>>Coat (dog)

Coat (dog)

A dog's coat is its fur. A dog can be double coated—that is, having both a soft undercoat and a coarser topcoat. Some dog breeds are single-coated—having only one type of coat or the other, more often only the topcoat. The state of the coat is considered an indication of the animal's breeding and health.

Newfoundland lying next to its combed-out seasonal undercoat.

Most dogs shed their undercoat each spring and regrow it again as colder weather comes in; this is also referred to as blowing the coat. Many domesticated breeds shed their coat twice a year. In many climates, the topcoat and undercoat might shed continuously in greater and smaller quantities all year.

Some dog breeds' coat is more like human hair than like other animals' fur; for example, the Poodle's coat grows continuously, getting longer and longer, and requires frequent trimming.

Show dogs

The nature and quality of a show dog's coat is an important conformation point in the hobby of dog fancy.

Some considerations in judging the quality of a dog's coat:

• Colour (coat colour other than those allowed in the breed standard results in disqualification)
• Markings (distribution of colour, spots, and patches; for example the spotted coat of a Dalmatian is distinctive, the markings of a terrier vary.)
• Pattern (specific, predictable markings; brindle, for example, is a common pattern.
• Texture of hair (smooth, rough, curly, straight, broken, silky)
• Length of hair

Colours and patterns

Dogs' coats come in a tremendous variety of colours and patterns. Some breeds come in only one or two specific colors, while other breeds can have a wide range of colors, patterns, and shades. Breeds bred strictly for their working ability tend to have more variations than breeds bred primarily for their appearance over a longer time, although some very old breeds also have more limited coat colors.

Words used for coat colours can vary from breed to breed, so a colour that is called red in one breed might be called brown in other breeds.

Colour names

Brown Chesapeake Bay Retriever		Brown and its variants, including mahogany, midtone brown, gray-brown, blackish brown; the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, whose color "must be as nearly that of its working surroundings as possible", also uses the terms sedge and deadgrass. (Weimaraners are often described as "steel-grey" but they are in fact light brown, the colour of the powder for instant hot chocolate.)
Red Irish Setter	Dark chocolate Australian Kelpie	Red—reminiscent of reddish woods such as cherry or mahogany—and its variants, including chestnut, , tawny, orange, roan, rust, red-gold, reddish brown, bronze, cinnamon, tan, ruby; also includes liver, a reddish brown somewhat the color of cinnamon or bronze; the breed often determines whether "liver", "chocolate", "brown", or "red" is used to describe the color, as in a liver German Shorthaired Pointer or a chocolate Labrador Retriever.
Apricot Poodle	Dark Golden Retriever	Gold Rich reddish-yellow (orangeish), as in a Golden Retriever, and its variants, including yellow-gold, lion-colored, fawn, apricot, wheaten (pale yellow or fawn, like the color of ripe wheat), tawny, straw, yellow-red, mustard, sandy, honey.
Yellow is a common color for mixed-breed dogs	Yellow Labrador Retriever	Yellow—yellowish-gold tan, as in a yellow Labrador Retriever—and its variants, including blond and lemon. Lemon is a very pale yellow or wheaten color which is not present at birth (the puppies are born white) but gradually becomes apparent, usually during the first six months of life.
Cream French Bulldog		Cream: Sometimes it's hard to define the line between pale yellow and cream. Depending on the breed and individual, cream ranges from white through ivory and blond, often occurring with or beneath lemon, yellow, and sable.
Dark orange sable Pomeranian	Lighter sable Shetland Sheepdogs	Sable: Black-tipped hairs; the background color can be gold to yellow, silver, gray, or tan. The darkness of the coat depends on how much of each hair is black versus the lighter color.
Black Newfoundland	Black Labrador Retriever	Black: Usually pure black but sometimes grizzled, particularly as dogs age and develop white hairs, usually around the muzzle.
Kerry Blue Terriers	Blue merle Australian Shepherd	Blue: Not the rainbow's blue but rather a dark metallic gray, often as a blue merle or speckled (with black). Kerry Blue Terriers, Australian Silky Terriers, Bearded Collies, and Australian Shepherds are among many breeds that come in blue.
Silver gray Weimaraner	Salt and pepper (?) gray Miniature Schnauzer	Gray—sometimes also called blue—and its variants, including pale to dark gray, silver, pepper, grizzle, slate, blue-black gray, black and silver, steel, silver-fawn.
White American Eskimo Dog	White Bichon Frisé	White: Pure white, but distinct from albino dogs.

Patterns

Patterns, like colours, might be called by different terms for different breeds.

