Dog Colour

[Scarlet]

I have 2 red bc's even though I prefer the black and white.

After a marriage split up and OH took our black/white border to live with him my boys and I wanted another dog.

They wanted something different but the same(?) and we got a red border collie.

After fostering for a while and keeping an eye out for a second dog (NOT another border collie -and something older than our girl) another (young) red border collie picked us.

[Chiwogabull*]

Yes color is important to me in some breeds, in others i'm not fussed.

Top of the list is Bull Terriers - They must be white !

My uncle had a white Bull Terrier which I grew up with, and so its just programmed in my brain that Bull Terriers should pure white like Rocky

Unfortunatly I have never owned one but I will one day and it will be a white one.

Other than that, I have a strong preference for rednose Pitbulls over black or brown pigment. Why ? Because they just look so fascinatingly awesome and cute.

I have a red and white Bull Terrier Miniature boy, I was looking for a quality pup and he was the only one avail.... :D So not much choice.....

Though it is MY fav colour. When looking for a bitch OH really wanted a white and luckily our Lilly White girl fell into our laps too!!!

So we both got the colours we prefered.............

We would have gone with another colour because soundness and Temprement far outweigh the colour of thier coat!

Bring back to me the saying...Beauty is only skin deep

[tdierikx]

Since becoming involved with rescue, I'm definitely becoming a fan of a nicely marked brindle... but I really don't have too much preference for colour.

Temperament and health would be my main choosing factors...

T.

[Guest acb123]

Yep I'm another where colour is very important - and not just for my most favourite breeds - but most breeds!

Cavs: Tri Colour

GSD: The black & tan (with more black than tan especially black around the face area)

Cockers: White & Gold and Pure Black (don't like blue roan)

Aussie Shep: Blue Merle (see go figure the logic - no blue roan cocker but definitely blue merle Aussie Shep)

Doberman: Black & Tan

Staffy: yep Blue - I know I know.....just love it but!

Wei: Long hair

Finnish Lapphund: This breed I really love all the colours (can't go wrong here) but Blue, Domino, & Cream are my favs!

Labs: Choc or yellow

As you can see, I'm a breeders nightmare! :D

The above has significantly contributed to my delay in getting puppy as the colour I want is not popular due to showing dictating only one colour for the breed as being "the best" - so lame really. (I'm looking for a gold & white cocker)

I also think the reason why colour is important for me is that you have the dog for 14yrs. If a particular colour really grates on you then that's a long time to grate! Of course the grating is not as overwhelming as the beautiful best friend you have in your dog!

[dandybrush]

im not fussy on colours...but i dislike brindle purley cause its soo common and im not a fan of the breeds it comes on (as a pet for me im talking)

I love merle prob choc merle the most but i do love a bit of white on dogs its very cute.

[juice]

i only like white bts, or flashy marked brindle/black with lots of white

reds and coloureds do nothing for me, and wouldn't get one

cattle's, prefer blue.

dallys, not much choice but prefer the black

greyhounds, brindle and white

atm i have a white bt, blue cattle and b/w dally,just need the grey :D

[Kavik]

I have colour preferences, but if the right dog was a different colour, I would take the right dog over my preferred colour.

[rastus_froggy]

I find myself falling easily for tan (or predominantly tan) dogs, doesn't seem to matter the breed, but personality ultimately over rides colour for me.

[becks]

I love red dogs, sadly my breed doesn't come in red, so my first choice is the black/silver (though I have owned all the other recognised colours).

Colour is just one of the factors for choosing a particular dog, the right colour on the wrong dog is no good, but the right dog in the right colour is worth the wait!

[corvus]

I loooove black and white animals in general. If they are black and white and sleek I can't keep my eyes off them. I'd love to have a black and white Basenji one day. I really like striking contrast in colours.

I don't think it's weird to seek things you find beautiful in animal companions, as long as it's not some kind of wild obsession. I'm pretty easy and not that fussed about temperaments. I know I'll love them no matter what, and I know whatever challenges their personality presents me with will be a valuable learning experience. So maybe I can afford to want particular colours. But in the end it doesn't matter that much. Kivi's litter had a brown and a sable domino puppy and I LOVE those colours, but Kivi was the only boy and he was black and tan. I wanted a boy. I never look at him and wish he were another colour. His colour is as much a part of him as everything else. I find myself thinking he's the best looking Lapphund around.

[poodlefan]

I don't care what colour whippet I get as long as it's a quality dog.

x 2. Howie was a colour that I didn't have a preference for but I love it now!

I don't have preferences in poodles either but white is a lot more work to maintain than black.

[aussielover]

Isn't it only natural to prefer the look/colour of a dog. Of course personality and health are more important but if you can get everything- why wouldn't you?

[Bubitty]

Colour is not too important to me. I like the light blond colour in goldens but I'm not too fussed about it.

