# Help! What Color is my Chihuahua?



## Marlimoo (Jan 24, 2013)

This is Shakespeare (or Shakey for short). I've had him since he was a pup and is now 5 years old. I received him from a local breeder who just happens to be my neighbor.
His Mother is a beautiful solid dark blue, and his father is a tricolor (white, tan and black)
A big question of mine, is what is his color called? He's very strange and I've never received a straight forward answer. Help Please!


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## Natti (Jun 24, 2010)

I'd say Chocolate and Tan - what beautiful colouring!


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## TLI (Sep 3, 2008)

I'm gonna say chocolate with tan markings. I would say blue with tan markings, but his eyes are brown. Blues have dark eyes.


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## missydawn (May 29, 2012)

I dont know,but the coloring sure is pretty!


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## Angel1210 (Mar 14, 2011)

I would have to say. . . BEAUTIFUL!


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## Fortheloveofthechi (Jan 4, 2013)

In pit bulls that color is bluefawn with tan. Hope this helps


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## Fortheloveofthechi (Jan 4, 2013)

It is a variation of blue


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## Chi momma of 5 (Jan 12, 2013)

Id say a light chocolate with tan. very pretty though


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## pupluv168 (Mar 7, 2012)

I would say chocolate with tan markings. Depending on what country you are in, the registries will call it different things. It is a dilute color, very beautiful!


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

He looks lilac and tan on my monitor, both chocolate and blue dilution.


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## Rocky (Jan 25, 2010)

I am pretty certain he is a lilac and tan. Beautiful colour .


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## Marlimoo (Jan 24, 2013)

Thanks guys!
I've had people suggest he's lavender, blue, chocolate, fawn, sable...etc. So i'm pretty dang happy that there is a large majority of Chocolate here! ^^
Oh, and just so you know, he's actually A tricolor. 
He's got a little white bowtie on his chest and a white toe and his hing right paw. 
but thank you guys very much! ^^


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

I *think* lavender is an American term for lilac. Genetically lilac is a dilute form of chocolate, he looks too pale to be an actual chocolate to me. What colour is his nose? It looks pinky brown to me, which suggests lilac.


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## Marlimoo (Jan 24, 2013)

Wicked Pixie said:


> I *think* lavender is an American term for lilac. Genetically lilac is a dilute form of chocolate, he looks too pale to be an actual chocolate to me. What colour is his nose? It looks pinky brown to me, which suggests lilac.


His nose is very much the same color as the rest of his body. That diluted brown "lion" color. haha Not very pink, but not dark at all.


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## LittlePixie (Jan 22, 2013)

I think he is blue with tan markings. I dont see any chocolate at all


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## Lizlow77 (Jan 25, 2013)

Chocolate... That's what I would call him. He is so pretty 


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## TLI (Sep 3, 2008)

True blues always have darker eyes & nose. Blue is a dilution of black. His color comes from the chocolate dilution as Stella mentioned. You can tell by his eye and nose color. In the lighter pics, he does appear lilac/lavender. Which is a chocolate dilution. Color genetics can be confusing. :lol:


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## Marlimoo (Jan 24, 2013)

"I *think* lavender is an American term for lilac. Genetically lilac is a dilute form of chocolate, he looks too pale to be an actual chocolate to me. What colour is his nose? It looks pinky brown to me, which suggests lilac."

His nose is very much the same color as the rest of his body. A very Light brown but nt very pink.


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## Marlimoo (Jan 24, 2013)

TLI said:


> True blues always have darker eyes & nose. Blue is a dilution of black. His color comes from the chocolate dilution as Stella mentioned. You can tell by his eye and nose color. In the lighter pics, he does appear lilac/lavender. Which is a chocolate dilution. Color genetics can be confusing. :lol:


I wish I had a picture of his mother to show you, she is the most beautiful blue I have ever seen. and apple headed lady she is.

