Afghan Hound Colors

Black

A black Afghan Hound is solid black. Some have a faded black color.

A black Afghan Hound is dominant black (KB/-)^[4]. This pattern stops pigment cells from producing any phaeomelanin, so they only produce black eumelanin.

The dominant black pattern masks what a dog has at its A locus (sable or tan point). Black Afghan Hounds can have a black mask allele (Em/-) or a wild-type allele (E/-). It doesn’t matter, since you can’t see a black mask on a solid black dog anyway.

Black Afghans can be solid black or have some small white markings on their chest, paws, or tail tip. And they sometimes can lose their jet black colordue to some kind of pigment fading. This might be related to graying in other breeds and seems to happen more readily in domino carriers.

Blue

A blue Afghan Hound has a gray color, but a black nose.

These dogs are not really blue (as in diluted black). They are black dogs that express less eumelanin, have a pale undercoat, and a lighter hair base due to being domino.

The black domino (eG/- KB/- ) pattern is very variable and depends on the hidden A locus pattern underneath the KB. Affected dogs can appear grayish or slightly patterned.

Most blue Afghans have a sooty overlay on their muzzle. Puppies can look as if they had some big white markings caused by patches of very light undercoat.

A blue Afghan Hound can be more or less gray all over (eG/- KB/- Ay/-) or it can have a grayish blue & cream pattern with washed-out tan points showing through (eG/- KB/- at/at).

Black & Tan

A black and tan Afghan Hound is black with distinct tan markings.

The black-tan Afghan Hound (E/- ky/ky at/at) has a black dorsal coat with tan markings above the eyes, on the muzzle, throat, chest, belly, legs, and under the tail.

A black mask (Em/- ky/ky at/at) can cover some of the face markings.

Dogs with very light phaeomelanin are sometimes called black & cream or black & silver. These lighter markings are not always the result of low intensity. Many Afghan Hounds show countershading, which can also turn all their ventral phaeomelanin very light.

Some dogs seem to have faded black pigment or paler-than-expected hair roots. Progressive graying normally only affects furnished dog breeds, and there is currently no explanation why something similar also happens in Afghans. A reader suggested that this is often seen in dogs that are Em/eG or E/eG, so it could be an effect of incomplete dominance at the E locus.

Domino

A domino Afghan Hound has a light underbody and face with a darker color on its back and forehead.

The domino allele (eG) restricts eumelanin production.

In combination with a tan point pattern (eG/- ky/ky at/at), this creates a phenotype called domino. Dogs have light open face markings, a widow’s peak, a pink stripe on the nose, and pale hair roots. The domino pattern in Afghan Hounds was named after Ch. Tanjores Domino (in other breeds, the same pattern is called grizzle or other names).

This variable pattern can show very different shades, so people use terms like blue domino, silver domino, fawn domino, or red domino to describe different phenotypes.

Dogs with domino patterns tend to have very pale phaeomelanin. Only a few dogs with this pattern manage to express darker reddish colors. Some (very few, actually) dominos keep lots of black and may appear “black & white” (like a Husky) due to their very pale phaeomelanin.

Black & Brindle

A black and brindle Afghan Hound is black with brindled tan markings.

A black & tan dog with brindle (kbr/- at/at) will show black stripes on top of all its tan markings. Brindling can be sparse or dense in individual dogs.

It’s very hard to find images, because a black mask often covers the tan markings on the face. And the coat on the legs is way too fluffy to see the brindling.

Dogs with this pattern can be maskless (E/-) or masked (Em/-).

The Afghan Hound breed simplifies “black and tan with brindle” to “black & brindle“. Other breeds call the same pattern “brindle point“, just so you know.

Brindle Domino

A brindle domino Afghan Hound is domino with washed-out phantom brindling.

A black & brindle dog with domino (eG/- kbr/- at/at) will express less eumelanin than expected. This turns their darker dorsal coat grayish and can reduce brindle striping.

