“I would like a red colored Eurasier with a black mask”.  Seven years ago when I made that request to EKW Breed Registrar Helga Casper, I can only imagine what she must have been thinking, because Eurasier coat colors change, sometimes quite dramatically as puppies grow to maturity.  As a breeder, I now get many of those same puppy color requests for every litter.  But for most breeders I believe, with the exception of being alert for the recessive white factor, color is of little importance. And admittedly after watching several litters of puppies grow up, it’s become a little easier to predict in general terms what color a particular pup will likely be as an adult, although determining exact shades and hues is more difficult i.e. red-cream, red-grey.  Even KZG member Barbara Post, who is in the process of becoming a Breed Steward, says “It’s complicating with those colors. Even being an experienced breeding steward, you make mistakes from time to time."

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The three pups pictured on this page are all 8 to 12 weeks old -​ an

age from which it is almost impossible to determine the adult color.

(What color would you call each of them, and what color do you

think they will be when mature?)  This color change from pup to

adult is a challenge for Eurasier owners when trying to describe their

dog.  But it also presents a bit of a challenge for breeders who have

to assign the proper color description to a particular dog for

registration purposes, usually at around 8 weeks. And complicating

matters is that the Canadian Kennel Club only allows certain colors

                                                to be used, and some of those are colors

                                                that are not used anywhere else in the world to describe the Eurasier.

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                                               There is also our own interpretation of color.What is ‘tan’ to some people                                                          may be ‘sand’ or ‘beige’ to others.  And there is the additional challenge                                                              of trying to capture a particular color in a photo, as lighting can impact the                                                        subtle shades at the time the photograph is taken.

                                              

​                                               This kaleidoscope of color among the Eurasier

                                               population results from the genetic combination of

                                               the three breeds of its origin: the wolf-grey German

                                               Wolfspitz;the predominantly white Samoyed which

                                               carries recessive black; and the Chow Chow – three

                                               of the foundation Chows were red, while the other

                                               was black. It is important to note that during

                                               development of the Eurasier the emphasis remained

on health and temperament; a focus on color would have eliminated too many

dogs from the gene pool, resulting in the kind of hereditary problems associated

with other breeds where this protocol was not followed. 

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Coat color is still of minor interest in Eurasier breeding in Europe. And this is

exactly what it should be: careful breed planning is much more important.  Adding coat color to the focus on health, good temperament and breed standard might otherwise eliminate a good dog, which may have negative consequences for the breed in whole. This is because it reduces the number of eligible dogs, and the genetic variability which is needed to keep the breed healthy and give the opportunity to react when a serious problem occurs. The great variability of coat colors in Eurasier breeding should be seen as nothing more or less that a gift of nature – sometimes surprising, but always attractive.

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There are no hard and fast rules when trying to determine what color a Eurasier puppy will be when it grows up.  Generally most coat colors tend to lighten from birth to 4 months of age, then the permanent coat begins to appear – the woolly undercoat and the thicker overcoat. During this time the Eurasier                                                                          slowly develops its final color, sometimes

                                                               much darker than before. You can see this

                                                               quite clearly in this series of photos courtesy

                                                               of Barbara & Thomas Post. In the photo on the

                                                               left, Danika at 2 weeks old has some reddish

                                                               color.

                                                    

                                                              At 7 weeks old (right) the red has almost

                                                              disappeared. And if just this photo was used, a

                                                              person could be  excused for suggesting the

 adult color would be grey-cream or even grey-light red.

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At 12 weeks old (right) Danika is now mostly a

fawn, or dark cream color, with just a hint of red

remaining on her forehead.  And the underside of

her tail is starting to show a lighter, more creamy 

color.

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                                                               Just 5 weeks later, when she is just

                                                               over 4 months old, the red has

                                                               returned permanently as you can

                                                               see to the left, and later, at 18

                                                               months (right). In the first picture

                                                               you can also  see more clearly the

                                                               development of the cream on the

                                                               breeches and tail, which became

                                                               quite bright as she aged.

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                                                                                 At 2 years old Danika is almost the same color that she                                                                                        was at 2 weeks – a deeper red, although she has some     

                                                                                 darker colored guard hair, and her breeches and tail have                                                                                    now turned bright cream. She has also kept most of the      

                                                                                 black on her muzzle.

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                                                                                 A black mask will usually recede with maturity, so if it does

                                                                                 not extend above a puppy’s eyes to the forehead, it will

                                                                                 usually not remain on the muzzle. Also, if the hair closest

                                                                                 to the skin is a lighter color, chances are that the black

                                                                                 mask will also recede, or fade completely.

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What about other colors? Eurasiers described as black and tans, or more correctly, ‘black with markings’ (because the ‘tan’ can vary from pale cream to a dark red) can be born that color, but not always. And there can also be a degree of color change within their distinctive pattern as they mature, as illustrated in these following pictures of Anzi.

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​                                      To the left, at 3 weeks old, her markings are the

                                      same as when she was born. However, at this

                                      age, faint cheek patches have started to appear.

                                      

                                      At 5 weeks old, as shown on the right, those

                                      cheek patches are turning into a ‘necklace’ and

                                      cream colored chest patches have started to

                                      appear.

