How To Predict What Color Your Havanese

Some Havanese will change in the first few months of age and others will change again later in life. We want to help you in this sometimes confusing and frustrating endeavor of choosing the right color and markings of your Kid, so we have compiled a listing for you of the Havanese colors and markings as recognized by AKC. We hope this helps you in determining the proper color and markings of your Kid. The colors and markings are both intriguing and fun to explore and ever changing as the Havanese grow. When selecting a color for an AKC registration, keep in mind that AKC would like Havanese to be listed with the color of the anticipated adult coat. Since most puppies are registered at a young age, it may be difficult to select the most fitting color. Many colors lighten in the first few years, and may darken again later or be affected by an unexpected gene, you can only make the best educated guess possible.

Colors:

Black	Standard	AKC Code: 007
A solid deep jet black with a glossy appearance. No reddish or brown tones and this color will not lighten.

Black & Silver	Standard	AKC Code: 016
A very specific layout of dark and light coat. Predominantly dark black coat overlaid with a silver color point pattern. Color points are laid out in the following pattern; lighter markings appear on the muzzle, eyebrows, underside of ears, cheeks, legs, chest and vent. Color points may be any shade of silver. Points that start out as shades of tan often lighten to shades of silver or creamy white as the dog matures. These points will be seen without white trim. With white trim is the Silver Points (135) marking.

Black & Tan	Standard	AKC Code: 018
A very specific layout of dark and light coat. Predominantly dark black coat overlaid with a tan or gold color point pattern. Color points are laid out in the following pattern; lighter markings appear on the muzzle, eyebrows, underside of ears, cheeks, legs, chest and vent. Color points may be any shade of tan or gold. These points will be seen without white trim. With white trim is the Tan Points (029) marking.

Blue

Standard

AKC Code: 037

Puppies are born black or so dark that they appear black. The black is dull rather than glossy like a true black and may have a dark reddish cast. The coat may start turning as early as 6 to 8 months or as late as 3 to 5 years. Once it starts turning, the coat color will continue to develop until it takes a definite blue cast. The in between color is often a muddy brown or reddish color. Final blue color may be any shade from medium to dark silver/gray/blue and charcoal. Do not get this confused with Silver (176) as the Silver color dog is the lighter silver/grey shades while the Blue dog is the darker charcoal/blue shades. A Blue dog will remain black up to 6-8 months or longer and then start turning towards the silvery blue color later in life.

Blue Charcoal Blue

Chocolate

Standard

AKC Code: 071

A Chocolate dog will be born chocolate. A true chocolate will have liver or brown pigment, no black, on the nose, lips, and eye rims. They may also have lighter brown, amber, or golden eyes. Chocolate coats can vary from milk chocolate to a darker chocolate color and some may turn silver. Chocolate refers to the coat color and the pigment color.

Lighter Chocolate Darker Chocolate

Cream	Standard	AKC Code: 076
Ivory or creamy yellowish white like dairy cream or almonds, or a pale tawny yellow like champagne. The color may be from light to deep intensity with yellow undertones.

Fawn

Standard

AKC Code: 082

A cool color ranging from tan, beige and buff to light brown shades.

Fawn Beige Fawn Tan

Gold

Standard

AKC Code: 091

A rich warm color in various shades of medium gold from honey to apricot with definite reddish highlights to the coat. True Gold dogs retain much of their color throughout their lifetime, though the color may soften with age.

Gold Apricot

Red	Standard	AKC Code: 140
A rich warm color similar to gold with deeper and more intense color, ranging from orange red to deep mahogany.

Silver

Standard

AKC Code: 176

Puppies are born black and start to lighten at about 4 to 6 weeks of age. The coat will start turning silver at the roots and the color change will usually begin on the face and head. As the dog matures the coat will lighten to varying shades of silver from pale platinum, sterling, and pewter to deep grey. The coat change is complete at 12 to 15 months of age. Do not get this confused with Blue (037) as the Silver color dog is the lighter silver/grey shades while the Blue dog is the darker charcoal/blue shades.

Silver Silver Grey

White	Standard	AKC Code: 199
Pure crisp, bright, snow white from birth, no color allowed on any part of the dog including the ears.

Brindle
Brindle is one of the more complex coat colors and much confusion surrounds the brindle markings. The classic brindle combination gives dark bands, more or less regular tiger striped on a lighter background any shade of cream, champagne, tan, gold, or silver. Tiger stripes are apparent at birth and may run all over the body in streaks or stripes of black or brown. The color of each hair must go from root to tip. Not all brindles have this classic striped look; some have the agouti markings where the hairs are banded in rings of color like rabbit or wolf fur. There can be three or more rings of color. Brindle may also appear as a combination coat where two or more different color hairs are mixed throughout giving a more subtle look. Black, brown and auburn hairs intermixed which make a dog look like drying tobacco all over, is known as Havana brown or Black Brindle (279). A brindle can also be a blend of the agouti hair along with intermixed solid hairs. The base color may lighten as the dog matures but the overall pattern will remain. Some lighten and then darken again. Some Brindles may have a dark mask on the face and may have black ears and tail or a dark dorsal stripe.		Brindle Agouti
THE FOLLOWING ARE A COMBINATION OF THE COLOR AND THE BRINDLE AFFECT.
Black Brindle	Standard	AKC Code: 279
Blue Brindle	Standard	AKC Code: 056
Gold Brindle	Standard	AKC Code: 485
Red Brindle	Standard	AKC Code: 148
Silver Brindle	Standard	AKC Code: 303
Black & Silver Brindle	Alternate	AKC Code: 488
Black & Tan Brindle	Alternate	AKC Code: 487
Chocolate Brindle	Alternate	AKC Code: 342
Fawn Brindle	Alternate	AKC Code: 088

