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What Colors Can Beagles Be?
Beagle colors are defined by each registration association, and so vary from
registry to registry. For example, the colors listed on the AKC registry form
are not the same as those on other associations' forms. A widely-accepted
definition of beagle color possibilities is that they can be "any hound color," which makes
the subject quite diverse.
Let's add to the confusion: Within each beagle genetic color grouping are also "shades" of
the same color and combinations of color genes. Regarding people, we know that there are a few basic hair colors
such as blonde, redhead, and brunette. But remember that there are dirty
blondes, dark blonde, strawberry blondes, etc. The same is true of beagles.
There are chocolate tri, silver tri, lilac tri, shaded tri, etc. A
red-based beagle can be lemon, red, mahogany....you can see the problem here.
:-)
Beagle colors are affected by quite a few genes, so I don't imagine that I'll
ever have all possible colors represented on this page due to the variety of
combinations (imagine for example a lemon with a silver gene). But, I'll put as many as
possible as we have photos available here.
The
Tri Colors
(Two colors plus white)
Tan, Black, and White Tri
This dog might be a silver or blue tri. I will look at her nose and correct asap.
Silver Tri and/or
Blue Tri
The Red-Based Shades
This lemon (above) shows the typical golden patches of a lemon beagle. Her white
areas might be slightly off white (a light cream), or may be clear white. Her
back is uniformly gold in her color patches, without any black hairs or
black-tipped hairs.
Another possible lemon (above):
I questioned whether this is really a lemon, but have been told by several
breeders that she is. She does have a liver nose rather than black (some say
that true lemons have black noses). If she is not
lemon, then she is still a red of some
sort.
Although these puppies are labeled a tan and white, they are most likely very
rare (extremely rare!) "hare pied" beagles. Hare Pied beagles have
black tips on the hairs down the middle of their backs, and have a 'butterfly
nose' (liver in the middle, dark on the outer edges).
Examples of Markings
Ticking refers to freckles on the legs and in the colored areas. If there are
black ticks on the barrel/back of a dog, it can be referred to as "blue ticked."
If the freckles are red/brown, it is "red ticked." Ticking can also occur on the
legs. Hunting bloodlines are more often ticked, as the show bloodlines have been
selectively bred for white legs more so than with ticking.
Red Ticked
Blue Ticked
Mottled can look like ticking. But mottled dogs will have mottled markings on
the pads of their feet as pups. They also may have a dark brownish gray nose,
rather than a black nose.
(White crossing over the back)
Age Progressions
What will a puppy look like at maturity if it is born black and white? What if
it is born all white? This section, as it grows, will show the changes in colors
from birth to adulthood.
Merles
Purebred beagles do not come in merle. Anyone making such a
claim has probably introduced another breed into their beagle
lines (such as dachshund), or has bought a puppy from a breeder
that has done so. This practice is seen in the so-called "pocket
beagles," where small dog breeds have been crossbred with beagles
to reduce size. In addition to introducing non-beagle colors, this
also introduced health problems found in those other breeds.
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