The Ridgeback standard calls for the color “Wheaten”, but what color is that?

Wheaten is an old term, commonly used by terrier people and others to denote reddish, banded hair where the root is lighter and the tip is darker. Genetically, this banded hair is called “agouti” and is considered the “wild type”. Coyotes, wolves, foxes and raccoons are just a few animals that have “agouti” coloring.   Agouti is the gene that makes a fox have reddish hair with black tips and a coyote to have yellowish hair with black tips.

Technically, studies show that the agouti protein competes to bind on the melanocortin receptor and must sometimes win. The competition is going on as the hair is growing and which results in a hair that changes color along its length.  Little (1957) suggested that agouti is the gene that causes paler colors on the underside and dark on the back – also a Ridgeback color trait

Occasionally, a Ridgeback is born with a coloration that we wouldn’t normally call “agouti” or wheaten. This can be quite a curiosity and alarming for breeders – they assume the dogs aren’t purebred.

	Brindle is a pattern of stripes, which can be red and black, fawn and black, isabella and gray. It occurs in Great Danes, Greyhounds, Boxers, et al and sometimes Ridgebacks.  The cause of this pattern is not yet understood at the DNA level. Little attributed this pattern to the E locus also, although thus far there is no molecular data to support that theory.  He suggested that brindle is a recessive pattern to solid colored based on his breeding experiments. Thanks to  Jabulani RRs for this photo.
	Black & Tan (solid black coat with tan points) is actually carried on the “agouti” allele and is a recessive coloration, that is, both parents must carry the recessive in order for it to show up in pups. Pictured is Shona, a purebred RR. Look how her ridge appears to be outlined! Very lovely! To read more about the Black and Tan genetics, check out this page.
Just as there are Black and  Tans, the recessive of agouti, there is also a “recessive” of it, resulting in the Rust  body color with Tan points. Unlike the Black and Tan, who's coloration remained the same as she aged, the Rust and Tan's coat has "wheatened out". Thanks to Jabulani RRs for this photo.
	Silver or gray is actually just a dilution gene acting on the body color. Puppies are born very silver ( easily recognized in these newborns) or grayish and have blue eyes. As they mature, the body color becomes less gray and more the color of a paper bag. The eyes may stay blue or become amber in color. Thanks to Kalmara RRs for the photo.
Thanks to Bonnie van der Born for the photos.	Just as there are variations in the coat colors of “normal” RRs, there are also variations in the “dilutes”. This shows one example of a dilute and normal colored RR.
	Black wheaten is the rarest of these colors, however were it not for an owner’s love, black wheaten RRs might have become more common in the US. Back in the 50’s, the owners of a large kennel  in CA went to Africa to purchase RR stock. While attending a party one night, they saw a gorgeous black wheaten dog and tried to purchase it, but the owner wouldn’t part with it. The body appears black, but on closer inspection the lighter roots show through in all the usual places – behind the shoulders, on the side of the neck and in the britches. Also it peeks through on the undersides of the dog and remains dark on top. I hope you can see it in this photo of a very rare dog – a black wheaten Ridgeback.

 

If you have an odd colored Ridgeback, not shown here and can identify the color ( and hopefully, tell us about the genetics of it), just email me at Kalahari RRs. Please email me first, BEFORE sending a photo.