Collie Color Chart
Progeny
Parents
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PS
PS
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tri
tS
By  Mrs. George  H."Bobbee" Roos
Soft Cover
1-800-777-7257
www.alpinepub.com
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S- Sable. Dominant over tricolor. Shadings may run
from straw through red to dark mahogany.

PS- Pure Sable. Usually a clear shade of straw of
orange red with dark maskings or fringes.
These individuals carry no tricolor gene and can
produce only sable color regardless
PS of what color is combines with them.
(Charts I, II, III, X, XIV, XVI,XIX)

tS- Tri factored Sable. Sable Collies carrying the
tricolor gene in conjunction with the dominant sable
gene. Usually (but not always) a dark orange to a very
dark mahogany in color with dark masking and fringes.
(Charts II, III, IV, V, IX)

tri- Tricolor. Recessive to sable. Black Collies with
white and tan markings on sides of muzzle, above the
eyes, sides of cheeks, chest and inner margins of legs.
(Charts II, ,IV VI, VII, XI, XII, XV, XVII)

M- Merle. A dominant dilution gene which in
combination with sable or tri genes produces merled
collies.

BM - Blue Merle. Bluish gray with black splotching,
carrying sable markings in the same pattern as the
tricolor. Color results from the interaction of the
dominant dilution gene (M) with the tricolor gene (t).
(Charts, VII, VIII, IX, X, XVIII)
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SM - Sable Merle. Sable spotted tri Collies.
Color results from the interaction of the dominant dilution
gene (M) on the sable color. At birth, all sable merles exhibit
a bluish tinge on tail and muzzle which disappears in a few
weeks.
Brownish merling on body or head may or may not remain at
maturity, and thus these individuals, if they have dark eyes
can be mistaken for a"normal" sable. However, many sable
merles inherit blue or blue flecked eyes, a sure sign of a
merle.

PSM- Pure Sable Merle. Usually a light or even "washed
out" sable at birth with brown merliang.  At maturity, quite
often these Collies lose their merling and coat color becomes
a clearer red.
No tricolor gene is present in their makeup.
(Chart XV)

tSM- Tri factored Sable Merle. Usually a darker sable color
than the PSM with dark brown merling which quite
frequently is still visible at maturity. The tricolor gene is
present in conjunction with the sable and merle gene.
(Charts XIII, XIV)

w- White. These collies are the result of a cross between
either two white parents or white factored parents. Color is
carried on a recessive gene (w) and is inherited
INDEPENDENTLY of sable, tri or blue merle and may
occur in combination with ANY of them.
A blue headed white is just as sound and normal a Collie as
the tri or sable headed white. These are not to be confused
with the white merle whose "white" color results from the
double dominant dilution merle gene, where as the white
color of a blue headed white results from the recessive gene
(ww) and its blue color from the normal interaction of the
merle gene with tricolor.
(Charts XVI, XVIII)

Wf- White factored. Colored dogs usually with large white
frill, heavy white tail tip, possibly a body splash of white
hairs and white extending upward from hind feet over stifle
to meet the white under body.
(Charts XVII, XVIII)

non- Non White factored. Regular colored
Collies NOT carrying the recessive white factor.
(Chart XIX)

WM- White Merle resulting from the combination
of two merled parents.
These Collies inherit the dominant dilution gene (M) from
both parents. Thus, color is diminished almost to the
vanishing point by the gene in duplex.

They are almost white in appearance and may or may not
have a few merling spots. Eyes, IF present, are pale blue;
skin, including the eyelids, lips, nose.
And pads are pigmentless except within an area of merling;
hearing and sight severely impaired.
These are commonly destroyed at birth.

(Ed. Note. Since this treatise was prepared in 1969 it has
been learned that the white merles are not necessarily
defective and many have sight and hearing.

This information is expanded in continuation of chapter by
the author.) If a white merle is raised to maturity and is from
a BM to BM cross, it can be bred to a tricolor and will
produce 100% blue merles.
(Charts VIII, XI)

This is not true of white merles carrying the PS genes or the
tS genes when bred to a tri.
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Standard referral chart for head colors
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white
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white
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white
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Wf
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Wf
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Wf BM
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Wf BM
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non Wf
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All Colors
BM
WM
BM
tri
tS
tSM