Dobie Markings: This is not an AKC recognized color, but actually a color pattern which is recessive and is shown to be genetically carried, even showing up multiple generations away from the original dobie marked dog. A true dobie and dobie carrier should be able to produce these markings on multiple coat colors, for example a black coat base dobie marked dog should be able to produce the tan markings with a liver dog that carries for dobie colors in their background. AKC will register dobie marked dogs as "black with tan markings" but will require specific pictures and a letter requesting this registration. Some breeders register these dogs as "black and tan", "black with gold markings" or as a tri color. Liver pigmented dogs with dobie markings can be registered as "liver with tan markings".This color pattern looks like the coloring found on Doberman or Rottweilers. Though this color pattern is typically found on dogs with a black base coat and black pigment until a formal definition is written I see it as a color marking pattern which can be seen to resemble the markings of a doberman. Even in the doberman breed you will find chocolate or rust coated dogs, (liver pigment) who will have tan dobie markings. Dobie marked dogs should have: gold/tan eye brows, gold/tan hair on cheeks, ear hair, back of legs/on legs and can have this color mixed into their tail hair. The markings under the tail are discernable at birth while the other markings get easier to identify when the puppy gets a little older. The markings are typically easiest to see on the shih tzu puppies and can become faint or hard to see when the hair grows out. An example of this is pictured at the top of this page. This is black, gold and white tri color female with dobie markings. Her gold, (tan) coloring is faint, especially because her hair is grown out but if you look closely you can see the markings. She inherited this coloring from her grandmother.
cream rose blue/ white girl (pictured above) at 6 weeks, the darker blue/white girl on the left is her full sister, also six weeks
darker rose blue Shih Tzu(pictured above) at 6 months
dobie marked tri color
dobie marked dogs have tan eye brows
dobie marked dogs have tan cheeks, in the case of this tri color her white beard is usually blocking her cheeks, look closely at her left tan cheek
look at the tan cheeks of these puppies
even at a young age you can see the tan hair under the tail growing in, also look at tan on the back of legs
outside in natural light, you can see her eye brows and cheeks clearly
gold/white with black tipping
Dobie marked Shih Tzu as a puppy
Shih tzu color is first determined by pigment or skin color. The most obvious of these places is the color of the nose, which can be black, blue or liver. Think of these as three separate categories, because there is a limit on the corresponding coat color. The next factor to determine is weather the coat is parti colored or solid. Parti colors are seen more often, because solid color is recessive but both are acceptable in the show ring. A solid color can have white located on its face, legs or feet. All colors are accepted and considered equally according to AKC.
Black pigment- Most Shih tzu have black pigment, at least 70%. These Shih tzu will have black noses, black or mixed color foot pads, skin pigmentation on the belly which looks like black spots or patches and darker colored gums. For show ring purposes ONLY brown eyes are acceptable. Occasionally green/ or blue eyes are seen on black pigmented dogs but while these dogs can see fine and are typically good pets, they are ineligible for the show ring.
Blue pigment- According to AKC in order for a dog to be registered as a blue it must have blue pigment. Blue pigmented dogs- This is perhaps the most confusing color and a lot the reason I am writing this information is out of the frustration of seeing this color misrepresented and seeing people scammed by people passing silver, (or similar colors) as blues. THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER ABOUT BLUES IS THAT PER AKC STANDARDS THE DOG MUST HAVE A BLUE NOSE! No matter what shade their coat color develops all dogs with blue noses should be registered with AKC as blues. Puppies are typically born with pink skin and their pigment develops, usually within 2 weeks they will have enough pigment to determine their ultimate color. Black never changes to blue! According to AKC standards blue pigmented dogs are the only color of dogs allowed to have blue eyes. Blue dogs don't usually have bright blue or clear blue eyes, but often have a slate gray color to their eyes with a blue or green rim. Blue puppies are born either with a very dark coat color that can look black (until they are in the sunlight) or a shade of gray or silver. It can takes months before the dog's coat changes until its full adult color but generally the dogs born very dark will turn Navy blue or true blue. Babies born lighter will generally turn true blue, blue cream, or rose blue. The nose color is the same way. The nose can be dark, (gun smoke/ metallic gray/ egg plant color) or it can be very light, like a lavender color but if it is blue it will always show its true color in the sun. What accounts for the variance? Blue is a recessive color, and can be tricky to breed for. When it shows up it dominates over black, (which is why the noses get so dark) or it dominates over liver, (which is where the lavender or light gray color comes from). Blues do not have black hair. Hair that looks black is either very dark charcoal gray, or a gray color which has a white root, and typically lightens when a dog ages. Please be careful when buying or breeding a blue because they can have genetic issues with irresponsible breeding. Great care must be taken when breeding blues and blues. I would always reccomend breeding blues to carriers rather than other blues whenever possible and if you are breeding a blue to another blue this should never be done for more than one generation and only with blue dogs who display thick coats, no hair missing ect. Irresponisble breeding of blues, paticularly when bred to eachother is where genetic issues can come from. While there are many healthy and normal puppies born from a blue to a blue cross it can also produce albinism, hair loss or hair missing, (particularly on the ears), total hair loss including premature baldness, excessive eye white or excessive face white and any dog displaying these characteristics should not be bred. It is not normal for blues to be missing hair! If a breeder tells you this is normal, please find another breeder! This is also part of the typically higher cost of buying a good quality blue. Blue is an AKC recognized color and can be found on many outstanding dogs!