Liver and tan Australian Kelpie	Black and Tan Coonhound	Black and tan, liver and tan: Coat has both colors but in clearly defined and separated areas, usually with the darker color on most of the body and tan (reddish variants) underneath and in highlights such as the eyebrows.
Black and white Border Collie	Blenheim (Red-brown and white) Cavalier King Charles Spaniel	Two-color (also called bicolor, Irish spotting, or flashy) coats such as gold and white, liver and white, tan and white, black and white: Usually sharply contrasting colors, usually with the darker color on most of the body and lighter color underneath and in highlights such as the eyebrows, although sometimes one color is in patches, ticks, or other types of markings. Some breeds have special names for the color combinations; for example, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel uses Blenheim for reddish brown (chestnut) and white. Irish Spotted or flashy pattern is symmetrical and includes a white chest, white band around the neck, white belly, and white feet or "boots." This pattern is commonly seen in herding dogs, and Boxers, among others.
Black tricolor Entlebucher Mountain Dog	Red tricolor Miniature Australian Shepherd	Tricolor: Three clearly defined colors, usually either black or red on the dog's upper parts, white underneath, with a tan border between and tan highlights; for example, the Smooth Collie or the Sheltie. Tricolor can also refer to a dog whose coat is patched, usually two colors (such as tan and black) on a white background.
Tricolor Beagle
Blue merle tricolor Australian Shepherd	Red merle Catahoula Leopard Dogs	Merle: Marbled coat with darker patches and spots of the specified color. Merle is referred to as "Dapple" with Dachshunds.
Tuxedo lab mixed-breed dog		Tuxedo: Solid (usually black) with a white patch (shirt front) on the chest, and white on some or all of the feet (spats.)
Harlequin Great Dane		Harlequin: "Torn" patches of black on white. Only the Great Dane exhibits this coat pattern.
Spotted Dalmatian		Spotted
Red patched Borzoi	Brown and white patched and speckled English Springer Spaniel	Patched
Red-speckled Australian Cattle Dog	Liver-ticked German Shorthaired Pointer	Flecked, ticked, speckled: also called belton in English Setters
Orange belton (orange and white speckled) English Setter	Blue belton (black and white speckled) English Setter		Blue speckled Australian Cattle Dog
Light brindle Great Dane	Darker brindle and white Boston Terrier	Brindle: A mixture of black with brown, tan, or gold; usually in a "tiger stripe" pattern.
Medium brindle Galgo Español	Very dark brindle French Bulldog
Brown and white patched grizzled German Wirehaired Pointer		Grizzled
White Whippet with brindle saddle	Airedale Terrier with large black saddle	Saddle or blanket: A different color, usually darker, over the center of the back.
		Particolor: Two-colored coat with the colors appearing in patches in roughly equal quantiles.
Wolf-sable Finnish Lapphund with white and tan markings		Wolf, wolf-sable or wolf-grey: Possessing a color and pattern similar to that of a wild wolf. The undercoat is light but the top-coat is dark. This is fairly common among spitz breeds.

>>Brindle

Brindle

Brindle is a coat coloring in animals, particularly dogs, cats, cattle, and, rarely, horses. It is sometimes described as "tiger striped", although the brindle pattern is more subtle than that of a tiger's coat. The streaks of color are usually darker than the base coat, which is often tawny or grayish, although very dark markings can be seen on a coat that is only slightly lighter.

The brindle pattern may also take the place of tan in tricolor coats of some dog breeds (such as Basenjis). This coloration looks very similar the tricolor, and can only be distinguished at close range. Dogs of this color are often described as "trindle".

In horses, brindle coloring is extremely rare and may be either caused by or somehow linked to chimerism, resulting in an animal with two sets of DNA, with the brindle pattern being an expression of two different sets of equine coat color genes in one horse.

Light brindle Great Dane	Dark brindle Great Dane	Darker brindle and white Boston Terrier	Very dark or seal brindle French Bulldog
Tiger and reverse brindle French Bulldogs	Brindle Boxer	Brindle Akita Inu, Brindle coloration is less distinct on longer-haired dogs	Spotted brindle American Bulldog
Presa Canario with brown brindle coat	Galgo Español with light brindle coat	Brindle Greyhound	Brindle Plott hound
Brindle bull

Poetry

The word brindle comes from brindled, originally brinded, from an old Scandinavian word. See Wiktionary. The concept occurs in the opening of 'Pied Beauty' (1877) by Gerard Manley Hopkins, a poem about dappled, streaky, subtly-varied Nature, where he compares 'skies of couple-colour' to a 'brinded cow'.

