Eurasier Colors
- Kate Delgado
- Feb 5
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 9
Eurasiers come in a wide variety of colors. All colors and color combinations are permitted by the Canadian Kennel Club and American Kennel Club with the exception of pure white, white patches, or liver. Eurasiers can have face masks or light masks (often called reverse masks). Black is a recessive color for Eurasiers making the solid black color extremely rare.
The Eurasier Rainbow
Photos and colors come from the breed standard published by Walter Vorbeck of Kynologische Zuchtgemeinschaft (KZG) Eurasier organization in Germany.
Looking for a Specific Color
I never recommend getting a puppy solely for color, especially when it comes to Eurasiers. Eurasier coats tend to change dramatically from puppyhood to adulthood. This is mostly due to their overcoat coming in fully. Loba, for example, was born very dark and lightened over time because her undercoat is dark. Iroh was the opposite. Because these dogs come in so may color variations it can be hard to identify what color they will mature into. Eurasiers can also experience variations in color as adults, you will notice their coat getting lighter or darker all the time.
Iroh's Color Changing Over Time
The Science: Eurasier Coat Color Genetics
Eurasier coat color inheritance patterns are relatively straightforward and are the result of alleles at only two genes: A or ASIP and E or MC1R. DNA tests are available to identify all four A alleles and all three E alleles. Most of the patterns seen in Eurasiers are caused by the alleles of the ASIP locus (A-Locus). Eurasiers are one of the only breeds that carry all four A-Locus alleles: Sable/Fawn (Ay), Wolf sable/gray (aw), Black and Cream (At) and Recessive Black (a). The final allele of ASIP, a, produces a solid black phenotype. This recessive black allele is normally only seen in herding-type breeds, but the inclusion of the Samoyed (which are all ee and aa) introduced the allele to the Eurasier.
Three alleles of the MC1R locus are present in Eurasiers: EM > E > e. The EM allele produces a black mask on the muzzle of the dog. This mask can be small and located just around the mouth and nose, or larger and extend up the face and onto the ears. While black dogs may carry the EM allele, only the fawn, wolf sable, and black-and-tan patterns will show the mask. The E allele of MC1R allows for both red and black pigment types to produce the various patterns seen in the breed, though no black mask will be present with this allele. The e allele, when homozygous, produces a solid red coat color with no black hairs. The ee genotype is epistatic to all the ASIP alleles, so a red dog may be carrying any combination of ASIP alleles.
Our Dogs' Offspring Possibilities
We ran an A-panel on Iroh and Loba. We still need to run an E-panel to know exactly what the possibilities are.
Iroh: aw/a wolf sable/gray (carries bicolor/solid)
This dog carries one copy of aw and one copy of a which results in a "wolf" sable/gray coat color. However, this dog's coat color is also dependent on the E genes. The "wolf" sable/gray coat color is only expressed if the dog is also E/E or E/e at the E locus and ky/ky at the K locus which allows for agouti gene expression. This dog will pass on aw to 50% of its offspring and a to 50% of its offspring.
Loba: Ay/a sable/fawn (carries bicolor/solid)
This dog carries one copy of Ay and one copy of a which results in a sable/fawn coat color. However, this dog's coat color is also dependent on the E genes. The sable/fawn coat color is only expressed if the dog is also E/E or E/e at the E locus and ky/ky at the K locus which allows for agouti gene expression. This dog will pass on Ay to 50% of its offspring and a to 50% of its offspring.
If E-panel is Ee then the results are as follows for potential puppy coat colors: 37.50% Fawn/Sable (Loba), 25% Cream/Red, 18.75% Solid Black, and 18.75% Wolfgray (Iroh).
If E-panel is EE then the results are as follows for potential puppy coat colors: 50% Fawn/Sable (Loba), 25% Solid Black, and 25% Wolfgray (Iroh).
