The Australian Shepherd breed is a fluffy and loyal companion with a friendly face and beautiful blue or sometimes even multi-coloured eyes. But when it comes to choosing the colour of your Australian Shepherd, what are your options?
The common Australian Shepherd colours come in a range of black, red, blue Merle, and red Merle, which are all recognised by the Australian National Kennel Council. Other colours include white, yellow, dilute and sable.
The coat of an Australian Shepherd dog can come in many patterns and colours, as described in the Australian Shepherd colour guide below.
Their thick and long coats, similar to those of a Golden Retriever or a Border Collie, come in two major colours, as well as in a coat colour called a “merle pattern”, as it can have various colours mixed.
Below is a more detailed description of what to expect from the solid-coloured as well as merle-coloured Australian Shepherd dog:
Black Australian Shepherds can come in solid black, black bi, black tan or a black tri Australian Shepherd colour. The latter is a very common dog’s coat colouring for Australian Shepherds and makes them almost look like the smaller brother of the Bernese Mountain dog.
Usually, a black Australian Shepherd comes with dark brown eyes in different shades.
There are solid red, red bi or red tri Australian Shepherds, which work in the same way as the black version of the Aussies. Red Aussies are rare to come by, as these colour combinations don’t resemble your usual Australian Shepherd.
Red Australian Shepherds come with beautiful amber eyes, which match their coat colour nicely, but they can also come with brown or even one blue and one amber-coloured vision if you are lucky.
Blue Merles are potentially the most outstanding colour combination you will find with this dog breed, as no dog looks ever the same as the other when it comes to a Merle coat. You can find blue merle Australian Shepherds in three different variations ranging from plain blue merle, which is basically a black-spotted grey coat, blue merle with white markings, or blue merle with copper highlights is most likely the most breathtaking version.
Australian Shepherds with the merle gene tend to have brown or staggering icy-marbled blue eyes.
Red merle Australian Shepherds are just as exotic looking as their blue merle Australian Shepherd counterparts and have similar colour variations: solid red merles, tricolour and red merle with white markings.
Red merle Aussies have solid eye colours, which also look marbled with brown or blue, depending on their base colour.
There are further non-standardised Aussie Shepherd colours, such as the:
According to the Australian National Kennel Council (ANKC), the breed standard for Australian Shepherds can come in the following colours:
All of these colours can come either with or without tan markings. On top of that, the Aussie National Kennel Council is very specific about where the Australian Shepherd markings may start and end in order to be recognised as a pure-bred Australian Shepherd dog.
No reputable breeder will breed merle Aussies with other merle-coloured dogs, as double merle Australian Shepherd colours can be too diluted or lead to pigmentation disorders which can even influence their eyesight or hearing.
This is absolutely up to you, but if you want to go for a rare merle colour, for instance, the red tri Australian Shepherd, you might have to search longer or potentially pay more, as the specific colour you are going for is either very popular or incredibly rare.
According to the American Kennel Club, Australian Shepherd puppies with the merle gene as well as with solid colours, tend to get darker as the dog ages.
Aussie puppies start shedding their coat around three to six months of age, which can take up to over a year to complete. During this time, puppies might change their coat colour significantly, as full merle markings might only appear after the puppy coat has been shed completely.
Australian Shepherd dogs are not just wonderful companions for humans but also incredibly nice to look at, thanks to all the different colour variations they can come in.
Whether you decide to go for a solid blue merle Aussie, one with a yellow gene, a white-blue merle, or any other coat colour does not really matter as long as you will have a healthy dog that has been bred according to the standards of the Australian Shepherd Club.
But in any case, these herding dogs will definitely turn heads.
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