Chow Chow Color Chart

An overview of breed standard Chow Chow colors and their genetics.

Ay/- sable	E/- ky/ky normal	E/- KB/- dom. black	e/e recessive red
D/- B/B non-diluted black	black-based sable “Red“	solid black “Black“	black-based recessive red “Cream“
d/d B/B diluted black	blue-based sable “Cinnamon, Fawn”	solid blue “Blue“	blue-based recessive red “Cream“

Chow Chow Color Overview

Breed standard colors in the Chow Chow breed:

Chow Chow Color Genetics Summary

These are color traits that occur in Chow Chows.

Some traits were introduced to produce non-standard colors.

E-LOCUS	Em = melanistic mask E = normal pattern e = recessive red
K-LOCUS	KB = dominant black kbr = brindle ky = normal pattern
A-LOCUS	Ay = sable at = tan points
B-LOCUS	B = black eumelanin b = brown eumelanin
D-LOCUS	D = normal eumelanin d = diluted eumelanin
S-LOCUS	S = solid sP = piebald spotting
M-LOCUS	m = non-merle M* = merle

Chow Chow Colors

What colors do purebred Chow Chows come in?

Eumelanin

Chow Chows can have black (B/- D/-) or diluted black “blue” (B/- d/d) pigment.

A small number of Chows seem to have brown (b/b D/-) or diluted brown “lilac” (b/b d/d) pigment. However, chocolate brown is not a standard color in this breed.

Phaeomelanin

The phaeomelanin comes in a range of shades from red to golden to cream to white.

Chow Chows are one of the breeds where sable-patterned dogs have a tan, orange or red base color while recessive red dogs express on average lighter cream or white shades of phaeomelanin.

But there is still quite some overlap between dark cream and light red dogs.

White Spotting

Chow Chows are fixed for a solid pattern (S/S).

Some breeders still produce parti-colored dogs (s^P/-) as a “fancy color”.

Eye Color

Chow Chows are supposed to have dark brown eyes with black eye rims per the AKC standard.

However, it’s quite normal for dogs with diluted black eumelanin (cinnamon, blue) to have lighter yellowish eye pigment and more blue-greenish puppy eyes.

Nose Color

Per the AKC, blacks have a black nose, blues have a gray nose, and creams can have a fading nose.

Cream and white Chow Chows have a recessive red pattern and often show strong nose pigment fading. This can remove so much pigment from a black or blue nose that it looks pinkish or brownish.

All red and cinnamon AKC Chow Chows are supposed to have a black nose.

But… a black nose on a cinnamon (fawn) Chow Chow is impossible!

Cinnamons are blue-based sable. And all dogs with a blue-based pattern will always have a slate nose and gray lips and eye rims since dogs with color dilution (d/d) can’t produce black pigment.

The FCI standard is a little more realistic and allows gray noses on their fawn/cinnamon dogs.

Chow Chow Patterns

What standard patterns can Chow Chow have?

• Ay/Ay
  • E/-
    • ky/ky
      • sable
B/B D/- "red"
B/B d/d "cinnamon"
    • KB/-
      • dominant black
B/B D/- "black"
B/B d/d "blue"
  • e/e
    • recessive red
"cream, white"

A Locus

Chow Chows are fixed for a sable pattern (A^y/A^y).

The tan point variant (at) also occurs in Chow Chows but is very rare in purebred dogs.

Most Chow Chows are clear sable (A^y), only very few produce sable shading in their adult coats.

Sable is often combined with countershading.

K Locus

Only red and cinnamon Chow Chows can express their sable pattern (k^y/k^y).

Solid black or blue Chow Chows have a dominant black pattern (K^B/-). This forces all their pigment cells to produce only eumelanin. This overrides their sable pattern and gives a solid eumelanic coat.

In Chow Chows, a solid black or blue dog may still show some lighter undercoat and feathering.

Sometimes, sunbleaching and old coat can give a reddish-brownish hue. And a number of Chow Chows seem to express a seal pattern where some of the hidden sable pattern bleeds through.

Some breeders produce non-standard brindle (k^br/-) Chow Chows. Brindle adds eumelanin stripes on top of a Chow’s sable pattern, so you get a red dog with black stripes or a cinnamon with blue stripes.

E Locus

Most red or cinnamon and solid black or blue Chow Chows have a wild-type allele (E/-). This just allows them to express whatever pattern (sable or dominant black) they have.

Some sable Chow Chows have a black mask (E^m/-) on top of their pattern. Dominant black Chow Chows can also have a mask allele but their mask will be invisible against their already solid coat.

And it is super normal for many breeds, especially in many Asian spitz-type breeds, to produce some puppy masking which is not related to E^m and will fade over time.

Finally, all cream or white Chow Chows are recessive red.

They have two copies of a loss-of-function mutation (e/e). The function they lost is the ability to signal their hair pigment cells to produce eumelanin. This gives them a solid cream color and white whiskers.

For some unknown reason, the phaeomelanin intensity is much lighter in recessive red Chow Chows (cream, white) than in sable Chow Chows (red, orange, tan). This is a common phenomenon in a number of breeds. And some orange ear, face, or back shading is normal for lighter e/e patterns.

As well as having a pink nose with strong pigment fading.

Here is a summary of all Chow Chow breed standard patterns:

Mismarks and Fancy Colors

These are some common non-standard colors in the Chow Chow:

• Chocolate Chow Chow
• Lilac Chow Chow
• Brindle Chow Chow
• Merle Chow Chow
• Black & Tan Chow Chow

Learn More

Links

[1] American Kennel Club (AKC): Official Standard for the Chow Chow (pdf)

[2] Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI): Chow Chow Breed Standard (pdf)

[3] 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