THE COLORFUL CHIHUAHUA
by Kerri Klimpel
B orn into the dog world, my love of Chihuahuas was discovered in 1999 when I acquired my first smooth coat girl. She was a fawn with black sabling. The blending of sabling was so appealing to me. This wonderful little breed comes in many color variations/markings. Fawn, cream, red, black, chocolate, blue, sil- ver, white and gold. Any of these col- ors can be solid, Irish marked, Boston marked, sabled or spotted on white. There are tri-colored Chihuahuas which incorporate the tan markings/ points on black and white, chocolate and white and blue and white. The reds, fawns and creams can have a black mask. Blue fawns can have a blue mask. Brindle is also an AKC approved color and can be black, chocolate, blue or fawn brindled. Merle markings are AKC approved as well. The merle gene creates mottled patches of color in a solid or piebald coat, blue or odd colored eyes and can affect skin pigment as well. A color that I find fascinating is wolf sable, which basically mimics the color/ markings of a wolf. It consists of vari- ations of black and brown or cream along each hair shaft which gives a grey ‘wolf like’ appearance. Shade can vary so that some appear almost black with only a little bit of shading around the head indicating the true pattern and some a pale silver like color. Some have points, consisting
“A COLOR THAT I FIND FASCINAT- ING IS WOLF SABLE, WHICH BASI- CALLY MIMICS THE COLOR/MARK- INGS OF A WOLF. IT CONSISTS OF VARIATIONS OF BLACK AND BROWN OR CREAM ALONG EACH HAIR SHAFT WHICH GIVES A GREY ‘WOLF LIKE’ APPEARANCE.”
of the traditional facial pattern and paler colored legs, ranging from a pale cream to a deep copper, similar to the tan points. Whereas others are quite dark in the face with very little mark- ing. True wolf sable chihuahuas have what they call a “butterfly” nose in which parts of the nose lacks pigment, and the lacking pigment part mim- ics a butterfly image. You will never get bored with this saucy little breed that can be any color—solid, marked or splashed.
46 • T op N otch T oys , A ugust 2019
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