Self colour

The Russian Blue is a cat breed selected for a self blue colour

This golden Lhasa Apso has some slight colour variation in his coat, but each hair is a uniform shade and he has no white markings, making him a self coloured dog

A self colour refers to the top coat colouration of several domestic animals, such as dogs, pet rodents and cats. It refers to hairs of a uniform shade, with no banding or tipping of another colour. A true self coloured animal should also have no white markings such as bibs or blazes. However, other definitions exist.

In contrast, a sable (dogs), ticked (dogs or cats) or agouti (cats or rodents) coat has two or more different colours along the shaft of the hair, with one colour at the base and usually a darker colour, such as black, at the tip.

The term can also be used to distinguish between colour and pattern; patterns are unpigmented areas with pink skin and white hair. In this definition, an animal has only one self-colour, which is the sum effect of all the genes acting on the pigment. For example, a black and tan piebald Dachshund has patterns (piebald) and self-colours (black and tan).

References

• Breed Standards The National Mouse Club. Accessed May 28, 2008.
• Dachshund Colors and Patterns Dachshund.org. Accessed May 28, 2008.