Dog Coat Color: Tricolor

While tricolored cats are referred to as calico, tortoiseshell, or mosaic, dogs with similar color pattern are simply called tricolored!

Tricolored dogs with a lot of white in their coats, setting off the reddish and dark patches on the head or body, can look particularly striking—common seen on Fox Terriers. There are also other attractive tricolor combination breeds with jet black coat and patches of rich tan markings on all legs, part of chest, and over each eye. One of them is the Bernese Mountain Dog. Many of these dogs have an appealing look thanks in no small part to this bright, attractive color combination.

Unlike tricolored cats, which are mainly female, tricolored dogs do not owe their coat patterns to gender-linked genes. The tricolor probably arose as a result of red-and-white individuals mating or being interbred with black-and-white ones.

While the color combination is well loved in many breeds of dog, it is considered unacceptable for show or breeding purposes in others which never had the tricolor gene in their founding or wild ancestors—so the appearance of such a coat in a puppy suggests a gene source from a different breed.

List of Dogs With Tricolor Coat

• Basset Hound
• Beagle
• Bernese Mountain Dog
• Border Collie
• Chihuahua*
• Cardigan Welsh Corgi
• Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
• Collie (Rouge and Smooth)
• English Toy Spaniel
• Fox Terrier (Smooth and Wire)
• Jack Russell Terrier
• Löwchen
• Pembroke Welsh Corgi
• Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen
• Shetland Sheepdog
• Shih Tzu
• Toy Fox Terrier

I believe there are many more breeds with tricolor coat that are officially recognized, so far these are the ones right off the top of my head. Feel free to let me know what I’ve missed so I can expand the list.

More Information on Dog Coat Color and Pattern

• Coat Color Inheritance In The Cardigan Welsh Corgi
• Coat Color Inheritance in the Pembroke Welsh Corgi
• Border Collie Museum
• Coton Breeding & Genetics