HAVANESE COLORS

Say goodbye to having to choose only the traditional all white or black & white dogs! The havanese breed not only have a perfect “go with the flow” temperament but they are truly unique! The colors and patters of a havanese puppy come in a plethora of colors! Below will help you decipher between the large variety of color shades, markings and patterns in your Royal Flush Havanese!

COLORS:

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BLACK: A solid colored dark black, with a glossy appearance, and without reddish or brown tones.  This color does not lighten.

BLACK & SILVER: A very specific layout of dark and light coat. Predominantly dark black coat overlaid with a silver color point pattern. Color points are laid out in the following pattern; lighter markings appear on the muzzle, eyebrows, underside of ears, cheeks, legs, chest and vent.  Color points may be any shade of silver.  Points that start out as shades of tan often lighten to shades of silver or creamy white as the dog matures.  These points will be seen without white trim.   

BLACK & TAN: A very specific layout of dark and light coat. Predominantly dark black coat overlaid with a tan color point pattern. Color points are laid out in the following pattern; lighter markings appear on the muzzle, eyebrows, underside of ears, cheeks, legs, chest and vent.  Color points may be any shade of tan or gold.  These points will be seen without white trim.

CHOCOLATE: A chocolate dog will be born chocolate (brown).  A true chocolate will have liver or brown pigment, no black, on the nose, lips, and eye rims.  They may also have lighter brown, amber, or golden eyes. Chocolate coats can vary from milk chocolate to a darker chocolate color and some may turn silver.  Chocolate refers to the coat color and the pigment color.

CREAM: Ivory or creamy yellowish white like dairy cream or almonds, or a pale tawny yellow like champagne.  The color may be from light to deep intensity with yellow undertones.

FAWN: A cool color ranging from tan, beige and buff to light brown shades.

GOLD: A rich warm color in various shades of medium gold from honey to apricot with definite reddish highlights to the coat.  True Gold dogs retain much of their color throughout their lifetime, though the color may soften with age.

RED: A rich warm color similar to gold with deeper and more intense color, ranging from orange red to deep mahogany.

SILVER: Puppies are born black and start to lighten at about 4 to 6 weeks of age.  The coat will start turning silver at the roots and the color change will usually begin on the face and head.  As the dog matures the coat will lighten to varying shades of silver from pale platinum, sterling, and pewter to deep grey.  The coat change is complete at 12 to 15 months of age.  

WHITE: Pure crisp, bright, snow white from birth, no color allowed on any part of the dog including the ears.

IRISH PIED: Two color coat with over 50% of the coat being any color other than white. With specific coat pattern as follows; The underbelly and lower legs at least up to the elbows, and tail tip are white. There is also white on the chest up to the bottom of the chin, and a full or partial white collar or shawl around the neck. There may be a colored mask on the face. The coloring on the back appears as a large saddle or cape covering the shoulders, back and sides.  The top line is colored while the underline is always white.

MARKINGS:

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WHITE MARKINGS:  A predominantly one colored coat with small patches of white trim often found on the chin, chest and feet.

TAN POINTS:  A very specific layout of dark and light coat. Predominantly dark coat overlaid with a lighter color point pattern. The most common background coat color is black; it may also be Sable, Blue, Silver or Chocolate.  Color points are laid out in the following pattern; lighter markings appear on the muzzle, eyebrows, underside of ears, cheeks, legs, chest and vent. Color points may be any shade of tan or gold. These points will be seen with white trim.  The classic black coat with Tan Points, without any white trim at all, is known as the Black and Tan 

SILVER MARKINGS:  A predominantly one colored coat with small patches of silver trim found on the chin, chest and feet.

PARTI-COLOR: Coat is over 50% white, broken with irregular patches or spots of a second color. These patches may be any other color. (EXTREME Parti – Lightly marked dogs with less than 10% color are called extreme Parti. An example might be a white dog with one or both ears partly colored and no colored patches on the body.                                               

CREAM MARKINGS:  A predominantly one colored coat with small patches of cream trim found on the chin, chest and feet.

SILVER POINTS:  A predominantly one colored coat with small patches of silver trim found on the chin, chest and feet.

PARTI BELTON: Many Havanese carry the TICKING gene. A Parti-Color dog with this gene will have flecks of color throughout the white coat, giving it a salt and pepper appearance. Dogs without this gene will have a white that stays crisp and pure. The ticking will only be in the area of the white part of the coat.

BRINDLE:

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BRINDLE:  (Examples: Red Brindle, Black Brindle, Silver Brindle, Gold Brindle)

Brindle is one of the more complex coat colors.  The classic brindle combination gives dark bands, more or less regular tiger striped on a lighter background any shade of cream, champagne, tan, gold, or silver.  Tiger stripes are apparent at birth and may run all over the body in streaks or stripes of black or brown.  The color of each hair must go from root to tip.  Not all brindles have this classic striped look; some have the agouti markings where the hairs are banded in rings of color like rabbit or wolf fur. There can be three or more rings of color. Brindle may also appear as a combination coat where two or more different color hairs are mixed throughout giving a more subtle look. Black, brown and auburn hairs intermixed which make a dog look like drying tobacco all over, is known as Havana brown or now known as Black Brindle. A brindle can also be a blend of the agouti hair along with intermixed solid hairs.  The base color may lighten as the dog matures but the overall pattern will remain.  Some lighten and then darken again.  Some Brindles may have a dark mask on the face and may have black ears and tail or a dark dorsal stripe.

SABLE:

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SABLE:  (Examples: Red sable, Gold Sable, Chocolate Sable, Silver Sable)

Sable coats are distinguished by darker tipping on a lighter colored under-hair. The amount of tipping may be very heavy or very light. The under-hair can be gold, red, fawn, chocolate or silver. Tipping is generally black but may also be darker shades of brown, gold or silver. Each hair will be variegated from root to tip. Sable coats often lighten or progressively silver as the dog matures. Some Sable dogs lighten dramatically almost all the way to a pale Ivory or off-white leaving just subtle shadings and highlights of color. A true Sable will always retain the dark tipping on the ears and tail even if it is just a few hairs. Sable is the most changeable of all the Havanese colors. The degree of silvering is dependent on the other colors in the genetic makeup of the dog. If the tipping is cut off, generally it will not return except perhaps on the ears and tail.