The ultimate guide to dog coats, colors, and patterns

Dogs do come in many colors and patterns, such as being black with curly hair, or white, black and brown with smooth hair. Besides size and purpose, dogs also vary with patterns, such as the spotted Dalmatian and the bicolor Border Collie. What are all the variations of colors, type, and patterns that a dog can have?

Coat Types

A coat type of a dog is the texture and/or thickness of the dogs coat. No, not a winter coat, a coat, which is the dogs hair or pelt. There are 12 different types of coat a dog can have:

Long Coats

Maybe you've seen a long-haired dog and thought how lucky they were to have such luscious locks. Being a long-haired dog means that the hair is well..long. These dogs also tend to have smooth hair as well. Dogs like this English Setter tend to have feathering on the tail and chest. Long-haired dogs also need more grooming than other coat types because the hair tends to mat.

Medium Coats

Dogs that have medium-length coats have coats that are longer than short-hairs but shorter than long hairs. They need grooming, but not as much as a long-haired dog. English Shepherds such as this one only look good when groomed.

Short Coats

Dogs with short-coats have fur that is close to the skin. These dogs require grooming at least one a week or even every two weeks. Some dogs, like this Labrador Retriever, have water-resistant coats, which makes them have a slight oily feeling to them.

Double Coat

A dog with a double coat has a soft undercoat and a harsh or rough overcoat. These two coats grow faster than one another, so grooming is required. Dogs like this Border Collie are not recommended to be shaved because the two coats help regulate body temperature, and without one or the other, the dog can have troubling regulating his body temperature.

Single Coat

Dogs with a single coat have a single, thin layer of hair. The hair can be long or short, but it is neat and close to the skin. Dalmatians such as this dog, do not shed as much as double coated dogs due to the lack of an undercoat.

Curly Coat

Dogs with curly coats either have tight curls or loose ones where the dog appears wavy. Dogs such as this Standard Poodle shed very little, making them a good companion for people allergic to dog dander or people who want a dog that sheds very little.

Wiry Coat

Wiry coats are also called rough coats because of the texture. These dogs have spiky hair that resemble a steel wool brush. Dogs such as this Irish Wolfhound are known to have beards and mustaches.

Wavy Coat

Wavy coats are a longer version of the curly coats. Dogs with this coat have long, wavy hair, such as this Portuguese Water Dog. They also shed very little like the curly coats.

Silky Coats

Dogs with silky coats have often long, smooth, and feathering hair. Kooikerhondjes such as this one are known for their silky and feathery tails.

Smooth Coats

Dogs with smooth coats have no texture except for smoothness. Beagles are known for having smooth coats.

Corded Coats

Dogs with corded coats have thick and round curls. These dogs like this Puli feel greasy and oily.

Hairless Coats

Dogs with hairless coats have little to no hair, such as this completely bald Xoloitzcuintli. These dogs should be kept warm in the winter and let out very rarely due to sunburns in the summer.

Can a dog have both a short and a double coat?

Yes! Many dog breeds have two or more coat types! Dogs such as the Alaskan Malamute have medium length double coat.

Dog coat colors

A base coat color is the color of a dogs base coat. For example, a dalmatian has a white base coat with black or liver spots. There are 9 base coat colors, but many other secondary colors.

Red

Red is a base color for many dogs such as this Irish Setter. Red can come in many different shades such as

1. Red Fox

2. Rust

3. Mahogany

4. Ginger

5. Chestnut

Black

Black is a common base coat for many dogs such as Pugs, as shown, Labrador retrievers, and Poodles. Black only has one other shade which is

1. Charcoal

Brown

If you ever drew a dog as a child, you most likely colored it brown. That is because brown is the most common color as a base coat. This Labrador Retriever wears it quiet nicely. Brown also has four different shades such as

1. Liver

2. Chocolate

3. Dark Chocolate

4. Fawn

Gold

Gold is seen as a mixture of orange/red and yellow. The most obvious dog to choose for this color is the Golden Retriever. Gold has 3 color variants which are

1. Golden Rust

2. Dark Golden

3. Light Golden

Yellow

Yellow is a darker shade of cream and a lighter shade of gold. Here, a Labrador Retriever sports a yellow coat. Yellow has three variants

1. Lemon

2. Blonde

3. Wheat

Cream

Cream as a base color is highly controversial in the dog world because some consider it a diluted version of red. But for the sake of all things good, I am considering it a base color. Cream is off-white in color, as shown on this Shiba Inu. Cream doesn't have any color variants.

