So today we are going to be talking about the 8 different coat colors that Shelties have! I don’t know if you guys knew they had 8 different color coats but this is the coolest thing I have ever learned about Shelties! It’s insane that a dog can have different color coats. You would think there would be only like 2 or 3 but 8 is a lot in my opinion. The coat colors are sable, mahogany sable, blue merle, bi blue, tri color, bi black, color headed white, and white factored.

 The Sable Sheltie

The sable sheltie is the one that most people probably think of when they hear someone has a Sheltie. The sable Sheltie actually comes from a dominant allele (a gene variant). This dominant allele makes it the most common coat color among the beautiful Shelties. Sheltie pups are actually born with subtle hues that deepen and intensify with the development of the double coat. As the dog matures that sable color may develop more and as does the thickness and quality of the double coat.

The Mahogany color coat of the Sheltie is basically the same as the sable color coat expect for the fact that the mahogany color coat is darker. Typically, the mahogany color coat will have more black in it!

 Blue Merle Sheltie

The blue merle color coat is so beautiful! Blue merle Shelties could actually be considered tri color Shelties with some color modifications. Merle Shelties are not produced by color genes, but instead they are created by a color modifier gene which affects the base color of the dog. This modifier gene can give the sheltie either one or two blue eyes (My blue merle Sheltie has one brown eye and one blue eye!). If you breed two blue merles, there is a 1 in 4 chance of creating a double merle. When this happens, this has serious health consequences. Many double merles are actually born blind, or deaf, or even both.

Bi Blue Sheltie

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The bi blue Sheltie only has blue merle and white colors. The overall pattern is Irish with a white chest and legs (which is so dang cute!). The eye color can be blue or even merled. I love all the Sheltie color coats but I think the bi blue is the most beautiful!

So the way a bi blue is created is by a bi black Sheltie meeting a merle modifier. This is unusual to see but careful Sheltie breeders can manipulate their odds of producing bi blues by having a handle on the underlying genetics. The bi blues are healthy dogs because they only possess one merle gene, as opposed to two merle genes which can create the blind double merle.

Tri Color Sheltie

The tri color Sheltie is a beautiful combination of black, white and tan. Tri colors actually fall under the black Sheltie category as well. The white fur of the Sheltie once again appears on the chest and legs! The tan fur is on the cheeks, throat, ears, eyes, legs and under the tail.

Tri color Shelties are recessive to sable but dominant to bi black. When Shelties are both sable and tri color, they are known as “tri factored” and can pass either coat color to their cute little puppies!

Bi Black Sheltie

Bi black Shelties are comprised of solid black and white fur on their chest and legs. Bi black Shelties are named for their black-and-white mixture (bi is Latin for two). They are normally called the black Sheltie.

Since the bi black Sheltie allele is recessive, it is the least common type of Sheltie color. This is actually the opposite for most dog breeds. Most dog breeds have a black dominant allele. In order to produce a bi black Sheltie, one or both parents need to be bi black too. Sometimes breeding two tri colors can also produce a few bi black puppies if both parents are carriers of the recessive black allele.

Color Headed White Sheltie

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This color of coat is very rare to see in the Sheltie. The coat is pretty much all white, expect the head markings are like any of the Sheltie colors I described today. Color Headed White Shelties kind of look like they have been dipped in a can of white paint from the neck down! Sheltie fans normally get fascinated when they see a color headed white sheltie, including me!

Color Headed White Shelties are created by breeding two white factored Shelties together. This gives a 1 in 4 chance of producing a color headed white Sheltie.

White Factored Sheltie

Last but not least we have the white factored Sheltie. This Sheltie has an abundant amount of white fur on their collar, chest, and legs. They often have a white stifle that runs up the back leg which connects with the white on the belly. They can also be any of the usual coat colors of sable, black or blue merle.

The white factored Sheltie comes from a modifying gene. Like the blue merle gene, it can produce blue eyes. A lot of breeders love to use white factored Shelties to produce sufficient white markings in Sheltie pups. When two white factored Shelties are bred together, you get an awesome result of a color headed white!

Conculsion

There are so many different colors of the beautiful Sheltie! Shelties have the most awesome fur colors out of any dog breed! I really hope you enjoyed reading about the 8 different color furs of Shelties! Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram @sheltiesarelife !!