>>Dog anatomy

Dog anatomy

The anatomy of dogs varies tremendously from breed to breed, more than in any other animal species, wild or domesticated. And yet there are basic physical characteristics that are identical among all dogs, from the tiny Chihuahua to the giant Irish Wolfhound.

Physical characteristics

Like most predatory mammals, the dog has powerful muscles, a cardiovascular system that supports both sprinting and endurance, and teeth for catching, holding, and tearing.

The dog's ancestral skeleton provided the ability to run and leap. Their legs are designed to propel them forward rapidly, leaping as necessary, to chase and overcome prey. Consequently, they have small, tight feet, walking on their toes; their rear legs are fairly rigid and sturdy; the front legs are loose and flexible, with only muscle attaching them to the torso.

Although selective breeding has changed the appearance of many breeds, all dogs retain the basic ingredients from their distant ancestors. Dogs have disconnected shoulder bones (lacking the collar bone of the human skeleton) that allow a greater stride length for running and leaping. They walk on four toes, front and back, and have vestigial dewclaws (dog thumbs) on their front legs and sometimes on their rear legs. In some cases, these claws are missing due to surgery, the rear dewclaws sometimes being removed to prevent the possibility of their being ripped off, or catching on something and breaking, especially in dogs with loose dewclaws. This practice is illegal in some countries.

The dog's ancestor was about the size of a Dingo, and its skeleton took about 10 months to mature. Today's toy breeds have skeletons that mature in only a few months, while giant breeds such as the Mastiffs take 16 to 18 months for the skeleton to mature. Dwarfism has affected the proportions of some breeds' skeletons, as in the Basset Hound.

These characteristics and basic structure also help when competing in dog shows or contests.

Size

Researchers have identified a particular piece of DNA that is common to every small-dog breed and, in turn, is probably responsible for making them tiny. The discovery, reported in the journal Science, helps explain the vast diversity in dogs, from the pug to the massive mastiff. ^[1]

Dog coats

Coat colors range from pure white to solid black and many other variations.

Dogs exhibit a diverse array of fur coats. They range from different coat textures, colors, and markings, and a specialized vocabulary has evolved to describe them.

Originally, dogs all had dense fur with an undercoat and long muzzles and heads, although both of these features have been altered in some of the more extremely modified breeds, such as the Mexican Hairless Dog and the Bulldog.

Color

One often refers to a specific dog first by coat color rather than by breed; for example, "a blue merle Aussie" or "a chocolate Lab". Coat colors include:

• Black: Usually pure black but sometimes grizzled.
• Brown: From mahogany through very dark brown.
• Red: Reminiscent of reddish woods such as cherry or mahogany; also tawny, chestnut, orange, rusty, liver, and red-gold.
• Yellow: From pale cream to a deep yellowish-gold tan.
• Gold: From pale apricot to rich reddish-yellow.
• Gray: Pale to dark gray, including silver; can be mixed with other colors or various shades to create sandy pepper, pepper, grizzle, blue-black gray, or silver-fawn.
• Blue: A dark metallic gray, often as a blue merle or speckled (with black).
• Sable: Black-tipped hairs; the background color can be gold, silver, gray, or tan.
• White: Distinct from albino dogs.

Pattern

The Dalmatian's coat is one of the more widely recognized markings.

Coat patterns include:

• Two-color coats: such as Black and tan, red and white. The coat has both colors but in clearly defined and separated areas; usually the top and sides are darker and lower legs and underside are the lighter color.
• Tricolor: Consisting of three colors, usually black, tan, and white or liver, tan, and white.
• Brindle: A mixture of black with brown, tan, or gold, usually in a "tiger stripe" pattern.
• Harlequin: "Torn" patches of black on white.
• Merle: Marbled coat with darker patches and spots of the specified color.
• Particolor: Two-colored coat with the colors appearing in patches in roughly equal quantities.
• Tuxedo: Solid (usually black) with a white patch (shirt front) on the chest, and white on some or all of the feet (spats.) This pattern is sometimes called Irish Spotting, Flashy, or Boston.

Texture

Coat textures vary tremendously. Some coats make the dogs more cuddly and others make them impervious to cold water. Densely furred breeds such as most sled dogs and Spitz types can have up to 600 hairs per inch, while fine-haired breeds such as the Yorkshire Terrier can have as few as 100, and the "hairless" breeds such as the Mexican Hairless have none on parts of their bodies. The texture of the coat often depends on the distribution and the length of the two parts of a dog's coat, its thick, warm undercoat (or down) and its rougher, somewhat weather-resistant outer coat (topcoat, also referred to as guard hairs). Breeds with soft coats often have more or longer undercoat hairs than guard hairs; rough-textured coats often have more or longer guard hairs. Textures include:

The German Wirehaired Pointer's coat demonstrates a rough texture.

