Dear ,

Cow Dog.

Black dogs get their own day for good reason. But greyhounds come in many other adorable colors. In fact, the American Greyhound Track Operators officially recognize 18 greyhound colors. About 37% of greyhounds sport stripes, making brindle the most common color. The many shades of brindle can be more precisely described by including the base color. For instance, a dog who is fawn under the stripes is a "fawn brindle."  A dog who is red under the stripes is a "red brindle." Additionally, a brindle with few stripes is "light brindle" whereas brindles with many stripes are "dark brindle." Those who describe a brindle as "black brindle" usually don't have it quite right. These dogs are most likely fawn or red with a lot of brindle stripes. 

Snowflake.

About 20% of greyhounds are white with colored spots or have significant white spots, making "spotted" the next most common color. Per the chart above, a dog is technically described as "black and white" if it is predominantly black with white spots and "white and black" if it is predominantly white with black spots. Colloquially, a white hound with big black spots is referred to as a "cow dog." The same works for brindle. 

About 18% of hounds are black, 16% are red, 6% are fawn, and only 3% are blue (what most people call grey). One of the rarest colors of all is white. An urban myth persists that white hounds shed more than other colors. This perception is likely due to the greater noticeability of the white hairs on clothes and furniture. Coat color makes no difference to shedding or to personality. However, white coat and deafness are genetically linked in many dog breeds because the fur pigment is related to the health of the inner ear structures involved with hearing.   

Blue Richard.

Ticking refers to small spots, usually black or liver colored, sprinkled throughout a coat of another color. For example, hounds with Dalmation style spots are technically white with black ticking.  Sometimes a black hound comes with white ticking creating a rare "snowflake" hound. However, the only officially recognized greyhound ticking is white and brindle.

Greyhound color is, of course, determined by genetics.  Eight pairs of genes control a hound's color.  Half of each pair comes from mom and half from dad, so it's a pretty complicated thing. If you're interested in "nerd level" information about the genetics behind hound color, we recommend Patricia Gail Burnham's Color Primer. It'll have you looking at your pup's coat in a new way.      

  

We know our Greyhound friends love beauty...look at their furbabies! We are very pleased to have been selected to offer Arthur Court Giftware. Perfect for gifts and the serving pieces can be chilled or heated to 350 degrees for those holidays festivities that are quickly approaching.

Read about Arthur Court and see the beauty in the GreytStore!