The American Akita is a large dog with an imposing build and a dense double coat. The most common base pattern in the modern Akita breed is sable, but with lots of variations.
Learn all about the American Akita standard colors.
Black
Black is an umbrella term for very dark-looking Akitas and is considered one of the rarest Akita coat colors. The genetics of black American Akitas are somewhat of a mystery.
The black Akita is not solid black, but actually seems to be a very, very heavily shaded sable dog with an abundance of dark overlay (“shaded black“). Some of these dogs also have a very extended black mask, which can add to the overall effect. This kind of extreme sabling and extreme masking is known to occur in only a few breeds (like Akitas or Malinois).
A newborn shaded black Akita puppy can look solid black at first. The adult black Akita often has some lighter undercoat or lighter hair bases showing through.
The AKC accepts black as a standard color, but lists all variations like black, red undercoat, black or fawn undercoat, etc. as “alternate colors” (not suitable for conformation).
There is a very small chance for solid recessive black (a) Akitas, but the recessive black allele only occurs in about 1 % of purebred dogs. And dominant black (KB) does not exist in the breed[4]. This means, that black Akitas are rarely solid dark and never seal (which can look similar).
There is also a slim chance for a tan point (at) pattern in this breed. Combined with a large black mask and some white (to hide the tan points), this may also pass as solid black…
BASE PATTERN
shaded sable (black mask) (?)
MERLE
–
OTHER
–
EUMELANIN
black
INTENSITY
red, fawn, silver
WHITE
solid
white markings
pinto
Brown
A dark brown Akita has a phenotype with somewhat heavy sabling or hair banding. The AKC does not even accept just “brown” as a standard color, only “brown, black overlay.” There is some room to speculate that some of these dogs might actually be agouti.
Using brown when they actually mean an even mixture of red and black is a little unfortunate. Do not confuse this with liver brown, a color that is not standard for Akitas.
A “brown” Akita can have a black mask and white markings or pinto markings.
BASE PATTERN
shaded sable (black mask)
agouti (black mask) (?)
MERLE
–
OTHER
–
EUMELANIN
black
INTENSITY
red, fawn
WHITE
solid
white markings
pinto
Red
Red describes sable with a high red intensity and rich orange-red colors. A red American Akita can also have black sabling, a black mask, white markings, or piebald.
BASE PATTERN
clear sable (black mask)
shaded sable (black mask)
MERLE
–
OTHER
–
EUMELANIN
black
INTENSITY
red
WHITE
solid
white markings
pinto
Fawn
Fawn means sable with red intensity in the yellow, blonde, or tan spectrum. Fawn Akitas can also have black sabling, a black mask, white markings, or piebald.
BASE PATTERN
clear sable (black mask)
shaded sable (black mask)
MERLE
–
OTHER
–
EUMELANIN
black
INTENSITY
fawn
WHITE
solid
white markings
pinto
Silver
Silver is used for the lightest possible intensity in sables, which makes them look very grayish.
Ideally, a true silver Akita should have no hint of a fawn or red color. However, the Royal Kennel Club also lists silver fawn as an in-between color option.
A silver American Akita can have sabling, a black mask, white markings, or piebald.
BASE PATTERN
clear sable (black mask)
shaded sable (black mask)
MERLE
–
OTHER
–
EUMELANIN
black
INTENSITY
silver
WHITE
solid
white markings
pinto
Brindle
American Akitas can have a brindle pattern with black stripes over their sable coat.
The brindle striping can be sparse or dense, and the shade of red in the underlying sable pattern can vary from red to silver. Brindle patterns are often named after the most prominent color in the phenotype, e.g. black brindle, red brindle, fawn brindle, or silver brindle.
A brindle Akita can also have a black mask, white markings or pinto. The sable sin this breed can be very dark, and this can obscure some of the brindling.
BASE PATTERN
sable brindle (black mask)
MERLE
–
OTHER
–
EUMELANIN
black
INTENSITY
any
WHITE
solid
white markings
pinto
White
Solid white American Akitas are recessive red (e/e) with a very low phaeomelanin intensity. There seems to be some intensity modifier that can only affect e/e dogs, making them a lighter ivory or cream color, while dogs with other patterns can still express richer shades of red.
Some white dogs might show a hint of red pigment in their white coats, which is very normal for this pattern. However, the AKC lists white, red shading as an alternate color.
The recessive red genotype causes dogs to never express any black pigment in their coat. They can never have a black mask, black sabling, or black brindle stripes.
All recessive red dogs are predisposed to having faded nose pigment.
A white American Akita can also have white or pinto markings. It’s just impossible to see the contrast between their lightly pigmented coat and true white markings.
