on white, this term is usually reserved for Great Dane.
15. Hound color or Marked: White with tan and black patches.
16. Landseer: Black-and-white Newfoundland.
17. Lemon: Yellow coloration of dog’s coat.
18. Lion Color: Reddish tan color is also called the lion color.
19. Liver: Deep reddish-brown coat color of a dog is called liver color.
20. Mahogany: The dull reddish-brown of a dog’s coat.
21. Mask: The dark color on the face is called the mask.
22. Merle: The dark splotches against a lighter background of the same color.
23. Mottled: The dark, round splotches on a lighter background.
24. Mustard: The muted-yellow color is called mustard.
25. Parti-colored: The patches of two colors or more are called Parti-colored dog coats.
26. Piebald or Pied: A large splotches of two or more colors.
27. Roan: A mixture of colored hairs with white hairs is called roan.
28. Ruby: The mahogany red coat color is called ruby.
29. Rust: The reddish-brown color is called rust.
30. Sable: The black-tipped silver, gold, gray, brown, or fawn hairs.
31. Sandy: The sand-colored or light tan color is called sandy.
32. Seal: The black with a reddish tint.
33. Sedge: The reddish-yellow color of the dog’s skin.
34. Stag Red: The deep red with black hairs.
35. Wheaten: Wheat-colored, or tan color of dog’s coat.
36. Tawny: The brownish orange color odd.
37. Ticking: little spots of color lighter or darker than the base color.
The Rarest Dog Coat Color
The rarest dog coat color is piebald or pied. Piebald means large splotches of two or more colors. Example: German Shepherd.
Takeaway Points on Dog Colors
Like human beings, every dog has a particular look, temperament, and personality that is very important to make them our family companions. Once again, I would like to remind you to choose a pet dog that is comfortable for your family members. Hopefully, you have learned a basic scientific explanation of dog coat colors in my article. Coat color selection is beneficial for choosing a family dog. Thank you for your time.
