Self colour

A self colour refers to the top coat colouration of several domestic animals, such as dogs, pet rodents and cats. It refers to hairs of a uniform shade, with no banding or tipping of another colour. A true self coloured animal should also have no white markings such as bibs or blazes. However, other definitions exist.

In contrast, a sable (dogs), ticked (dogs or cats) or agouti (cats or rodents) coat has two or more different colours along the shaft of the hair, with one colour at the base and usually a darker colour, such as black, at the tip.

The term can also be used to distinguish between colour and pattern; patterns are unpigmented areas with pink skin and white hair. In this definition, an animal has only one self-colour, which is the sum effect of all the genes acting on the pigment. For example, a black and tan piebald Dachshund has patterns (piebald) and self-colours (black and tan).

References