Aussie Coloring

Let’s talk about COLOR! Everyone has a preference when it comes to Aussie coloring…what is yours? Whether you are looking for a blue merle female, red tri male or anything in between you have probably wondered exactly what crosses produce what colors. This is a great example that has been floating around online and will show you the many different crosses that can be accomplished.  (Red dot + red factored) Want to know more? The Basics of Aussie Color – is a great source for all the info you could ever want on Aussie colors!

Basic Colors - All Aussies are either Black (dominant) or Red (recessive).  Each parent contributes one copy of the two markers that determine coat color. Since red is the recessive gene the red puppies must have two copies of the recessive gene to express the red coat color. You can see from the chart that if you have one red gene and one black you could likely get a black dog that is red factored. The red dots indicate that the resulting puppy could carry the red factor or one copy of the red gene.

Merle - This is expressed when there is a merling gene present in one of the parents. Coat colors are either blue merle (black base) or red merle (red base). This gene causes the solid color to break up into a pattern of different shade variants thus producing a merle.

Trim - White and copper are the two variants of trim allowed in Aussies. Copper can vary from a light tan to dark copper.

Self - Solid color dogs with no trim such as a solid black or solid merle. Again, no white or copper trim.  

Tri - Can refer to a solid or a merle coat pattern. All three colors must be present – base, white and copper to be considered a tri.

Bi - Refers to a solid coat with only one trim variant. Most often this is seen as a black bi or a black base coat with white trim. However, it can be any combo of two.

Enjoy!

Morgan