BASE PATTERN
recessive red
MERLE
–
OTHER
–
EUMELANIN
black
INTENSITY
cream, ivory
WHITE
solid
white markings
pinto
Faulty Colors
The American Akita can not have any base color other than black (chocolate, blue). They also can’t be merle. And they avoid white patterns that extend so far onto the head that they could cause blue eyes, missing pigment on the lips or eye rims, or pink-spotted butterfly noses.
“Disqualifications:
Partial or total lack of pigmentation on nose. Any nose color other than black, except on white Akitas. Merle marking pattern. Liver Color.”
AKC Breed Standard[1]
“Faults: Blue or black spotted tongue. Light eyes.”
“Disqualifying Faults: Totally unpigmented nose. A nose with unpigmented areas (Butterfly nose).”
FCI Breed Standard[2]
“Any colour, except merle which is unacceptable […]”
RKC Breed Standard[3]
Base Patterns
The base pattern describes the placement of phaeomelanin and eumelanin in the coat. There is an epistatic hierarchy between the A locus < K locus < E locus.
- The A locus controls the basic distribution of both pigment types.
- Next, the K locus can add black to the A locus pattern.
- Finally, the E locus regulates the general ability to produce black pigment.
A Locus
| Ay | clear sable |
| Ays | shaded sable |
| aw | agouti |
| asa | saddle |
| at | tan point |
| a | recessive black |
Most Akitas are sable, which may include both clear sable (Ay) and shaded sable (Ays).
Some dogs have very heavy dark sabling, which is called “black overlay” in this breed. And some sables are so dark that they appear mainly “black“. The agouti pattern causes banded dorsal hairs and gives darker face markings compared to sable. Maybe this is what the call “brown“?
Sable and agouti puppies can look almost black. Most go through an intense pale phase and then darken again, as they lose their puppy coat and grow in their new adult coat.
The tan point variant (at) and recessive black (a) are also present, but very, very rare.
K Locus
| kbr | brindle |
| ky | wild-type |
The American Akita can be brindle (kbr/-), but most don’t have any added black (ky/ky).
E Locus
| Em | black mask |
| E | wild-type |
| eG | grizzle |
| e | recessive red |
American Akitas often have a black mask (Em/-), many even have very extended masking with black shading over the ventral surface (lower legs, belly). A maskless Akita expresses the wild-type (E/-).
The solid white color happens in recessive red (e/e) dogs (this phenoytpe fully removes black from the coat). Interestingly, the grizzle domino variant is also present (eG/-), but super rare in this breed.
American Akita Base Patterns
The genotypes of American Akita breed standard patterns:
| A LOCUS | K LOCUS | E LOCUS | PATTERN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ay/- | ky/ky | Em/- | sable, mask “black, red, fawn, silver“ |
| Ay/- | ky/ky | E/- | sable “black, red, fawn, silver“ |
| at/- | kbr/- | Em/- | sable brindle, mask “brindle“ |
| at/- | kbr/- | E/- | sable brindle “brindle“ |
| aw/- | ky/ky | Em/ | agouti, mask “brown” (?) |
| aw/- | ky/ky | E/- | agouti “brown” (?) |
| aw/- | kbr/- | Em/ | agouti brindle, mask “brindle“ |
| aw/- | kbr/- | E/- | agouti brindle “brindle“ |
| a/a | kbr/-, ky/ky | Em/-, E/- | recessive black “black“ |
| e/e | recessive red “white“ |
Base Colors
The base color is determined by the B locus and D locus.
B Locus
Akiotas are fixed for black pigment (B/B) at the B locus.
| B | black |
D Locus
The D locus controls color dilution.
Akitas are fixed for normal pigment (D/D).
| D | dense |
American Akita Base Colors
The genotypes of accepted base colors in the American Akita breed:
| B LOCUS | D LOCUS | COLOR |
|---|---|---|
| B/B | D/D | black |
Red Intensity
The color intensity of phaeomelanin in the phenotype is a polygenic trait, meaning it is regulated by a number of different genes. This causes a gradient of colors of possible colors between high intensity red and orange colors, to medium intensity yellow and tan colors, to low intensity cream colors.
The breed standards describes the shades seen in Akitas as red, fawn, silver fawn, silver, or white.
There also seems to be an untestable modifier that somehow only affects recessive red dogs. This explains why only puppies with these patterns are born with a light cream color, although normally patterned dogs of the same breed typically express darker shades of red.
Some Akitas may have countershading. This causes the dilution of red on the ventral body and is related to the slightly more refined urajiro in Japanese breeds.
White Markings
Different traits can remove pigment from the coat and replace it with white markings.
Most Akitas seem to be homozygous for piebald (sP/sP), a truly solid (S/S) coat is rare[5].
The amount of white a dog gets from being sP/sP depends on some untestable modifiers and is never fully predictable. Both moderate “white markings” to slightly extended “pinto” are accepted.
“Pinto has a white background with large, evenly placed patches covering head and more than one-third of body.”