Sable
Sable coats are distinguished by darker tipping on a lighter colored under-hair. The amount of tipping may be very heavy or very light. The under-hair can be gold, red, fawn, chocolate or silver. Tipping is generally black but may also be darker shades of brown, gold or silver. Each hair will be variegated from root to tip. Sable coats often lighten or progressively silver as the dog matures. Some Sable dogs lighten dramatically almost all the way to a pale Ivory or off-white leaving just subtle shadings and highlights of color. A true Sable will always retain the dark tipping on the ears and tail even if it is just a few hairs. Sable is the most changeable of all the Havanese colors. The degree of silvering is dependent on the other colors in the genetic makeup of the dog. If the tipping is cut off, generally it will not return except perhaps on the ears and tail.		Sable
THE FOLLOWING ARE A COMBINATION OF THE COLOR AND THE SABLE AFFECT.
Gold Sable	Standard	AKC Code: 486
Red Sable	Standard	AKC Code: 155
Chocolate Sable	Alternate	AKC Code: 350
Fawn Sable	Alternate	AKC Code: 338
Silver Sable	Alternate	AKC Code: *286*

Markings:

Cream Markings	Standard	AKC Code: 044
A predominantly one colored coat with small patches of cream trim found on the chin, chest and feet.

Irish Pied	Standard	AKC Code: 075
Two color coat with over 50% of the coat being any color other than white. With specific coat pattern as follows; The underbelly and lower legs at least up to the elbows, and tail tip are white. There is also white on the chest up to the bottom of the chin, and a full or partial white collar or shawl around the neck. There may be a colored mask on the face. The coloring on the back appears as a large saddle or cape covering the shoulders, back and sides. The topline is colored while the underline is always white.

Parti Belton	Standard	AKC Code: 136
Many Havanese carry the TICKING gene. A Parti-Color dog with this gene will have flecks of color throughout the white coat, giving it a salt and pepper appearance. Dogs without this gene will have a white that stays crisp and pure. The ticking will only be in the area of the white part of the coat.

Parti-Color

Standard

AKC Code: 038

PARTI-COLOR - Coat is over 50% white, broken with irregular patches or spots of a second color. These patches may be any other color.

EXTREME Parti - Lightly marked dogs with less than 10% color are called extreme Parti. An example might be a white dog with one or both ears partly colored and no colored patches on the body.

Parti-Color Extreme Partii

Silver Markings	Standard	AKC Code: 034
A predominantly one colored coat with small patches of silver trim found on the chin, chest and feet.

Silver Points	Standard	AKC Code: 135
A very specific layout of dark and light coat. Predominantly dark coat overlaid with a lighter color point pattern. The most common background coat color is black; it may also be Sable, Blue, Silver or Chocolate. Color points are laid out in the following pattern; lighter markings appear on the muzzle, eyebrows, underside of ears, cheeks, legs, chest and vent. Color points may be any shade of silver. Points that start out as shades of tan often lighten to shades of silver or creamy white as the dog matures. These points will be seen with white trim. Silver Points, without any white trim at all, is known as the Black and Silver (016) color.

Tan Points	Standard	AKC Code: 029
A very specific layout of dark and light coat. Predominantly dark coat overlaid with a lighter color point pattern. The most common background coat color is black; it may also be Sable, Blue, Silver or Chocolate. Color points are laid out in the following pattern; lighter markings appear on the muzzle, eyebrows, underside of ears, cheeks, legs, chest and vent. Color points may be any shade of tan or gold. These points will be seen with white trim. The classic black coat with Tan Points, without any white trim at all, is known as the Black and Tan (018) color.

White Markings	Standard	AKC Code: 014
A predominantly one colored coat with small patches of white trim often found on the chin, chest and feet.

Variant Genes:

Variant genes that could affect the color of the Havanese. These are not part of the AKC Colors or Markings but will be helpful in determining your Havanese color and markings.
Fading Gene	The majority of Havanese carry this gene to some degree. This gene is responsible for colors that progressively lighten as the dog matures. In the Havanese, this lightening may start soon after birth. Some color changes can be quite dramatic going from a very dark puppy coat to a pale cream or champagne adult coat.
Chinchilla Gene	This gene masks the color red and does not allow it to fully develop. This is most noticeable on Tan Point dogs and is responsible for the points appearing silver rather than tan. This causes some confusion as a number of Tan Point dogs, as adults, have no visible tan on them at all. Depending on the intensity of the gene, the points can be as dark as pewter or as light as pale platinum. Tan Points may lighten and then darken again with maturity.
Saddle Gene	Some Havanese carry a SADDLE gene. This is usually a puppy born black with tan/silver points, where the coat color starts fading from the front towards the back, stopping around the shoulder area, leaving the front, face, head and neck lighter and the shoulders, back and rear darker.
Ticking Gene	A parti colored dog with this gene will have flecks of color throughout the white coat, giving it a salt and pepper appearance. Also known as Parti Belton ( 136).
On/Off Gene	This gene is responsible for turning other modifiers on and off possibly playing a role in dogs who lighten dramatically and then deepen again as they mature.