Color Preferences

[meepitsmeagan]

Do you typically like a certain color on dogs? Does it vary by breed? If you have a breed, which color would you choose if nothing else mattered? If you were to get a random shelter dog, would color be something that grabbed your eye right away?

For me, I really like fawn over brindle Boxers. I typically like merle on herders and darker dogs in general. A clean red ACD (meaning no black hair around eyes, ect) is my favorite of the breed, but blue doesn't show up as well on clothes.

As far as markings go, I like even and typically double masked. I never liked plain faces until Tulsa and even still don't like them in general. With merles, I like when they have dark eyes. Lighter eyes (like red merles tend to have) kind of freak me out. Oh! I love tan speckles.

 

[MericoX]

I like intriguing colors.
If I were to get another random shelter pup it'd be something merle.
The schnauzers I probably wouldn't seek out another black one, black n silver or salt n pepper or even one of the forbidden colors I'd prefer. White or chocolate schnauzer shows up at my shelter I'm hoarding them all lol.

And a bagful of Siamese kittens

 

[Equinox]

Do you typically like a certain color on dogs? Does it vary by breed? If you have a breed, which color would you choose if nothing else mattered? If you were to get a random shelter dog, would color be something that grabbed your eye right away?

I definitely have color preferences, and they do change from breed to breed to an extent.

With German Shepherds, I prefer dark and rich sables, then just rich sable, then bi-color, then black/tan with heavy black, then black/red saddle, then black/tan, then black, and then white. Liver/blue are not even on the radar because...just no.

But while solid black and solid white are my least favorites in German Shepherds, I love solid black or white leggy dogs (sighthounds, Border Collies, etc.).

With Malinois, I like darker dogs too but it matters significantly less to me. Must have a nice full or mostly full mask, though. And I quite like all black Mals in terms of color.

For shelter dogs, I think color is less of a variable because I'm going in with no specific expectations, so my opinion/preferences are less set in stone. That said, I'd probably pass over merle and ticked dogs and overall tend to favor long coated tri-colors and any richly colored/pigmented dog.

 

[Torch]

In Amstaffs, I love dark masks. Particularly in black, brindle, and fawn dogs. I think black and white dogs or brindle dogs with all dark faces are striking.

Red and white is all the rage in our breed right now, and I like it all right. I really like red and white when there are irregular markings or lots of flash. In red and white dogs I love white heads with interesting pigment.

I'm not a fan of blue fawn dogs or some of the other dilutes.

I didn't care much for fawn dogs before Rhys, and it's a color I'm still picky about.

 

[*blackrose]

I tend to like darker colors. The darker and richer the better. If a breed has markings, I tend to like a dark color as the main color and either flashy white or rich dark color offsetting the main color.

Examples: black Labs, dark brown Chessie, reverse brindle boxers with flashy white mixed in, pinto Akitas, black with rich mahogany pointed Rotties, mostly solid liver GSDs, etc.

I don't care for ticking. At all.

I do really love red on some breeds. Red Poodles, red Shih tzus, red merle Aussies.

 

[Slick]

I tend to prefer solid colored dogs over merle, but then every once in a while meet a GORGEOUS merle. So for me, it is pretty random, and various drastically across breed.

For border collies, I love reds the best, followed by traditional black/white, followed by merles.

 

[Laurelin]

Tricolors and bi-colors pretty much in any breed. Black preferred over red but do like red bicolors if the red is very deep colored.

I like certain merles but not the color as a whole.

I don't like spots and I don't like predominately white. Take a look at my sig and you can see how much color plays a role in my dog selection (not much )

 

[BostonBanker]

Every time I think I don't like one color, I see a dog of that color who is so gorgeous I change my mind.

In general, I love black/white and black tri. But I used to say I hated dark brindles before I got Meg, so I retain the rights to completely change my mind.

 

[Fran101]

now that I've had a merle I don't think I could do another color.

It's just so pretty!!!

 

[PerformanceDog]

It depends on the breed. for schnauzers I definitely prefer Black/Silver over Salt and Pepper. Black would be my second choice.

For German Shepherds I greatly prefer dark sables.

For merles, I prefer blues almost always to reds.

I really like Black Bicolor or Tricolors as well.

I like dogs faces to be at least somewhat symmetrical in markings.

I am also starting to prefer dogs with white feet/legs if possible for the next dog(s) because.. black nails are no fun. But that isn't anything too important. Just would be nice, but then I guess I would be looking at dirty looking feet a lot more too.

I also really prefer all black noses and the same color eyes, I don't necessarily care what color the eyes are but want the eyes to be the same. I find that a lot of dogs with mismatching eyes have weird people issues because of the way people stare at them all the time.

 

[SizzleDog]

Dobermans: Black is my fave, then red. Dilutes are just... no. As far as markings are concerned, I like dark without being melanistic and/or muddy. I also want smaller (but not microscopic) markings.

Ibizan Hounds: I prefer irish marked, or pintos with a lot of color. White/predominately white isn't my preference at all. Face markings... as long as the ears are red, I'm fine with just about anything! (Of course, now that I've said all that, watch my Ibizan be white. )

 

[Applebear]

Red dogs catch my attention all most immediately. Some times it depends on breed, but if they have a red variation...I can tell you that's probably the one I'm lured to. I like dark tip markings and black eyeliner, solid colors seem a bit more appealing than interesting patterns, etc. Blue merles are neat too, but still love my red heads.

