SOLID COLORS* Dark Brown- very dark , sometimes called chocolate Brown- the regular Chesapeake brown. This color often is not solid but contains hairs with lighter tips. Red-brown- a medium brown with lots of red tints. Medium brown- a soft, mid-brown with little or no red. Light brown- a "caf� au lait" shade. Tan-a "flat" grayish/brown. Dark deadgrass-the color of dead wet marsh grasses. Light deadgrass- a shade that matches dry grass or corn stubble. Sedge- from light red-gold to fox red color. * - Even colors that are "solid" can show variations. On deadgrass and sedge dogs, the ears, middle of the back and the muzzle can be slightly darker and still be considered a solid color. The tail may be quite a bit darker a few inches above the base where there is a scent gland. Even brown dogs sometimes show a pattern in certain lights, especially the darker "cap" marking on the head. It is quite common and may be the result of a recessive sable ay or tan-point at not completely dominated by A. Patterned deadgrass- a light or dark deadgrass color with markings of deep brown. Because of the contrast, the hair can look almost black. This pattern tends to fade as the coat ages, often coming in very clearly after a shed then lightening until barely noticeable. Often called masked deadgrass, this pattern may or may not include a true mask (a darker area usually covering the top & sides of the muzzle from below the eyes- it can be more or less extensive). Patterned sedge- this is a very interesting color. Markings often include masking, a cap which covers the top & sides of the head with a "widow's peak" effect, leaving a light area between and over the eyes plus light cheeks. The neck and back can have a dark mantle and the tail will be quite dark. The lower body & legs are usually light. This pattern is seen in collies & some other breeds, with the substitution of black pigment for the dark brown of the Chesapeake. Tanpoint- a pattern that is most often seen as black & tan (Rotties, Black & Tan Coonhounds, etc.) but includes both black & liver/brown plus the dilutions of these colors. In Chesapeakes it is, of course, brown & tan OR depending on genetic makeup, deadgrass & tan, like the "isabella" colouring in Dobermans. The markings can include tan muzzles, eye & chest spots, feet, underside of the tail and the anal region. The muzzle markings may be obscured by a mask. There is a great variation in the amount of tan markings. Little in his book "The Inheritance of Coat Color in Dogs" felt that all types of tan-point patterns could be due to modifiers on the At locus. Willis-Genetics of the Dog- makes a case for two different causes, a tan-point and a saddle pattern. The saddle pattern shows much more tan, often covering the whole head and reducing the dark pigment to a mantle or saddle. This pattern can be found in German Shepherds, Beagles, etc. Both types are known in Chesapeakes. Brindle- this is a very controversial color in the breed. Most dogs that are labeled as brindle are actually what are called grizzle in some other breeds. These dogs are thought to have one sable & one tan-point allele at the A locus. Many people feel that brindle can only be black & tan stripes as seen in Boxers, Great Danes & other breeds. This is usually true because most breeds that have brindle in the standard do not have liver/brown. In dogs with short coats, the brindle is easily seen at maturity, in other breeds such as the Scottish Deerhound and certain terriers, the lengthening coat obscures the pattern. It is not certain that Chesapeakes do carry brindle, the banding may in fact be caused in other, not yet explained, ways. Only test breeding would prove any of these possibilites. Agouti- or wild color- this is seen in wild canids and domesticated breeds such as gray or wolf sable German Shepherds, Norwegian Elkhounds and a few others.