Liver pigmented dogs: Most dogs with liver noses are called "chocolates." According to AKC all dogs with a brown (liver) nose are registered as livers. Chocolate is simply the most common marketing term used and is used because liver noses can occur on dogs with white coats or deep dark chocolate colored coats or a variety of in between coat colors. This is a recessive color and in order for it to be produced you must have one of the recessive color combinations shown in the recessive color breeding chart below. All liver pigmented dogs are registerable as liver or liver/ white, though their coat colors have different names used by breeders, because there is such a variance in the shade of liver. This is a recessive color, and though increasing in popularity is still an unusual color. The very first champion Shih Tzu was liver/white! Though liver dogs can have brown eyes it is very typical and accepted in the show ring to see them with hazel or green eyes. All liver pigmented dogs will have a brown nose. If it does not have a brown nose it is not liver!
A solid color is a dog whose coloring is not broken up by white on the back. He/She may have white on chest, feet or legs and still be considered a solid color. "Dobie" or sable marked dogs are still considered solids. If two solid colored dogs are bred together the resulting puppies may be either solids or parti colors as the solid color gene is recessive.
A parti color is a dog whose coloring is broken up by white markings. There may be a minimal amount of white on the back or a large amount as well. For the showring it is prefered that markings/white be balanced and symmetrical. Show breeders love white on the face and tail and a full white collar. Both puppies pictured above would be considered to have show markings.
Coat colors:
(Black pigment)
Gold/ white- this is by far the most prevalent color seen in the shih tzu world, and has been a very popular color in the show ring for many years. This color can also have black markings or "tipping"
Solid gold/ Solid gold with black mask, can also have additional black markings located on ear hair, legs/feet and face. Sometimes this additional black color is referred to as tipping.
Red/white- also a very popular color, the shades of red vary dramatically. Breeders will advertise dogs registerable as reds with terms like: flame red, fire engine red, true red, orange, neon orange, red- gold, mahogany and other similar terms. If the dog is red/ white is is a parti color and the red will be broken up with white.
Red/ red black mask- same coloring descriptions as above, but solid colored. Can also have black markings or tipping.
Brindle: This is a mixed or streaked coat color, which is a mix of three colors, typically gold, black and brown. At one time dogs with similar coloring to this could also be registered as "grizzle"
Black/White-always a popular coat color, these dogs will always have the black pigment
Solid black- can have a few white hairs, facial or leg white. The coat will be ebony colored.
Tri color-The dog will have three different color in its coat, typically black, brown and white.
Silver/ silver and white- this is one of the most confusing colors for breeders and puppy buyers alike. It is very COMMON for a silver dog to be misrepresented as a blue, or turning blue. IF A DOG HAS A BLACK NOSE IT CAN NEVER EVER TURN BLUE! Silver colored dogs have black noses and the silver color can range from a very dark color that looks like black "mixed" with white to a gray or silver color.
White/ cream- most "white" dogs have black noses, though they can have liver or blue noses. Dogs which are called white are actually cream and will have a varying amount of cream on them. Some dogs have only a very small faint amount of cream on their ears for example. Albino white is a very rare color and most born this color have very serious and typically fatal genetic defects.
Liver/ chocolate colors
Chocolate- very dark color, literally the color of dark chocolate when they are born. Most chocolates fade or gray out. Those that don't are called non- fading chocolate, and are typically carriers of this non-fading gene.
Cream liver/ white chocolate- this can range from almost almost white to a medium cream color.
Milk chocolate- medium chocolate
Iced chocolate- Most chocolates silver or "ice out". Some will begin this process at a young age- (anywhere from a few weeks old on up) While most will completly fade out the "non-fading" chocolates will develop only a few hairs and won't silver or grey until they are aged.
Red liver- will have the characteristic liver nose but the coat color can pick up red hues/coloring to it
red/ white (light)
black/white
golden red brindle with black mask and tipping
red/white with black mask and tipping
creamy white (black nose)
tri color
Truffles is a Bugatti daughter owned by my friend Andrea
with flash, dark chocolate puppy
with no flash, dark chocolate puppy
liver and tan, will cream out as she ages
cream liver
milk chocolate/ dark cream liver
Blue coat color- Because blue color is based on nose pigment they can have most coat colors- from white to deep dark silver and many in between colors. They NEVER have black pigment or hair because they lack the gene to produce black. Even the darkest color hair should have a lighter root
various shades of liver/chocolate
liver and tan, liver nose
mahogany red/white male
Shih Tzu
cream blue female
Shih Tzu
This is Lydia- a beautiful blue and white parti color Shih Tzu growing up- watch as her color changes
Rachel, now
This is Rachel, a beautiful blue girl and one of my little International Champions. You can see how her coat color changes as she matures.
Recessive Color - According to AKC standards all colors are permissible and should be considered equally. As the Shih Tzu has grown in popularity so has the number of different colors as well as the intensity of the colors themselves. I have seen everything from pumpkin orange to almost pure white to Shih Tzu with the markings of doberman pinshers. Great care must be taken when breeding or purchasing "rare" colors. Quality, health, temperment and correct conformation should always be more important than color. Many breeders will tell you that you can either buy a rare colored dog or you can buy a dog with a good pedigree. It is our desire here at Beauty and the Beast ShihTzu to breed dogs that have it ALL and we are proud to have some of the best quality "Rare Colors" in the US. We have chocolate livers that don't silver out, (or as some breeders refer to it "iced chocolate") and have super thick coats unlike the skimpy coats livers are known for, blues which are show quality and have great coats as well as well as a creamy white, dobie marked girls and a classic gold and white. ALL of our dogs have champion bloodlines and several are show qualilty! Our dogs aren't perfect, we strive to improve each generation as well as the ShihTzu breed. I don't believe the perfect dog has yet to be bred and that breeding is an ever changing process. To those breeders who call all their dogs perfect, you should not be breeding if you don't know know how or don't want to improve your breeding stock!
