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AKC Crested Skin and Hair Colors

AKC Chinese Crested Colors

Apricot: The skin or hair is a reddish-yellow, including yellow-gold, lion colored, fawn, wheaten, pale yellow, tawny, straw, yellow-red, mustard, sandy or honey. Apricots are warmer in color than Palominos. In other breeds, this coloring would be considered Gold.

Black: The skin or hair is all black. Usually pure black but sometimes grizzled, particularly as dogs age and develop white hairs, usually around the muzzle. Solid black in a Chinese Crested is not common. Some love the drama and richness while others feel it is just too dark.

Black White & Tan: On a powderpuff, the hair has three clearly defined colors, usually black on the dog’s upper parts, white underneath with tan highlighted areas. This tricolor combo patch can have both black and tan over white. We call these the Yorkie markings as many Cresteds have the tan brows like a Yorkie.

Black & Tan
: On a powderpuff, the hair has both colors but in clearly defined and separated areas, usually with the darker color on most of the body and tan underneath or as highlights such as the eyebrows or jawline.

Black & White: On a powderpuff, mostly black with white markings. The pattern can be random or be symmetrical pattern like a tuxedo which is really nice, though that is less common.  This is a combo many people, show and pet, like for the drama.

Blue: The skin isa dark metallic grey, showing more blue than slate. In some breeds blue is referred to as gray and its variants, including pale to dark grey, silver, pepper, grizzle, Slate, blue-black grey, black and silver, steel and lavender. There is such a fine line between blue and slate for Cresteds that really getting a blue is truly rare. Blue is used for hairless Cresteds.

Brown: The powderpuff or the hairless with furnishing of brown shades including mahogany, grey-brown, blackish brown, liver, chocolate, dark brown and medium brown. As you can see this coloring could and does look very similar to chocolate. This solid coloring is rare.

Chocolate: Like the candy chocolate, it can be the darkest chocolate to lightest milk chocolate. Most chocolates will dilute to a light gold, light tan or light tan red brown.Most chocolates will be a party or tri color and are seldom a solid chocolate.For a Chinese Crested to be a chocolate, the pup will have gold, hazel or green eyes. This is a rare color.

Cream: This coloring can vary between just off white to pale yellow. Cream is lighter than apricot and has less red tones. Cream is a color that often grows out under the apricot, red and sable. The cream puppy can grow out to be almost white. This solid coloring is rare.

Palomino: The hairless skin will have light to deep tan skin coloring. Like the White Cresteds, Palominos will have dark (not pink) pigment around the eye rims and nose, often coupled with dark-colored eyes. In some cases the Palomino will have tan or liver colored lips, eye rim and nose. They can have white, cream, chocolate, brown or red furnishings. Palominos were very rare in the 1990 and were shown often. Now we can see some fine examples of palominos.

Pink: On a hairless, the skin is pink, from the palest pink to a medium shade of blush. Seldom are they solid but will have some speckling or spotting of color. Some pink Cresteds will turn an intense shade of pink if they are nervous. They will all so turn a vivid pink if they are exposed to the sun for too long which will lead to sun blisters.

Pink & Chocolate: A hairless dog with pink skin and chocolate spots or markings. A puff will be described as white & chocolate even though the skin is pink under the white hair. This is a rare coloring.

Pink & Slate: Hairless skin is pink with slate spots or markings.

Red: All shades of red which looks like cherry, mahogany, chestnut wood. It can also look like rust, red/gold, bronze, cinnamon, tan or ruby. Often, we have seen red Chinese Crested listed as apricot. This solid coloring is rare.

Slate: Hairless skin looks blue/gray or blue/black. This is a very common color for Chinese Cresteds. It is also very functional as the slate skin tans and does not burn if it is spotted or marked with pink. It is the basic black of the Crested world. Sometimes the blue is noted as slate.

White: On a puff/pony, the hair is pure white. This is not an albino since he/she has dark pigment around the eye rims and nose, often coupled with dark-colored eyes. In some cases the pure white puff will have tan or liver colored lips, eye rim and nose. This solid coloring is rare.

White & Black: On a puff, the hair is white with patches or spots of black.The pattern can be random or be symmetrical pattern like a reverse tuxedo pattern, though that is less common. This is a combo many people like for the high drama.

White & Chocolate: On a puff, the hair is white with patches or spots of chocolate ranging from the darkest chocolate to lightest milk chocolate. Many people like this combo as it is a very flaahy.
White & Chocolate: On a puff, the hair is white with patches or spots of chocolate ranging from the darkest chocolate to lightest milk chocolate. Many people like this combo as it is a softer version of the white & black or black & white. This is a rare coloring.

AKC Chinese Crested Markings

Spotted: On either a hairless or a powderpuff, the Crested has dark pigmented spots on a light background. This can be any color, from slate to palomino. We love spotted Cresteds while some prefersolids.

White Markings: White spots or pattern

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