- Red-brown: This is a very common shade in Chesapeakes. Often Chessies get more red in their coats when they have been out in the sun or are getting ready to shed.
- Dark Brown: The picture shows one of the darkest Chesapeake colours.
- Medium Brown: Lighter and less red than # 1. This colour can fade out to almost deadgrass before shedding. Some dogs bleach out more than others
- Deadgrass: This illustrates a medium deadgrass shade.
- Light brown: The colour is almost as light as deadgrass but less yellow.
- Sedge: This is a red-gold colour. It can be darker than this picture.
- Tanpoint: This colour is very rarely seen but is in the breed. The tan can be just on the feet or extend further up the legs. There are usually tan markings on the chest, over the eyes and under the tail. This is the pattern seen on many hounds and hounds were said to have been involved in the early history of the breed.
- Shaded or masked sedge: This is often called masking but in most breeds a mask is considered to be darker shading on the MUZZLE not other areas of the head. The "cap" on top of the head is often accompanied by lighter shading on the cheek and throat area bordered by darker hair down the sides of the neck and across the chest. Not really the best colour for the show ring but, on the plus side, nobody tells you what a nice yellow/chocolate/blond LAB you have!!
- A very interesting pattern. This pup shows the dark mask plus the head markings. The colour will likely fade as the dog ages.
- This dog shows a brindle pattern on the legs. It may or may not be genetically brindle but sure looks like it. The pattern was not present at birth, the lighter hairs starting to show at 3 weeks.
- Here is an illustration of a shaded medium deadgrass.
Just to add complications to colour descriptions, many Chesapeake pups have very heavy shading at birth. This usually clears by the time the pups are 7-8 weeks, except for a darker area on the back and the tail. The contrast can be slight or very evident. Brown pups always have less red in their "puppy fuzz" than in the adult coat. Also, some Chesapeakes have darker head markings which are very noticable when the new coat comes in and fade out to nothing by the time it is shed. |
