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Sheltie Colors WHAT ARE SABLES VS. AOAC General WHAT IS “WHITEFACTORING” AND “IRISH PATTERNS”? IMPORTANT: “NWF” (non-white-factored) dogs still technically carry a "WF" (whitefactored) gene called the "Irish Pattern" which is a normal and acceptable white pattern that can appear as a blaze down the muzzle, around the ruff in full or part, on the feet and legs in whole or in part, and the tip of the tail. Simply put, SABLES are the "brown" dogs ranging from golden through mahogany) marked with varying amounts of white. AOACs are the "black" and "blue" dogs marked with varying amounts of white and/or tan. AOAC stands for "any other acceptable color." (See following pages for examples.) Unacceptable colors includes any Sheltie that exhibits more than 50% white, which are also known as heavily-marked whites and color-headed-whites and are so severely penalized as to effectively eliminate them from AKC competition. Whereas excessive white is severely penalized, brindle is disqualified. Other faulty colors are rustiness in a black or blue coat and otherwise washed-out or degenerate colors, such as pale sable and faded blue. Self-color, in the case of merle, that is, without any merling or mottling generally appears as a faded or diluted tricolor and are also considered faulty, as are “liver” or “chocolate” dilutes. NOTE: Solid colors no longer exist in the breed and brindle is extremely rare and undesirable (a color disqualification). 29 White-factor is a normal and acceptable white pattern that can demonstrate areas of white the same as the Irish Pattern (which is arguably still white factoring) in addition to white along the stifle and underbelly. Absence of white in these areas do not preclude a sheltie from being non-white factored! Breeders should make a conscious effort to breed away from heavily whitefactored dogs because breeders cannot control where the white appears. Similar to too many doses of the merling gene, the white-factor genes dilutes the “base” coat color of the dog which can cause excess white around the eyes and ears, thereby stripping the melanin necessary for proper hearing and vision (reference Strain, 2002). Using more dogs with the white factored genes will produce considerably more white patches throughout the base coat known as “mismarks” or in the case of a colorheaded-white (a heavily white-factored sheltie), a colored-head, which is representative of the “base” coat color, and an allwhite body—and undesirable breed type (reference the sheltie standard) and penalized as such. However these shelties have typical vision and hearing function, look for color around the eyes and ears. *** Sheltie Colors Standard PFS TFS or BFS SM TRI BFT BW BM BFBM BB TFSM or BFSM Abbreviation Common Breed Color Name AKC Description Type Code BW Bi-Black Black & White S 019 TRI BFT Tri Color Bi-factored Tri Black White & Tan S 034 BB Bi-Blue Merle Blue Merle & White S 051 BM BFBM Blue Merle Bi-Factored Blue Merle Blue Merle White & Tan S 052 PFS TFS/BFS Pure-for-Sable Tri-factored/Bi-factored Sable Sable & White S 165 SM TFSM/BFSM Sable Merle Tri-factored/Bi-factored Sable Merle Sable Merle & White S 277 30 Sheltie Colors Alternate CHW—PFS CHW—TFS or BFS CHW—SM CHW—BFSM or TFSM CHW—TRI CHW—BFT CHW—BW MM CHW—BM CHW—BFBM CHW—BB *Note: CHW = “Color Headed White” Abbreviation Common Breed Color Name AKC Description Type Code BT N/A Black & Tan A 018 MM Double Merle/Double Dilute/Homozygous White White A 199 CHW Bi-Black White & Black A 202 CHW-PFS CHW-TFS/BFS Pure-for-Sable Tri-factored/Bi-factored Sable White & Sable A 215 CHW-SM Sable Merle CHW-TFSM/BFSM Tri-factored/Bi-factored Sable Merle White & Sable Merle A 296 CHW-TRI CHW-BFT Tri-Color Bi-factored Tri Color White Black & Tan A 219 CHW-BB Bi-Blue Merle White Blue Merle A 266 CHW-BM CHW-BFBM Blue Merle Bi-factored Blue Merle White Blue Merle & Tan A 265 31 Sheltie Colors Sable SOLID PURE-FOR-SABLE WHY ARE SHELTIES COMMONLY BROWN & WHITE? Brown shelties are otherwise known as sables. There are many different shades of sable, from a light blonde to a deep red and even BI OR TRI FACTORED SABLE a deeper mahogany that can sometimes appear almost black. Sable has become the most popular colour to the breed further popularized by the sable collie, “Lassie”. Ch. Bamhollow Blaze of Glory 32 But it’s not just “Lassie” that gives to bear its fame inasmuch as pure genetics. The gene responsible for sable in