I will admit to wanting a dog with a beautiful face though and am VERY partial to a nice muzzle and a pretty face. I really don't think I would be happy with a golden with a snipey muzzle and my breeder was quite intent on picking me a pup with a pretty face since this was my great obsession!

[Bjelkier]

I don't get much choice in Sammies

Although we do get cream and bisuit and white, those colours don't often come threw until the dog is older so its hard to judge if the pup will end up that way.

My OH is getting a Bullmastiff and we both have our likes and dislikes for colour, I love reds, he likes fawns but in the end we will take which ever dog is the best prosect. I am far more interested in temperment and confirmation then colour.

[Tapua]

To me colour is a consideration that is taken into account when breeding - it is only one of the attributes of a dog but a most obvious one. The colour has no impact on conformation or lavability of any dog but colour can have impact on health and deviations from the breed standard.

So take Labs there are 3 colours chocolate, yellow and black. However the mix of these colours behind the pedigree determine the quality of the colour in particular for yellows and chocolates. Of late there has been breeders here and more so in the USA claiming they are breeding 'blue' Labs. To get blue you have to dilute the black gene - so they Xed a Lab with a Wiemeraner and then crossed back to Labs selecting purely for colour not for conformation or other health issuues. Many breeders continue line breeding to retain or 'cement' the colour into the lines however also increasing the incidence of detremental recessive genetic traits not to mention behavioural issues anathema for a Labrador for the sake of colour. Then sold as 'rare' and at extreme prices - greed not the wel;fare of the dog is the motivation.

Introducing two tone into a solid colour lines can and often does compromise the coat quality of the solids creating shading and ticking in the coat - some Kelpie breeders value the colours because they can sell them to the public at a higher price.

Sheltie/Collie/Kelpie Breeders know not to mate to Merles or two recessive colour like Blue or Fawn because the colour gene is linked to health issues which might harm or kill a litter.

And there are other examples that I cant think of right now.

So yes colour is important in the breeding of a purebred litter - one of the many challenges and considerations when breeding purebreds.

Edited April 27, 2010 by Tapua

[Diva]

Any colour or combination of colours is technically acceptable in in my breed. But the nose must be black - which actually means some colours are unacceptable as they genetically can't come with a black nose. There are fashions and fads in the show ring and a particular colour is much more favoured at the moment. I think this is a shame as it becomes self-perpetuating. I'd hate to lose the huge range of colours and patterns that are possible as has happened in some breeds in the past.

I have a favourite colour (and pattern) but it's a long time since I've owned one of that colour, as I tend to put conformation and temperament way in front of colour and it's not that common. One of my favourite sayings is ' a good hound can't be a bad colour' .

But I don't think there is anything wrong with someone preferring to own a particular colour so long as they have that preference in context. No point seeking out a poorly built or difficult natured dog because you like its colour.

Edited April 28, 2010 by Diva

[Nik]

We just loved the blue merle Aussie Shepherds, and we waited until the right one came along - and boy has she been great. Now we'd like to add a red tri or merle to our family. We loved them before, but were too close in colour to our old girl a BC x kelpie (avatar pic), and we just weren't ready for that yet. Now the reds are calling........

[CareyJ]

Every animal we get - dog, cat, horse - we go in with a colour in mind and mostly come out with something totally different! Went looking for a black male cat from the cat haven and came home with a tortoise shell female, wanted a solid liver male GSP, came home with a liver/white flecked female. Wouldnt change either of them for the world although tortoise shell cats have too much attitude! Health and temperament is definately first and foremost.

[Lab_Rat]

My big wish is for a Black & Tan Kelpie............when the time is right. Our current girl is Red & Tan. I definitely prefer B&T or R&T rather than solid coloured Kelpies, although Mirawees Banjo is a BIG exception

With the ridgies its a matter or light or dark, black muzzle or liver muzzle. I prefer the darker wheaten, but when it comes to muzzle colour I dont think it matters that much - have had one of each. I do think there is definate personality differences between the black mask and the liver nose! Red beaks are so much more

norty

Rat

[Sayly]

With the Aussies I want a black or red tri next because it means I don't have restrictions on the stud I use (merle to merle matings can produce blind and deaf pups). Thankfully the bitch listened to me and gave 8 tri colours and only one merle.

I love the red merle Aussies but I would have taken any colour for my first, Holly just sort of happened and she's perfect. I used to love the deep dark red merles but Holly has swayed me! I think however, my dream Aussie would be a black and white (no tan) male natural bob tail.

Dad is dead set on a red mini bull terrier. He will wait until the right one comes along, both in colour and personality.

I wouldn't take on a mismarked Aussie simply because I love showing and hope to breed in the future. Doesn't mean I don't like them and some can be very stunning.