POINTS OF CONFUSION
Clear Dogs with Brown/liver Pigment
There is a small sector of Havanese colours that is commonly overlooked. There is some mention of it in Europe but very little in North America. These are the clear dogs with brown pigment.
We already know that dark pigment (Eumelanin) can be either Black or Brown. We also know that the brown pigment is recessive [ b b ] and needs two copies to be expressed. We also know that [ b b ] affects coat as well as nose pigment and leather, and that chocolate dogs must have brown pigment, by simple virtue that they do not make black. We have mentioned that all the possibilities that exist in black also exist in brown, hence the chocolate sables, chocolate & tan etc. If you think upon it, you will note that in all of these, the gene combinations allow for dark coat to be expressed, whether as solid, patterned, broken, dilute, or silvered. All are still expressions of dark coat as guided by [E] which allows dark pigment to be made and then expressed by the interplay of other genes.
The recessive gene [ ee ] allows no dark pigment to be expressed, these are the clear dogs (cream, champagne, gold and red. It is possible for [bb] to combine with [ ee ] and thus produce the clear dog with brown pigment.
What do they look like and what are they called?
The [ bb ee ] dog will have coat colours ranging from cream to gold to red and will have nose pigment that is brown. Havanese with this combination may be assumed to be dilute chocolate. Some will be registered as chocolate because of the brown pigment, even when there is no chocolate in the coat. Others may register according the coat colour and ignore the pigment colour. Neither is quite right but there are few if any choices for registration of clear Havanese with brown pigment. When multiple recessives are required for a particular expression, that expression will be less common, but still exists as a possibility. This combination occurs occasionally in other breeds as well.
Champagne parti with liver pigment
Champagne Parti with Liver pigment
Emma caused a fair bit of confusion as a puppy as to what colour she was. Her brown nose was unexpected. Emma is a champagne particolour but has liver pigment instead of black. Her nose is brown as are her eyerims and pawpads. She is a clear coat colour with liver pigment. Her champagne markings lightened to creamy white and as an adult are just a shade darker than her white body coat.
Champagne with liver pigment
Champagne with Liver pigment
Olivia has a clear coat with liver pigment. Her body coat was a strong champagne colour when she was young and softened to light almond as she grew up. In Europe and the USA, this colour is called cream. Olivia's nose pigment is brown as are her eye rims,lips and pawpads. With no official term to name light clear dogs with liver pigment, some would call this Chocolate Cream. This can cause some confusion as the same term is sometimes used in talking about dilute chocolate dogs (dd). Both have cream coats but one has liver pigment and one has dilute rose pigment. Olivia has been tested for colour genetics and is D/D (non-dilute).
Red with liver pigment
Clear Red Irish Pied with Liver pigment
As a youngster, Laguna from Del Paradiso Di Cani was a deep red with Irish Pied markings. Not unexpectedly, her coat colour lightened slightly as she matured. What is noticeably different about Laguna is that she has liver/brown pigment and not black. She is a clear coat colour with liver pigment. She is born of a pairing between a Chocolate Sable and a Red particolour. Although Laguna has darker ears and tail as a puppy, her breeder tells us that she is not sable and has no brown tipping anywhere on her body. Her darker areas are just deeper shades of red.
Red with liver pigment
Clear Red Irish Pied with Liver pigment
Young Fien from Xanaways is a bright orangey red with Irish Pied Markings. Her nose is BROWN! Hard to see because it is very very dark, but chocolate it is.
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