These dogs have a domino pattern with washed-out brindling showing in their grayish dorsal coat. At the same time, brindle on the extremities may disappear or look very faded.

With domino brindle, it’s normal that brindle on the face, belly, and lower legs is reduced to only some darker smudges. In some cases, it can become very hard to even spot the very faint “phantom brindling” on a long-haired dog like the Afghan Hound.

Also, let’s not forget that some dogs are lightly brindled and others are super heavily brindled. A brindle point dog with super dense brindling can look almost black. And its domino version might naturally lean towards “blue brindle” due to the abundance of dark pigment.

Depending on the color combinations found on a particular brindled domino dog, this pattern is called blue & cream brindle, blue brindle, red domino brindle, cream domino brindle, etc.

Dogs with domino patterns tend to have very pale phaeomelanin. Only a few dogs with this pattern manage to express darker reddish colors in their pattern.

Red, Gold, Fawn

A fawn Afghan Hound is predominantly tan, golden, or red.

They typically have a golden or reddish-golden color, often with some countershading. But some dogs can have lighter silver or cream colors.

Many of these sable Afghan Hounds have a black mask (Em/-). Masks add black to the muzzle and often cause black ear feathering. Masks may appear washed-out in some Em/eG dogs.

Sables with E/- are maskless, but have black whiskers.

The actual main color depends on what phaeomelanin intensity the particular Afghan Hound can produce. Some breed clubs distinguish between lighter and darker shades of red pigment:

• Silver Afghan Hound (with or without a black mask, “black-masked silver”)
• Fawn Afghan Hound (with or without a black mask, “black-masked fawn”)
• Gold Afghan Hound (with or without a black mask, “black-masked gold”)
• Apricot Afghan Hound (with or without a black mask, “black-masked apricot”)
• Red Afghan Hound (with or without a black mask, “black-masked red”)
• etc.

Brindle

A brindle Afghan Hound is a red or fawn dog with black stripes.

Brindle adds vertical stripes of black pigment over the yellow-red fawn pattern (kbr/- Ay/-). These sable brindle Afghans can have a mask (Em/-) or be maskless (E).

Dogs with light intensity red are called cream brindle or silver brindle, richer shades are called gold brindle or red brindle. Brindle dogs also can have countershading.

Brindle patterns can be very sparse or very dense. In longhaired dogs like the Afghan Hound, brindle causes alternating shades of color along the body. But individual stripes are most often only visible on areas with a shorter coat, like on the muzzle or topline.

In other words, brindle can be so sparse, that the dog looks fawn. Or it can be so dense that the dog looks black. With lots of possible phenotypes in between.

Oyster Brindle

An oyster brindle Afghan Hound is fawn with phantom brindling.

A sable brindle dog with domino (eG/- kbr/- Ay/-) will have very washed-out brindling. This can create colors described as creamy beige or silver gray.

Since the breed term “domino” is already reserved for dogs with tan point domino, breeders call a sable brindle domino something like silver brindle or oyster brindle.

Dogs with domino patterns tend to have rather light phaeomelanin.

Cream, Silver, White

A cream or white Afghan Hound has a very pale ivory color.

Dogs with this pattern can be either recessive red (e/e) or sable domino (eG/- ky/ky Ay/-).

Both patterns are often linked to very light intensity, cause pale whiskers, and may also cause weak nose pigment. Recessive reds (e/e) can only ever have phaeomelanin in their coat from birth, while cream dominos might still show some faint darker puppy shading (some breeds call it newsprint cream due to the fine lines of grayish pigment still visible in puppies).

In most cases, it is impossible to distinguish between different versions of white, cream, or cream domino just by looking at a dog. Without knowing the dog’s pedigree, you can only rely on genetic testing. And you need a company that can actually pick up eG.

Being either recessive red (e/e) or sable domino (eG/- ky/ky Ay/-), these dogs can never have a black mask. And they have pale whiskers, while lighter regular sables have black whiskers.