Shih Tzu Information Center

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Shih Tzu Colors

Color Overview

Many Shih Tzu owners question the official color of their dog. A reason being that breeders may refer to a dog as a certain color, when in fact that dog will be recognized by the AKC or other major dog club as technically, a different color.

Understanding the Key of Pigmentation

When a dog is registered as liver or blue, this refers to the dog's pigmentation and not the color of the dog's coat.

Let's discuss:

The different colors of the Shih Tzu
What Liver and Blue really means

The Shih Tzu may be a mix of many colors

Explaining a Chocolate Shih Tzu

There has been some confusion among breeders, buyers and other regarding the chocolate colored Shih Tzu. The most recognized and largest dog club, the American Kennel Club, does not list chocolate as a standard or alternate color of the Shih Tzu.

A dog may be referred to as this color for reason of having a brownish coat, however this dog will official be listed as liver colored both on registration papers and when shown at dog clubs.

What Qualifies a Shih Tzu to be Blue or Liver

A dog may be registered as blue or liver (chocolate) because of the pigmentation of the dog's skin...not the coat color. Blue and liver Shih Tzu dogs lack black pigmentation.

The pigmentation will be where the color is most obvious: the eye rims, nose, paw pads, etc.

Blue dogs will have a charcoal color
Liver dogs will have brown that will vary from very pale to a deep dark chocolate.

A dog will be registered with the AKC as a "liver" or "blue" because of the pigmentation of the skin, but the coat can be solid white, a cream color, red, dark chocolate brown, etc.

Blue is a very rare color. Quite often this hue is misunderstood and for good reason. A Shih Tzu of just about any color may have a shade of blue on the skin of their body. This often leads one to assume that this is proof that the dog is indeed blue. However, according to official guidelines, only if blue is present on the nose, will the dog actually be blue.

Examples:

Photos courtesy of Shih Tzu by Sharon

AKC Recognized Colors of the Shih Tzu

There are 8 solid colors:

Black - A black Shih Tzu will not have any other color fur. Even a touch of a different shade will move this dog over to a mixed color. Because liver colored dogs lack all black pigmentation, you will not see a true black dog with a liver colored nose.
White - As with the black, no other color will exist in this dog
Liver - when the dog has brown pigmentation on the nose, paws and eye rims.
Blue - Only if the Shih Tzu's nose is blue, will this be the official color of fur
Brindle - This is a combination actually, of a base coat of fur with streaking
Gold - A tan - yellow, found commonly among Labrador Retrievers
Red - A very deep and dark orange
Silver - White but with a deep shine

There are also recognized mixtures of 2 colors:

White and Black
White and Blue
White and Brindle
White and Gold
White and Liver
White and Red
White and Silver

There are recognized mixtures of 3 colors:

Silver, Gold and White
Black, Silver and White
Black, Gold and White
Black, Silver and Gold

Until a future time when more colors may become officially recognized and an owner is able to register their Shih Tzu with the color that they believe their dog is, one must choose from the above list. Do keep in mind that with all colors, there will be shading and deepness levels; thus any dog can be placed into one of these categories. It is very common for puppies to be one color, registered as that color and then have a color change as the puppy matures into adult dog. This is completely normal.

More Information

See Photos of EVERY color Shih Tzu in the WORLD
Detailed Explanations of EACH color
Color changes
The 2 genes that affect the Tzu colors
There is only 1 place to have all of this information and much more...in the AllShihTzu e-book ! Click here to learn more!