AKC Breed Standard[1]
A piebald pattern that does not produce too much white is referred to as white markings (some of these dogs might be S/sP). If more than 1/3 but less than 2/3 of the body is white, they call it pinto.
Some Akitas may express extended piebald, with more than 2/3 of their body being white. Mainly white dogs with only a colored head are called white with a colored mask or simply hooded.
Any white on the muzzle with or without a white blaze (American Akita people call this a white mask) is accompanied by at least some white body markings on the paws, chest, belly, tail tip, or a white collar.
The AKC specifies that dogs can not have face-white if they don’t also have some body white. This ensures that breeders don’t accidentally breed for whitehead phenotypes.
By the way, a few Akitas express light ticking in their white coat.
Watermarking
Some sable Akitas with white markings and a black mask can have watermarking! This refers to the black pigment pooling along the edges between sable patches and white.
American Akita Eye Colors
Akitas are supposed to have brown eyes.
“Dark brown, small, deep-set and triangular in shape. Eye rims black and tight.”
AKC Breed Standard[1]
“Relatively small, almond-shaped, clean, moderately set apart and dark brown. “
RKC Breed Standard[3]
American Akita Nose Colors
Akitas have a black nose and a pink tongue.
Their black eumelanin will also affect the color of their eye rims, lips, paw pads, nails, etc. Some dogs have muzzle white and can have pink spots on their puppy nose, these will fill in over time.
A white Akita can have weak nose pigment. Their nose may look a little more flesh-colored, brownish, or grayish and not solid black. This is very normal for recessive red dogs.
The Canadian Kennel Club calls this a “liver nose“. But it’s not chocolate (!), it’s still just faded black.
“Nose – Broad and black. Black noses on white Akitas preferred, but a lighter colored nose with or without shading of black or gray tone is acceptable.”
“Disqualification – partial or total lack of pigmentation on the nose surface. Any nose color other than black, except on white Akitas.”
AKC Breed Standard[1]
“Broad and black. Liver nose permitted on white Akitas only, but black preferred.”
CKC Breed Standard[4]
“Broad and black. Slight and diffuse lack of pigment on nose is acceptable in white dogs only but black is always preferred.”
FCI Breed Standard[1]
“Nose large and black, bridge straight. Lips tight and black. In white dogs flesh colour pigmentation is permissible on nose and lips.”
RKC Breed Standard[3]
American Akita Coat Type
Akitas are short-haired with the stand-off double coat common for spitz-type dogs.
“Double-coated. Undercoat thick, soft, dense and shorter than outer coat. Outer coat straight, harsh and standing somewhat off body. Hair on head, legs and ears short.”
AKC Breed Standard[1]
“Outer coat coarse, straight, and standing off body. Undercoat soft and dense.”
RKC Breed Standard[3]
An American Akita should have no ruff or feathering. The gene variant for long coat only occurs at a very low frequency in purebred Akitas[5]. Dogs with a fluffy, long coat are called wooly Akitas.
Interestingly, the allele for curly coat is also present in purebred Akitas, although very, very rare. Curls only affect longer hair, the chances of actually producing a “curly wooly” puppy seem quite small.
“Fault – Any indication of ruff or feathering.“
AKC Breed Standard[1]
“No indication of ruff or feathering.”
RKC Breed Standard[3]
The coat type can significantly affect how we perceive coat colors. In spitz-type breeds, the hair often stands off the body due to their thick undercoat.
The basic hair morphology is determined by hair length and the presence of furnishings or curls. Other factors, like hair thickness or the amount of undercoat, can vary within each coat type.
This causes a spectrum of coat types with different degrees of shedding and different coat textures, e.g. thick hair with a stiff and coarse feel, as opposed to fine hair with a silky or cotton-like quality.
American Akitas have a thick undercoat, they are high-shedding dogs.
Related Breeds
American and Japanese Akitas are still closely related and could be considered varieties of the same breed. But each breed independently selected foundation dogs and then bred their respective type of Akita separately over many decades, each with their own set of criteria. So the lines drifted further apart.
The FCI standard says that American Akitas were developed based on dogs with Mastiff and German Shepherd influence[1]. This caused some controversy about which Akita is the original and ultimately led to the separation into two distinct breeds, the Japanese Akita and the bulkier American Akita.
Japanese Akita Inu
German Shepherd
Saint Bernard
Learn More
Links
[1] AKC Breed Standard: Akita
[2] FCI Breed Standard: American Akita
[3] RKC Breed Standard: Akita
[4] CKC Breed Standard: Akita
[5] Dreger et al. (2019). True Colors: Commercially-acquired morphological genotypes reveal hidden allele variation among dog breeds, informing both trait ancestry and breed potential. PLoS ONE 14(10): e0223995. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223995
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Hi! I’m Steffi. I am a biologist and a big time dog nerd. You are curious about coat color genetics? You’ve come to the right place! Read more.
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