Coat Colors in the Shetland Sheepdog

The Sheltie comes in a variety of colors, from the most widely recognized sables, or "little Lassies" to the more unusual bi-blues, bi-blacks, and color headed whites. However, all of these colors stem from the Sheltie's two basic coat colors, brown and black, and the effect that genetics has on these colors. The genetics behind Shetland Sheepdog coat colors is fascinating, at least to breeders and fanciers, but perhaps not to the general public, or average pet owner. I will touch on the genetics of color inheritance here, but for more detailed explanations, you may wish to visit Athro Limited, where there is a great deal of wonderfully technical information. It is interesting to note that each of the following coat colors may involve bi or tri-factoring, which means that according to the dog's parentage, a sable may produce a tricolor puppy, even when bred to a sable, or a bi-blue may produce a blue merle puppy, even when bred to a bi-black, and so on. White factoring is also a consideration in breeding. A white factored dog, when bred to another white factored dog, will produce some white factored puppies, and, most likely, some color headed white puppies, along with the possibility of some non-white factored puppies. A color headed white, however, when bred to another color head or white factored dog will produce a great percentage of color headed puppies. Color headed whites are not to be confused with white Shelties, known as double merles or double dilutes, which is explained in the merle section below.

Sable

Sable Shelties, while officially are all sables, have a very wide degree of differences in appearance. They may be light golden (golden sables), an orange-red sable, or have shading so dark that it appears almost black at the tips (mahogony sables). A sable Sheltie should have deep brown eyes, as blue eyes are unacceptable according to the breed standard. Light brown eyes detract from the dog's expression and should be avoided in a good breeding program.



Tricolors

Many pet owners mistake the above mentioned mahogony sables for tricolor Shelties. As you can see from the photos, however, a tricolor is a genuinely black Sheltie with varying degrees and patterns of tan points and white markings. Like the sable, a tricolor's eyes should be dark brown. Light brown, yellowish, or blue eyes would be considered a very serious flaw.



Blue Merle

The blue merle Sheltie, one of my personal favorite coat colors, is actually a tricolor Sheltie with a merling gene. This gene acts upon the coat in such a way as to produce a merling or dilution effect, which appears as a silver, or blue, coat, with tan points and white markings. Occasionally a blue merle's coat is so dark as to be almost unrecognizable as a merle, and the dog appears on the surface to be a tricolor. Such a dog is called a "cryptic blue merle". A blue merle can only be produced by a blue merle. The merling gene is dominant, which means that only one parent need be a merle for the trait to be inherited. Each hair on a blue merle is shaded differently, which results in the mottled appearance. Eyes in the blue merle may be blue, brown, or merled (both blue and brown) or any combination of these eye colors.



Sable Merle

When a blue merle is bred to a sable Sheltie, the breeder is very often rewarded with sable merles. These puppies usually grow up to look like sable and white Shelties, although their coats may be a bit lighter than a sable's. While I personally find this color to be very attractive, they are heavily penalized in the show ring, and for this reason they are rarely shown. Sable merles produce both as a sable, and as a merle. Therefore, when bred to a tricolor they may produce sable, tricolor, blue merle, and sable merle puppies, not to mention bi-factoring possibilities or white factoring. A virtual rainbow of colors, then, could result in breeding a bi and white factored sable merle to a white-factored tricolor Sheltie. When bred to a blue merle there is a very real danger of producing a double dilute. It is impotant, then, to recognize sable merles as such, and register them accordingly. Sable merles frequently have blue eyes, but this is not always the case. For show purposes, brown eyes are desirable in a sable merle, but all of the usual merle eye variations mentioned above are possible.



Bi-Blue Merles

One of the least recognized coat colors, bi-blue Shelties are basically bi-black Shelties with a merling gene, or may be considered blue merle Shelties which lack the gene which produces the tan points. They can be quite striking in appearance. Like the blue merle, some bi-blues appear so dark as to be considered a "cryptic blue". Like the other merles, the eyes may be brown, blue, merled, or a combination.