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​The chest patches are now quite prominent at 12 weeks old, as you can see in this photo below left, and the ‘necklace’ has turned into a  bright cream colored ‘sailor’s beard’. Also, faint spots are starting to become evident above the eyes.

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​                                           On the right, at 5 months old, the chest patches

                                           have faded, and the sailor’s beard is beginning

                                          to show some grey.

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                                          Less than a month later (below left), the sailor’s

                                          beard has all but disappeared, turning into a

                                          silvery grey, visible only in certain light. The

                                          chest patches have continued to fade, but the

                                          spots above the eyes have still not reached their

                                          final prominence. That won’t happen for another

                                          month, but it will take close to another year

                                          before the hint of silvery sailor’s beard is

                                          completely gone, as you can see in the photo of

                                          a mature Anzi below right.

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​It is important to keep in mind that for any Eurasier, no matter the color, slight changes of color may occur as long as the dog lives, as pigmentation gets weaker and the color fades. 

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​​Another aspect to consider when discussing or assessing color: Long thick hair reflects the light much differently than short, thin hair. Therefore the color perception is different - a coat made of thicker hair seems to be darker than one of thin hair. And in a puppy’s coat a single hair has a much finer structure. So, because a puppy does not yet have the thicker structured outer coat, its color, based on the finer, woolly undercoat, appears much lighter. This is the also case even with Eurasiers that seem to be pure black, although the different thickness of the hair in the outer and undercoat creates a different intensity too.

​                                                                    A black dog always has a brownish-grey undercoat. But that light

                                                                    wool is covered by the longer and thicker overcoat or guard hairs

                                                                    which create the black impression.  If you part the coat with your

                                                                    hands, as illustrated in the photo on the left, the lighter color of the

                                                                    undercoat is clearly visible.

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​Brushed out and separated as seen on the right - you realize

more clearly the different intensity of color pigments between

over and undercoat.

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If you look closely, a dog that appears to be totally black may

have black hairs that vary in hue from brownish black to

                                                                       mahogany to rust, up to a deep-blue shimmering black, while

                                                                       the dog that appears to be all red can also have hairs of different

                                                                       colors; from sable to red and even some black.

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                                                                   Some puppies that are all black at birth within days can also

                                                                       start showing gradual color changes toward the distinctive

                                                                   ‘   'black with markings' pattern. Looking at them carefully at

                                                                       the age of 14 days in natural light, there is a little shimmer to

                                                                       be recognized around their anus - only a little shimmer –                                                                                      nothing more! The rest of the coat is totally black.

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Typically however, puppies that are born pure black will usually stay black.  If you are fortunate to have a black & tan (black with markings) Eurasier, you may be interested to learn that only a small percentage of the Eurasiers in the world have that color pattern.  However, statistically, pure black is even less common.

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                                                                                   Barbara Post says “Our aim is to save them all, which is

                                                                                   difficult enough - black seems to get lost. For example, in

                                                                                   the ZG there is only one single bitch of black color

                                                                                   left....only one...we have more of them, but the color is

                                                                                   very rare: There are some years where not a single black

                                                                                   puppy is born. The genetics is different from ‘black with

                                                                                   markings.’ That color isn’t that rare because it occurs by

                                                                                   itself whether there are ancestors of that color or not. But

                                                                                   pure black is different. As far as I know it needs                                                                                                    ancestors of that coat color to survive.”

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​Some Eurasiers have a coat color which may be difficult to

describe, because it is a mix of more than one color. For such

dogs that do not fall under the basic one color designations,

                                                                the dominant color will be

                                                                used first in the official

                                                                description. For example,

                                                                a dog that is primarily red

                                                                but also has some cream

                                                                color, as shown on the

                                                                right, will be called

                                                                “red-cream.”  A dog that

                                                                 is mostly cream but also has some grey coloration will be called

                                                                “cream-grey,” as shown in the picture to the left.

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By now you are probably wondering about those first three puppies and what color(s) they each turned out

                                                       to be as adults.  Left is the first puppy that might have been described as

                                                       pale grey with a black mask. That black mask, or muzzle is almost gone,

                                                       and the pale grey has darkened, although there are some lighter grey

                                                       shades and cream hues. This is a Wolf-Grey color. 

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P                                                  The middle pup which could be

                                                        described as a somewhat reddish

                                                        hue, turned into the dog in the

                                                        picture to the right. It is called

                                                        Wolf Color – or for ease of

                                                        understanding, Wild Color, as in

                                                        a color that might occur naturally

                                                        in the wild.

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                                                        And finally, the color of the third pup also became a similar Wolf, or Wild

                                                       color, as shown below left at one year old.  

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                                                                                  However, this dog was not finished

                                                                                  changing colors. The grey parts of

                                                                                  the outer coat disappeared and

                                                                                  turned into a deep mahogany red

                                                                                  (right). 

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​As for my request 7 years ago for a red Eurasier with

a black muzzle – that’s exactly what color Baschi

was – at 5 weeks old.  

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         - Wayne Nelson & Barbara Post (with excerpts from the NAEC News written by Ute Molush)