AKC Gazette Articles

November 2005

The Vexed Question of Color

“My dog’s color is not in the standard… shouldn’t it be changed?” In my opinion, it shouldn’t, but in order to understand why not, it is important to know what the authors of standard intended. In 1927, the AKC recognized our breed and the American Saluki standard became official. Except for one word (nothing to do with color), it was identical to the first Saluki standard – the 1923 British version. While the latter has undergone several revisions since its creation, the American Saluki standard remains unaltered and a legacy to the fancy.

Two things that should be kept clearly in mind about color in the standard – that the British Saluki experts used carefully chosen language to encompass all the Saluki colors known at that time and that no color or markings could be disqualified. These colors were (and are still for us in America): White, Cream, Fawn, Golden, Red, Grizzle & Tan, Tricolor (White, Black, & Tan), and Black & Tan.

         Let’s consider the language used in the standard. The single-word terms are straightforward and their meanings have not changed in the intervening decades. But what did “Grizzle & Tan” originally mean and why were not “Silver or Deer Grizzle” included? The answer is found in contemporary British dictionaries. “Grizzle” simply meant hair or fur that was gray, so the phrase “Grizzle & Tan” actually described the pattern that is so familiar to us. It was not until the late 1930s that “grizzle” came to describe the pattern rather than a color.

         And if the first Saluki champion in England was a black and white parti, then why is that description lacking in the standard? Again, from period documents, it becomes apparent that “parti-color” was only used infrequently in the doggy world. Significantly, the authors chose “Tricolor (White, Black, & Tan)” instead of “parti-color”. They believed that the former did a better job of embracing any combination of spots or markings on white. What we now call “Tricolor” could fall into either that category or even into “Black & Tan”.

         Despite the standard’s seemingly limited list of colors, in fact any color or combination could be registered in England (chocolates were unknown at the time). Partis were registered as simply “golden and white” or “white, black, & tan”. Other interesting descriptions included, “red/gold”, “black and pale fawn”, and “white, silver, and fawn markings”. Perhaps the ultimate example of color latitude can be seen in the surprising 1929 registration of a “red brindle with cream markings” by none other than Florence Amherst – the breed’s leading expert. Even though “brindle” was not included in the standard, with no color disqualification, it was still perfectly acceptable.

The 1923 and 1927 standards were carefully designed for flexibility so that they would accommodate the various correct Saluki types. We have only to understand both the intentions of the authors and how language has changed over time in order to see that our standard is really inclusive rather than exclusive. So, when someone suggests to me that the standard should be altered to include a particular color, I ask, “But what colors are excluded from the standard?”

Brian Patrick Duggan
kyzylkum@jps.net