16 Most Popular Dog Colors, Markings, & Patterns (With Pictures)

Like people, every dog has a unique look, personality, and temperament, which is part of what we love about them. Their appearance can vary as much as ours, from solid-colored dogs of black and white to mixed dogs that are spotted, speckled, or even tuxedoed!

There are infinite patterns and color combinations on canines, but the following 16 are some of the most popular.

The 16 Most Popular Dog Colors, Markings, and Patterns

Solid Dog Colors

Solid-colored dogs have a single color on their entire bodies with no variations. There are no spots, stripes, specks, or anything else, just a single base color.

1. Black Dogs

Black is one of the most popular colors for dogs, and it’s also one of the most common. This is partly because some of the most popular breeds are often black, like German Shepherds, Poodles, and Rottweilers. Most of these breeds feature black with tan markings, but black is still the base color, and it remains one of the most commonly sought-after colors.

2. Brown Dogs

Brown can be confusing as a dog-coat color because there are so many browns in the family. Chocolate, fawn, tan, liver, and more can all be classified as brown. Several popular breeds fall into this color category, such as Boxers and Labs.

3. White Dogs

Dogs that are completely white from head to tail are quite a sight to behold. Unlike dogs with black base coloration, white dogs with colored markings are surprisingly less common than all-white dogs.

Some all-white dogs include popular pups like the Maltese, Bichon Frise, and the Great Pyrenees. However, white dogs with markings are also incredibly popular, including the Dalmatian, Pomeranian, and Siberian Husky.

4. Red Dogs

Often, red and brown dogs get confused with each other. That’s because red dogs aren’t really red; they’re more orange-brown, as shown here with the Rhodesian Ridgeback colors and markings. What’s interesting about red-colored dogs that shows their popularity is how quickly they get adopted. Compared to other dogs, dogs with red coats get adopted 3 days faster on average.

5. Gold Dogs

When you think of a gold-colored dog, the Golden Retriever immediately comes to mind. But just like the color brown, gold is an overarching color that can encompass other shades like wheat, fawn, honey, and mustard. Think of the Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier, for instance.

6. Blue Dogs

Blue dogs have a very unique and exotic look. They’re also rare, and only a few breeds have blue coats. Great Danes are probably the most popular blue-coated dogs, but Weimaraners, Thai Ridgebacks, Blue Lacy, and a few others can also wear these interesting and distinct coats.

7. Gray Dogs

Solid-colored gray dogs are quite rare, even more so than blue ones. Weimaraners are the only true purebred solid gray canines. Siberian Huskies are also gray, but their coat is almost always marked with white or black. Still, there are plenty of dogs with a gray base marked with other colors, including the Alaskan Malamute, Norwegian Elkhound, and Irish Wolfhound.

Dog Patterns

Most dogs aren’t a single solid color. Instead, many dogs’ coats contain two, three, or even more colors. The way the colors present themselves is referred to as patterns, and the following nine are some of the most popular and desirable patterns around.

8. Bicolor Dogs

Bicolored dogs have coats of two distinct colors. The most common include black and tan, black and white, or black and brown. You can picture the Rottweiler with their black bodies and tan or brown markings. Or think of the Border Collie with their black bodies and white feet, necks, and faces.

9. Tricolor Dogs

Dogs with tricolor coats sport three separate colors. A common dog with such a coat is the Beagle, which has a mainly white body with large black and brown spots. Another great example is the Miniature Collie, which is once again black, white, and brown.

10. Merle Dogs

Merle patterning is splotches of color over a solid coat. The colored splotches are usually red or blue. The most iconic breed to sport this coat is the Australian Shepherd, though you’ll also find it in Border Collies and American Bulldogs.

11. Harlequin Dogs

The Harlequin coat pattern is where the base of the dog’s coat is white, but large black patches are all over their body. The only breed that sports this pattern today is the Great Dane. However, other breeds used to display a Harlequin coat, such as the Miniature Pinscher, but it was considered undesirable and bred out.

12. Tuxedo Dogs

The tuxedo pattern has one solid color, most often black, with a large white patch covering the chest and chin. The dog may also have white patches on some or all of their feet. This gives the illusion of the dog wearing a tuxedo when sitting upright. The most common tuxedo-coated pup is the Boston Terrier.

13. Brindle Dogs

The Brindle coat color has a mix of black with a shade of brown or gold, usually in a striped pattern that resembles a tiger's coat. Some breeds that can display brindle coats include Boston Terriers and American Pit Bull Terriers.

14. Sable Dogs

Sable-coated dogs have some of the most interesting fur. Their hair is two-tone—not the color of their coat, but each individual hair. The base of the hair, close to their skin, is one color, usually gray, silver, tan, gold, or something similar.

However, the tips of the hair are black, giving the dog the look of having an undercoat of another color. A few breeds with this pattern are the Shetland Sheepdog, Borzoi, and Saluki.

15. Spotted Dogs

Spotted dogs usually have patches of dark pigment over a base color that’s much lighter. Dalmatians are technically the only truly spotted breed. Other breeds look like they have spots but are considered specks or flecks.

16. Speckled, Flecked, or Ticked Dogs

Dogs that appear to have spots but aren’t Dalmatians are referred to as speckled, flecked, or ticked. Generally speaking, their flecks don’t have the same level of contrast to their base color as the Dalmatian’s spots. Some commonly flecked dogs include the English Setter, Great Dane, and American Hairless Terrier.

Conclusion: Dog Colors, Markings, and Patterns

Dogs come in all colors, shapes, and sizes, but they can all make excellent companions and partners. Your dog’s coat color may actually have an impact on their life expectancy. According to a study by the University of Sydney, Chocolate Labs live 10% shorter lives than Labs of other colors. Moreover, they are twice as likely to have ear inflammation and four times as likely to get dermatitis.

So, while we might think of the unique colors and patterns as just unique-looking and diverse, they might have more profound implications that we’re yet to understand.

Featured Image Credit By: Anna_Bondarenko, Shutterstock