His father (who was one of my favorite dogs in the world) Sadly passed away last year. Johnny's owner (my neighbor) had to put him down after he sustained a back injury (have no idea what happened,, he just woke up that way) and was unable to walk and control and bowel and bladder movements. It was very sad. His father's "black" color however, was very blue in fact.


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

Blue & tan. Handsome boy & pretty shade of blue! The blue Chis I've had all have lighter eyes too.


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

Let me say that again...the blues I've had start out with BLUE eyes & turn a lighter gold/green color as they mature.


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## rubia (Jul 3, 2008)

He is really pretty !


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## LittlePixie (Jan 22, 2013)

See, I was thinking blue also..I have seen a few solid blues and they ave the light nose and eyes like him..I still stick with blue with tan markings


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

'The nose knows' is a saying for determining the colour of a dog. A black based dog will have a black nose, a choc based dog a brown nose and a blue dog will always have a blue nose. The fact that his nose is brown makes him chocolate based for certain. If both his parents were blue, then he can only be lilac, not chocolate, as he will have only been able to inherit the dilution gene on the D locus.


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## LittlePixie (Jan 22, 2013)

Am I color blind? His nose looks blue/gray in all the pics to me....


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## pupluv168 (Mar 7, 2012)

The nose looks very light pinky brown to me. 

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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

It can be hard to tell on a computer, everyone's monitor is set slightly differently, which is why I asked. His nose is brown according to the OP.


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## Lupita's mom (Dec 31, 2012)

Not sure I have ever seen that color but I love it. Sure it a cutie!


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

It is an unusual colour, people charge a LOT of money for chis that colour in the UK!


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

The "temperature" in a couple of the photos is different than the others. A couple his pigment and his coat looks no doubt, blue & a couple it looks more liver w/the "lavender" folks talk about. Regardless...he is BLUE and chances are would be registered as a BLUE by a breeder based on what I can tell from the photos but if you want to be technical his official color is probably chocolate blue with fawn markings(Chihuahua Page). The chocolate color is very distinct and is...BROWN. Not gray or any sort of gray. This is a chocolate color--both of which are very different than that dog pictured:










or











or maybe even as light as this one (this one could even pass for a chocolate sable but...chances are he started out more solid chocolate younger)


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

So would a lilac Chi be registered as Blue in the US? By lilac I mean bbdd, is this what you call chocolate blue? Are all D dilute dogs referred to as blue, regardless of what they have at the B locus? Lilac (or lavender) doesn't seem to be a recognised colour in American Chihuahuas.


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## jesuschick (Dec 5, 2010)

Our colors are a bit different. One thing that surprised me when I went to register Eden is that we do have have tricolor yet here and other places I had heard and read that over and over. Also, no lilac nor lavender.

Here are our color classifications:
Chihuahua Page


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

So many colours are not represented in that list. What would my Delilah be? Blue sabled cream with cream markings and white markings? She isn't on the list! lol Here in the UK Chis can be any colour except Merle.


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## jesuschick (Dec 5, 2010)

Hope was easy. She is textbook cream. Ruby is red but I debated if she had enough sabling to classify. I chose not to as I feared she would lose it over time and she was registered at 14 weeks old. Eden is black and tan and then I could add the white markings classification. 

You would be pressed to just chose one of each, so main color and then the marking. That would be tough for Delilah!

Merle is a new addition here in the U.S.


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

To be fair, her colour doesn't really have a name in the UK either. If she were a Husky and not a Chihuahua, her colour would be simply 'grey'. So she is my Grey Husky Chi


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## Luvmywinnie (Oct 4, 2012)

He's color adorable! I LOVE that name!


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## Marlimoo (Jan 24, 2013)

Luvmywinnie said:


> He's color adorable! I LOVE that name!
> 
> 
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Haha Thanks. A regal name for my regal pooch right? ^^


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## * Mercedes * (Oct 27, 2012)

Definitely looks lilac to me 


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