Colours
The breed demonstrates a wide variety of colours and only three colour patterns are disallowed by the Finnish Breed Club:
- Brindle (as see in Boxers, where the colours are striped),
- Saddle (Like B&T German shepherds, where the body in tan in
main, but there is a black saddle pattern over the back and sides),
and
- Parti colour (ie a main colour and white as with German spitz) as a main colour must be present. This means white patterns like for border collies (Irish spotting are permitted), but broken colour as in parti colours are not.
The colour can change tremendously from birth and the following are by no way intended as a definitive list of the color patterns permitted - but show the diverse patterns and intensity of colours, also to show the way colour changes from birth to maturity.
Black & Tan The most widely seen colour in the breed - but with varying amounts of tan, and intensity of tan | |
| Photos of same bitch at a few days/4 weeks and 5 years |  |
 |
Photos of same dog at a few days/7 weeks and 3 months |
| Tricolor & Black & white showing the Irish Spotting pattern |
|
Wolf Sable Dominant to Black & Tan- so requires at least one parent to be Wolf Sable to be seen in a litter |
|
 |
Male at few days/5 weeks and 18 months |
Solid Black (or black & white) A recessive colour in our breed, so can be born to non solid black parents, sometimes they are really B&T but tan points are small or hidden by white pattern, giving the striking B&W dogs. |
|
 |
|
Brown & Tan Both parents must carry at least one brown gene for a litter to include brown pups, recessive to black |
|
 |
|
Red Sable Amount of black tipping in hair can vary to overlay on shoulders and back to just a few hairs - giving appearance of red coat only. |
|
 |
|
Cream/Cream Sable The black pigment is affected by two copies of an e series gene converting the black pigment to yellow (as with yellow labs), this means cream puppies can appear to black/B&T parents |
|
 |
|
Spectacles Unusual feature to our breed, where hair colour around eye rims is paler giving appearance of spectacles, more noticeable in darker wolf sable or solid black dogs. |
|
 |
|
Blue/Blue & Tan Recessive colour caused by the effect of two copies of dilution gene on the black colouring giving a blue effect where black would have been expected. (not seen in UK as yet) |
|