• Double-coated: Having a thick, warm, short undercoat (or down) that is usually dense enough to resist penetration by water and a stronger, rougher weather-resistant outer coat (topcoat), also referred to as guard hairs. Most other coat types are also double-coated.
• Single-coated: Lacking an undercoat.
• Smooth-coated: "Smooth" to the eye and touch.
• Wire-haired: Also called broken-coated. The harsh outer guard hairs are prominent, providing excellent weather protection for hunting dogs such as the Border Terrier or Wirehaired Pointing Griffon.
• Long-haired: Hair longer than an inch or so.
• Short-haired: Hair around an inch or so long.
• Corded coat: for example, see Puli

Parts of the body

A special vocabulary has been developed to describe the shapes of various body parts including the ears and tail.

Ears

The Basset Hound's ears are extremely long drop ears.

Dogs' ears come in a variety of sizes, shapes, lengths, positions on the head, and amounts and types of droop. Every variation has a term, including:

• Bat ear: Erect, broad next to the head and rounded at the tip, such as the ears on a Chihuahua.
• Button ear: A smaller ear where the tip folds forward nearly to the skull, forming a V, as in the Jack Russell Terrier.
• Cropped ear: Shaped by cutting; see docking.
• Drop ear: An ear that folds and droops close to the head, such as most scent hounds'and the little known Blue Lacy. Also called a pendant ear.
• Natural: Like a wolf's.
• Prick ear: Erect and pointed; also called pricked or erect.
• Rose ear: A very small drop ear that folds back; as in the greyhound or bulldog.
• Semiprick ear: A prick ear where the tip just begins to fold forward, as in the Rough Collie.

Tails

The Basenji's tail is tightly curled.

Like ears, tails come in a tremendous variety of shapes, lengths, amounts of fur, and tailsets (positions). Among them:

• Bob: Short or non-existent tail, such as an Australian Shepherd or Pembroke Welsh Corgi.
• Corkscrew: Short and twisted, such as a Pug's
• Docked: Shortened by surgery or other method, usually two or three days after birth; see docking
• Odd: Twisted, but not short. Uncommon. Tibetan Terriers have odd tails.
• Saber: Carried in a slight curve like a saber
• Sickle: Carried out and up in a semicircle like a sickle
• Squirrel: Carried high and towards the head, often with the tip curving even further towards the head.
• Wheel: Carried up and over the back in a broad curve, resembling a wheel.

Puppy characteristics

Puppies often have characteristics that do not last beyond early puppyhood. Eye color often changes from blue to its adult color as the puppy matures. The coat color may change: Kerry Blue Terrier puppies have black coats at birth and change to blue with maturity, and Dalmatians are white and gain their spots with age. The ear shape will also often change, especially with erect-eared breeds such as the German Shepherd Dog which have soft ears at birth, but the cartilage strengthens with age. Blue Lacy Dogs and Labrador Retrievers, however, stay very much the same through life.

It is not uncommon for puppies to have their ears cropped or straightened, tails docked, or in the case of the Chow Chow, to have their eyefolds stitched back so that they can see. Many of these are done in accordance with breed standards for many Kennel Clubs. Some countries like Italy have banned this practice as an act of animal cruelty.

Temperature regulation

A common misconception is that dogs do not sweat. Primarily, dogs regulate their body temperature in a completely different way, through panting. That is why after a dog has been running or on a hot day, its mouth will be seen wide open with the tongue hanging out. This form of cooling maximizes heat loss while conserving moisture, because it carries heat from the hottest part of the body, the interior core of the thorax. Perspiration cools the body by the evaporation of moisture from the skin. This is much less efficient, because the skin is already the coolest part of the body—or in more scientific terms, this higher efficiency of thermal loss relative to moisture conservation arises because heat flow is proportional to temperature gradient. Dogs sweat through the pads of their feet, since they are not furred. On a warm day and after exercise, a dog's naturally wet footprints might be visible on a smooth floor.

Dogs possess a rete mirabile, a complex of intermingled small arteries and veins, in the carotid sinus at the base of their neck. This acts as a heat exchanger to thermally isolate the head, containing the brain, the most temperature-sensitive organ, from the body, containing the muscles, where most of the heat is generated. The result is that dogs can sustain intense physical exertion over a prolonged time in a hot environment, compared to animals which lack this apparatus; thus, a dog chasing a jackrabbit through the desert may not be able to outrun the rabbit, but it can continue the chase until the rabbit literally drops dead from overheating.