Double Merles or Double Dilutes (Homozogous Whites)

The rarest of all the coat colors, this usually white coat is actually a defect, which may or may not involve varying degees of blindness or deafness. Because breeding two merles together can produce a double dilute, or double merle, these breedings are best left to experienced professional breeders, if they are to be done at all. These "white Shelties" do not pass down the deformaties and when they are bred produce a high percentage of blue merle offspring with lovely clear blue coloring. For that reason they are often considered to be very valuable in a knowledgable breeder's program, but should never be referred to by unscrupulous breeders as "rare" or "valuable" for the sake of a higher asking price, no matter how lovely or striking the dog is. The eyes often lack pigment, with pink rims, and occasionally pink noses. The effect of doubling the merling gene is a msotly white coat, including the head. The dog may have patches of light sable color in a double sable merle, or silver in a double blue merle, or there may be little or no color visible at all. The most distinguishing feature, then, is the mostly white head, quite the opposite of the normal colored head found on a color headed white Sheltie. The two should never be confused.



Bi-Blacks

Bi-black Shelties, although perhaps seen more often than bi-blues, are still not as popular as the familiar tricolors, and no where near as popular or familiar as sables, of course. Bi-blacks are black and white Shelties, whereas tricolors are black, white, and tan Shelties. Bi-blacks simply lack the gene needed to produce the tan points seen on the tricolor. Bi-blacks should have brown eyes, only.



The Irish Pattern

The lovely white shawl collars, white feet, and tail tips that we so love on Shelties are produced by what is known as the Irish Pattern. This is unrelated to the white factor, although the two are often inherited together. Below is "Hanlon", Shadow Hills Knave of Hearts, owned by Larry and Alice Kimbell, an excellent example of the Irish Pattern at work.



White Factored Shelties

The white factor refers to the potential of a Sheltie to produce a color headed white puppy (see Color Headed Whites photos and descriptions below). This white factor must be present in both parents in order to produce a color head. The white factor is sometimes known before breeding, by the amount of white present on the dog's stifles. This is a general rule of thumb, however, and some dogs that appear non-white-factored have been known to produce color heads, and vice-versa. However, the white factor usually shows itself either as a line of white connecting the white stifles to the white on the dog's belly, or in the form of "mismarks", (white spots) such as in the puppy shown on the left, below. The puppies shown on the right, below, are tricolor littermates, one with two white factor genes, a color headed tricolor, and one with only one white factor gene, a white-factored tricolor.



Color Headed Whites (CHWs)

Color headed whites are produced by breeding two white factored Shelties together. A color head is a normal, healthy Sheltie, which has such a heavy white factoring that it appears with a mostly white body, but with a normally colored head. The breed standard heavily penalizes a Sheltie with more than 50% white, so color heads are inelligable for the show ring. They are suitable for breeding purposes, however, and can be shown in obedience, flyball, agility, etc. Color heads vary in the amount of white on the body, and in the pattern in which it presents itself. Eye color depends on the dog's actual coat color. It may be a color headed sable, color headed bi-blue or bi-black, or a color headed blue merle or tricolor.





Other (Unacceptable) Coat Colors in the Sheltie:

Maltese

Very rare, the maltese coloring is a dilution of the dog's basic coat color. Thus, a tricolor with this defect would appear to have a grayish, brownish coat rather than vibrant black. In a sable, the coat might appear very washed out, dull and lackluster.



Brindle

Technically, brindle coloring is defined as a striped pattern in the coat, much like a tabby cat. Specifically mentioned in the breed standard as a disqualification, brindled Shelties would have a brown/blackish pattern all over the basic coat color (black areas in a tricolor). The pedigree of any such Sheltie should be seriously questioned, as brindle coats have not been a problem in the breed for many, many years. Click here to see a picture of a brindle Sheltie, offsite.

Lethal Silvers

Very rarely seen in Shelties, but much more common in Collies, this coloring is related to a lethal form of leukemia. An even silver dollar color at birth, any such puppy should be euthanised immediantly. The lethal silver color is easily distinguished from a normal blue merle coloring, and is unmistakable, even by the most inexperienced of novices.

Liver

Liver coloring, or self-color, is unacceptable. In a Sheltie this coloring would mean that the normally black areas would appear as a washed out brown, with a brown or pink, rather than black, nose, and light colored eyes and eye rims. Click here for an offsite photo of a liver colored Sheltie.


***Please note that, while I have made every attempt to properly credit the above photos, some photos were sent to me without registered names or owner information. If you know this to be the case with any of the above photographs, please contact me so that I can give proper credit to the Shelties' owners/breeders. Thank you to everyone who shared their wonderful photos with us.***