the sheltie is dominant (Ay) producing a golden sable. The intensity of the pigment is actually controlled by one or more factors. Also see sable merle. *** Sheltie Colors White TRICOLOR WHY ARE SOME SHELTIES BLACK INSTEAD OF BROWN? Black shelties, othBI-FACTORED TRICOLOR erwise known as tris or bis, are a naturally-occurring color in the breed; but in order to produce a black sheltie, a sheltie breeder is actually manipulating recessive genes, specifically the agouti patterns. *** BICOLOR 33 Sheltie Colors Merling SOLID Double Merle with White WHAT IS MERLING? (Blue Merles) MERLE WHITE Unlike the the "sable" dog bred to a dog with the merling gene, *It is important to underwhereas he may or stand color genetics. Some breeders may mistake this may not appeared double merle for a colorbrilliantly merled, a headed white. tri- or bi- dog bred to a merle that produces a blue merle become easily identified as a merle to show and because the results are always easier achieved and the patterns striking, blue merles are more popular than sable merles. *NOTE: The merle gene in one dose "dilutes" the “base” coat color of the dog, which results in a marbled appearance. In the case of an offspring receiving a double dose of the merling gene (which can only happen when the sire and dam are both merled), the base coat color is diluted twice over, which in many instances may also include the head. Yet, in some other instances, may be extremely difficult to differentiate from a color-headed white. In double dilutes especially, there have been problems with hearing and vision because the gene not only dilutes the melanin in the coat, but the melanin crucial for proper vision and hearing, as well. Blue Merle with White (also white-factored) 34 Blue Merle with White & Tan Sheltie Colors Merling SABLE MERLE (SM) WHAT IS MERLING? (Sable Merles) BI– OR TRI– FACTORED SM Any color can be introduced to the mer- ling gene. For instance, if a sable is bred to a dog with the merling gene, he becomes a sable merle and often times is referred to as "blonde" because the deep red pigment in the sable becomes washed to the color of straw. This is a difficult color (sable merle) to show in America and many advise against the practice of breeding sables with merles for this reason. In Canada, the color is accepted and actively shown. It isn't always easy to distinguish a sable from a sable merle unlike the pictures below that demonstrates a noticeable difference. Note: there are not any solid colors remaining in Shelties and with that, there no longer exists black and tan shelties. All shelties carry a degree of white factoring as shown in the photos below with a full “Irish Pattern” expression (collar, muzzle, legs & tail tip). Sable & White (no merling) 35 Sable Merle (with visible merling) Sheltie Colors sheltie is touted as "normal" to unsuspecting buyers, especially if there appears too much white in these areas (eyes & ears). WF WHAT ARE COLOR HEADED WHITES? ARE THEY RARE? Color headed whites HWF CHW MM are not a rare color, nor are heavily white-factored whites! Any breeder with knowledge of color genetics can very simply breed for these colors. The only difference is that breeders have very little control where the white is distributed, and presents a major problem as it poses serious health risks if expressed incorrectly. Most breeders do not purposefully breed for this color because it is highly faulted (to the point a sheltie with more than 50% white is severely penalized from breed competition). You may often read a colored-headed-white sheltie is "normal" in every way except he possesses a colored head and a white body. While this may be true, it may also not be the case! Ensure any "white sheltie" you breed has had his eyes CERF-tested and ears BAER-tested for a "normal" rating before the 36 A “safe” color-headed white may appear as pictured below, where clearly there is color around the eyes and ears. A color-headed white can appear in any color known to the breed, as can a heavilymarked white sheltie. A Word About Harle The “harlequin” gene, more accurately known as the “White” (Ww) gene or Grey Merle Dilution gene is not merling nor is it whitefactoring. Despite myth, this gene does not belong to the Great Dane alone, it is commonly appearing in the Shetland Sheepdog as well. Breeders: this gene is carried recessively on the solids and when bred to merle, dilutes the blue-merled areas to white. Use extreme caution! ***