HAVANESE COLORS PER AKC: Havanese come in a variety of colors which are both intriguing and fun; changing as they mature. Predicting these colors takes a little bit of genetic understanding and a lot of guess work. Bottom line, what you see as a puppy is not always what you get as an adult. We hope you will find the following information helpful in understanding the colors of this amazing breed, and enjoy photos of some of our Fuzzypups! in the process. According to the American Kennel Club's standard, all colors are acceptable, both singly or in any combination. There is no preference given to one color over another. When selecting a color for an American Kennel Club registration, keep in mind that they would like puppies 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. With this in mind, one can only make the most educated guess possible, and remember that although the colors listed on AKC pedigrees may not reflect the most accurate color description, consider it one of the fascinating qualities of this wonderful breed. Listed below are some of the standard color options found with AKC registrations along the alternate color options that AKC will allow. Photo's are Fuzzypups! when possible others from the inter net. Descriptions from the Havanese books as well as AKC and other inter net sites. BLACK [007] - A solid colored dark black, with a glossy appearance, and without reddish or brown tones. This color does not lighten
BLACK & SILVER [016] or BLACK & TAN [018] - A primarily black coat, with tan or silver in the type of pattern that would appear on a Doberman or Rottweiler. These markings are found on the eyebrows, muzzle, underside of the ears, cheeks, legs or chest
SILVER [176] - Puppies are born black and start to lighten at about 4-6 weeks of age. 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 approximately 12-15 months of age. in 2016 we have had 2 silver boys and are hoping to eventually produce these in our Fuzzypup! line. For now, the silver is rare for a Fuzzypup! and is an up charged cost WHITE [199]- Pure snow white, with no color allowed on any part of the coat including the ears.
RED [140] - Red is a rich warm color, similar to Gold with deeper and more intense color, ranging from to Orangey Red to deep Mahogany.
FAWN [082] - Fawn is a cool color ranging from tan and buff to light brown shades.
GOLD [091] - This is a rich warm color in various shades of medium gold from honey to apricot. There are very definite reddish highlights to the coat. True Gold dogs retain much of their color throughout their lifetime, though the color may soften with age.
CREAM [076] - Ivory or creamy yellowish white, the color of dairy cream or almonds. Pale tawny yellow, the color of champagne. Yellow undertones. Cream coats can be beige from light to deep intensity, often with a slightly darker coloring on the ears.
CHOCOLATE [071]- Puppies are born chocolate. True chocolate dogs will have self colored pigment; they cannot have anything black. They usually have lighter colored eyes in warm brown, amber, green or golden shades. Chocolate coats may vary from very light Cafe au Lait to Milk Chocolate to a darker Chocolate color. Some chocolate dogs may turn silver. SABLES: GOLD SABLE [486] or RED SABLE [155] - Sable coats are distinguished by darker tipping on a lighter colored underfur. The amount of tipping may be very heavy or very light. The underfur 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 its 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. The alternate Sable colors are FAWN SABLE [338] , CHOCOLATE SABLE [350] or SILVER SABLE [286].
(brindle parti) BRINDLES: BLACK BRINDLE [279] , BLUE BRINDLE [056] , GOLD BRINDLE [485] , RED BRINDLE [148] , SILVER BRINDLE [303] - Much confusion surrounds brindle markings. Brindle is one of the more complex coat colors. The classic brindle combination gives dark bands, more or less regular tiger striped on a lighter background any shade from cream, champagne, tan, gold or silver. (ie. Similar to brindle coats of the Boxer or Dane). Tiger stripes are apparent at birth and run all over the body in streaks or stripes of black or brown. Not all Brindles have this classic striped look. Brindle may also appear more subtly as a combination coat where two or more different color hairs are mixed throughout. Black, brown and auburn hairs intermixed may make a dog appear a tobacco color all over. This combination is often called Havana Brown. In Brindle coats, the color of each hair must go from root to tip. The base color may lighten as the dog matures but the overall pattern will remain. Brindle dogs often have a dark mask on the face. Brindle is not the same as Sable where the coat is only tipped in color. The alternate Brindle color options are BLACK & SILVER BRINDLE [488], BLACK & TAN BRINDLE [487], CHOCOLATE BRINDLE [342] , FAWN BRINDLE [088].
WHITE MARKINGS [014]- On a predominantly solid colored coat, small patches of white trim, often found on the chin, chest and feet are referred to as markings. These markings may also be CREAM [044] or SILVER [034].
PARTI-COLORED [038] - A two color coat with 50% or more of the coat being white, with the colors laid out in NO particular pattern. There are often irregular patches or spots of any second color. Lightly marked dogs with less than 10% color are called extreme Parti or extreme Piebald. An example might be a white dog with one or both ears partly colored and no colored patches on the body.
IRISH PIED (also referred to as just PIED) [075] - A two color coat with 50% or more of the coat being any color other than white, with the colors laid out in the following SPECIFIC pattern: The underbelly and lower legs are white. There is also white on the chest up to the bottom of the chin, as well as a full or partial white collar or shawl around the neck. The tip of the tail is always white. There may be a colored mask on the face. The coloring on the back is solid and appears as a large saddle or cape covering the shoulders, back and sides. Topline is colored while the underline is always white.