 

[AmberH]

I tend to gravitate towards black and tan dogs of any breed. It's by far my favorite color/pattern.

APBTs - black and tan, rich red, red brindle, buckskin
Great Danes - fawn, harlequin
Poodles - black, black parti

I prefer minimal white markings. I'm not usually drawn to flashy dogs.

 

[Toller_08]

Tollers: Fennec and Dance both are marked how I prefer Tollers. Four white feet, a white chest and just a smidge on their faces. I've also grown a fondness for black pigmented Tollers.

Aussies: I love minimally marked black bis. I want one so badly. I just like black bi in general though. And black tri as long as they are marked like Journey or with even less distinct tan points. I don't like tricolours that look masked like the tan is leaking everywhere. After black bi and tri, I'd probably choose (dark) red bi, then red tri, then both red and blue merle. I used to love red merle, but now I think a solid coloured dog just looks so classic and regal. Merle is still pretty to me (although I am picky about merle), but it'd be my last choice if I got to choose.

This beautiful bi girl, to me, is perfection though. I wanted her so badly as a puppy and so wish I'd bought her. I want a clone of this dog. She actually reminds me a lot of Journey in looks (minus the tan obviously) and personality.

Dobermans: Black, definitely. I like red as well, but again as with Aussies, a black Doberman just looks so regal and classic and sharp.

Not sure about other breeds. I don't really pay attention to colour except in the breeds I own or would want to own. If I were to ever get a Koolie though, I'd prefer a black one. Either solid, bi or tri. Maybe just because that's what I'm used to now, but I just think they're really pretty. If I ever get a Belgian Tervuren, I really love grey, but both colours are nice. Likely a moot point though, because the breeder I like mostly has Groenendaels, so if I ever get a Belgian, it'll likely be that variety... so, black.

 

[Annabell]

It definitely depends on breed, but in general, I am more drawn to red dogs than any other color.

In ACD's, I love red plain-faced dogs. In general, I like red dogs over the blue ones, and plain faces over masked ones. Although an ACD with a double mask is very pretty IMO. I'm just not too fond of the single mask.

I love black-bi Aussies, but am not really fond of any other color in them (especially not blue merle Aussies). With BC's, I love red merles and red and black bis with minimal white. And now that I think about it, I actually love any color of Koolie, but if I were to ever get one it would probably be red or blue merle.

I also love any dog with ticking and/or spots and freckles. And any solid/mostly black dog with light eyes is absolutely gorgeous.

In general, I'm not fond of mostly white dogs (unless it has a fair amount of ticking), or any cream/tan/yellow/light colored dogs. I'm also not a big fan of brindle or solid silver dogs (like Weims).

Keeping all this in mind, if I were to go to a breeder for a dog, color would not play a huge role on what puppy I wanted. But if I'm on Petfinder looking for a rescue, I'm not going to go see a dog I don't like the aesthetics of.

ETA: And yeah, I know Fable is tan, but her solid spots are actually a dark red. And she has freckles.

 

[SpringerLover]

I used to think I wanted an Irish marked black and white tri springer.

And now I want an open marked, heavily ticked LIVER dog. LIVER. I never thought I'd want liver. Tri or bi, I don't care. I just drool over dark liver dogs.

There's a litter I've followed since birth and OH MY DOG, those puppies are ALL TOO CUTE. Some hidden tris which is actually the neatest.

In other breeds I generally prefer dark over light.

 

[amberdyan]

It definitely depends on the breed, but I'd say I prefer an overall darker dog to a lighter dog (even though I weirdly prefer red ACDs). I think Hugo's black and brown coloring is super gorgeous, and his face markings are fun.

Not a big fan of dogs with all white or a lot of white.

I've always loved a pretty tri-colored aussie, traditional black and white BC, and (pardon my ignorance if there's a name for it) GSDs that have a lot of black, but aren't entirely black, lol.

Someone above mentioned dilute dobermans- There's one that goes to the dog park I go to and I'm not of fan of her coloring. She kind of just looks dusty all the time.

I like some merles (usually blue) but not all. They have to be darker and less white.

 

[sassafras]

I tend to gravitate towards black & tan and brindle. In some cases it is breed dependent, like I love solid red koolies but I like blue ACDs. I also love a nice minimally patched but heavily ticked spaniel or English setter. I like sable GSDs (or the equivalent color in other breeds, regardless of what other breeds may call it). Merles I prefer with as little white as possible.

Really there's no color I dislike so much that it would be a deal breaker for me. Every dog I get I end up thinking is beautiful.

 

[lancerandrara]

I'm a typical idiot and like anything remotely wolf-like on GSD or husky mixes. When browsing petfinder or rescues, I shamelessly tend to be attracted towards solid blacks, solid whites, or wolfy-grey mixes AND THEN read their description second. I am so deep.

It looks like most people are attracted to the "unique" looks of any dog, and I'm pretty much the same in any case...

 

[Red.Apricot]

I like black dogs best, white dogs least. Sable is my second least favorite color, though, and obviously that didn't stop me from getting the best dog ever. ;]