Bi-color question - Page 1

With all of the beautiful bi-colors posted, curiosity has gotten the better of me. At what age can you usually tell if bi-color or black and tan? Any pictures to post of bi-colors and black and tan puppies at birth through adult?

Thank you for satisfying my curiosity.
Melissa

Melba,

If you search the message board you will find many many discussions about bicolors.

I have read a few and I think the general knowledge is that you can tell if the puppy is a bicolor right away. Bicolors, when born, can appear all black but they have the tan "vent" under the tail.


I have 2 bicolors and love them to pieces- beautiful dogs!!


Amanda

I have personally witnessed a puppy that when born looked all black with the tan vent that turned out black and tan. A very melanistic black and tan, but one none the less. She had no tan on her face until she was 18-20 months old, at which point she grey a little tan behind her ears and a tiny bit on the sides of her face. Her stomach was tan down the center. Like I said, born all black and looked bi-color until older.

With some puppies, you just can't tell until they're 4-6 months old. Dark black and tans are born all black with just the tan vents. You can see the pictures of Jubilee that I linked in the other thread--at 10 weeks, I thought she'd might be a bicolor--but I wasn't sure. She didn't turn out bicolor. But I couldn't be positive at that age. Other puppies have such "muddy" legs, it's obvious they're going to be bicolors and you know by 4-6 weeks.

The dog pictured above had tarheels and striping on the toes until 1.5yrs old and just gradually lost them after that. Like I said, she had no tan on her head or behind her ears until she was much older. Her mother is a melanistic black and tan BUT has faint, very faint, tarheels and penciling. I personally love the bi-colors also.

Melissa