Blue

Many people see blue dogs and mistake them for being dark gray. But dogs such as this Blue Lacy and the Australian Cattle Dog wear this color. Blue doesn't have any color varients.

Gray

Gray is shown in any dog breeds, including the Weimaraner, which is nicknamed the "Gray Ghost'. Gray has the most color variants out of all the colors.

1. Mouse Gray

2. Silver

3. Lilac

4. Slate

5. Wolf Gray

6. Pepper

White

White is a stunning color because it is bright. Samoyed dogs such as this one look like clouds. White doesn't have any color variants.

Dog Coat Patterns

Whether it be spots, stripes, socks, blazes, or even a single color, every dog has a pattern. There are 15 different patterns that a dogs fur can have.

Tan Markings

Tan Markings can appear on a dog with either a black, blue, or brown base coat. The tan markings will appear on the muzzle, above the eyes, on the feet, on the abdomen, and on the chest. This is a black base coat Doberman Pinscher.

Bi-color

The word 'bi' means two, so a dog that is bi-colored has two colors. Usually, a bi-color dog has a white base coat with any color secondary coat. This Border Collie has a white base coat with a secondary black coat. Bi-colored dogs are also called Piebald and Irish Spotting.

Tri-Color

The word 'tri' means three so a tri-colored dog will have three colors in his coat. Like the bi-color, a tri-colors base coat is normally white. Here, a Beagle with a white base-coat has black and brown markings.

Merle

Merle is a pattern where the colors make splotches against the coat. Here, an Australian Shepherd has a white base coat, lilac markings, and reddish-brown splotches. We call this red merle.

Tuxedo

The tuxedo pattern is usually found on dogs with a black base coat. The markings are white and appear on the face, chest, and sometimes feet. When sitting down, as this Boston Terrier is doing, it gives the illusion that the dog is wearing a tuxedo.

Harlequin

The harlequin pattern is present in dogs with a white base coat. The base coat is then splotched with either black or gray patches. Harlequin is mostly seen on Great Danes such as this one.

Spotting

Spotting is where there are round, quarter-dollar shaped spots on a white base coat. A Dalmatian is the perfect example of this as no other dog has spots as perfect as he.

Ticking

Ticking are little spots of color on a white base coat. Here, a Bluetick Coonhound shows this example.

Brindle

Brindle is described as black vertical stripes on a red base coat. Here, Dutch Shepherd wears the pattern. Many other breeds wear this color too, such as Great Danes and Boxers.

Saddle

A saddle marking covers the back. What I mean y this is the black marking on the back of this German Shepherd, and leaving the rest of the dog tan besides the ears and muzzle.

Sable

Sable is a pattern where the hair is lighter at the base and darker at the tip. This Belgian Malinois shows this nicely.

Mantle

The mantle pattern is normally found on Great Danes and English Bulldogs. The dog will have a black base coat with white markings, as shown with this Great Dane. The white markings are shown on the hip, face, neck, ribcage, and feet. The black base coat can also be blue, gray, harlequin, or even red.

Agouti

Agouti is a color where black, gray, and sometimes dull yellow appear on a white base coat. This color makes a dog look wolfish in appearance, as shown with this Siberian Husky.

Wild Boar

Wild Boar is mostly seen on wire-haired Dachshunds. It consists of different shades of black, gray, and tan, making the dog look grizzled like a wild boar.

Self

A self pattern is where a dog only has one color in their coat, such as this White Swiss Shepherd Dog.

Putting it all together

Now that you know all the colors that a dog can come in, what pattern they can be, and what coat type they have, you can put it all together like this:

A Border Collie has a medium-length double coat with a white base coat and bi-color markings.

Try it! Happy reading! And of course, Canine Good.