Great Pyrenees Color Markings
The *Correct* coat markings are showing examples of correct placement. They are showing a solid white Pyr, a Pyr with gray ears and a Pyr with badger head and body markings. All correct marking colors (gray, badger, reddish brown and varying shades of tan) can be shadings of different intensity on the ears, as a full face mask, as a spot on the base of the tail and as certain body spots. The outer coat markings must not cover more than 1/3 (one third) of the body. Other colors or color markings indicate mixed breeding which can be either close in the dog's lineage or far back. The merle coat markings mentioned under *Incorrect* means any dog with a merle pattern. This could be "blue merle", "red merle", etc. An example of a breed that is allowed to have blue merle, red merle, etc. is the Australian Shepherd. Contrary to what some people think, mixing a livestock guardian breed with another livestock guardian breed or another type of breed will not make a better guardian or a multipurpose dog.
There are some misconceptions, especially in the United States, regarding coat color and markings of purebred Great Pyrenees. Now, before anyone gets offended, I was born, raised and live in the US and I love it here. This is simply an observation I've made over the years. Many people are a bit confused regarding Pyr color and that is primarily due to a certain few perpetuating certain myths. This page is being created to help the general public understand the truth. I will be including references and links to the American Kennel Club/Great Pyrenees Club of America breed standard, as well as, those from France (where Pyrs originated), Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kennel Club (US based). References to certain books and websites written by long-time Pyr breeders and experts will also be included. Since we are based in the US and since the Pyr is a French breed, we will focus mainly on those.
This is in no way meant to insult or degrade anyone's pet or even working or breeding dog. This is to help people understand the requirements of dogs used for guarding livestock, working otherwise and/or breeding to produce the healthiest puppies best suited to guarding livestock, working and/or producing the next generation.
Several years ago, many people thought that Pyrs should always be solid white. I even thought that before acquiring my first in 1988. There are still a few who believe that. Another idea was that only show dogs were pure white and that show breeders culled marked puppies (either by lethal means, spay/neuter or placing "undesirable" puppies in non-breeding homes). This simply is not true. Lethal culling at birth did happen in the past with certain people but not based on color. It was based on birth defects, and the like, that would affect the dog's health. Dogs who have things like weak pigment (brown/liver skin of the eyelids, nose and lips) or missing pigment (pink or white spots, or all pink or white skin of the eyelids, nose and lips) may be spayed/neutered and placed into strictly "pet" homes. That is not due to health issues (for a pet) but because those dogs would not be good candidates as Livestock Guardian Dogs (LGD) and therefore not good candidates as breeding dogs. Black skin pigment of the eyelids, nose and lips are very important to a working dog as it helps guard against sunburn, glare and fly strike. Breeding dogs should have good pigment so that puppies have good pigment. Strong pigment is indicated even more if the roof of the mouth is black, there are pigment spots on the skin of the belly and dark or black toenails. Even pure white dogs should have good pigment. Lack of pigment can also affect hearing and sight which is very important to a working/livestock guardian/breeding dog and even to pets. Breeding solid whites to solid whites should generally not be done as this can lead to pigment breakdown in puppies. If someone does breed solid white to solid white, both dogs should have excellent pigment, each of their parents and grandparents should have good pigment and at least one parent and grandparent on each side should have coat color markings. That being said, some marked dogs can have poor or missing pigment, so knowledge of the dogs in the pedigrees of breeding dogs is a must. Also, many dogs are born with correct markings which fade to look solid white once the dog has reached adulthood. Some of the great old breeders also considered a half mask as a sign of pigment breakdown. Others see one side of the dog having black eyelashes and the other side having white eyelashes as a sign of either pigment breakdown or as taking away from the expression (which has always been very important in the breed, including with the old French shepherds who originally bred Pyrs).
Then came a person claiming that Pyrs originally had true black markings. This person has gained a following. Many people have been misled by this movement. This person advocates correct head structure (not heavy, blocky or square) so I cannot understand why they perpetuate the black coat myth. True black markings are black and white or black and white with tan points where the black hairs are black all the way to the root without fading to gray or white. There are pure Pyrs with very dark gray/wolfgray markings that can appear black, especially in the old black and white photos. Pure Pyrs with badger markings often have black tipped hairs but they fade toward the root very quickly and are mixed in with gray, brown and white hairs. The old French shepherds saw black markings as a sign of impure breeding. It could mean that a non-LGD breed was mixed in, even several generations back, and cause the dog to either not guard and protect livestock or to chase and kill livestock. DNA breed verification is not reliable. The tests are not foolproof and the mix can be several generations back. DNA parentage verification is more accurate but that would require testing parents and all puppies and possibly grandparents many generations back. In at least one case, there is a person who registered a black and white dog with the AKC as a pure Pyr. This dog either has a different sire than its siblings (there can be more than one sire in a litter as one sire can fertilize some eggs while another can fertilize other eggs during that particular estrus/heat of the bitch) or there was an impure breeding in the background which only manifested in that puppy. There are Pyr mixes with other LGD breeds who have black markings but they should never be represented as pure Pyr. Three LGD breeds which can have black markings who could be confused with Pyrs are the Pyrenean Mastiff, Tornjak and Karakachan. I will take this time to note that Pyrs are called Great Pyrenees in the US and Canada. They are called Pyrenean Mountain Dog in Great Britain, Australia, etc. and Le Chien de Montagne des Pyrenees in their native France and some other parts of the world. Also please note that double dewclaws on the back feet do not necessarily indicate that a dog is a purebred Pyr. Yes, single dews are required on the front and double dews are required on the back but some pure Pyrs have double fronts and/or triple backs or a third small nail coming off the back doubles. Some people remove them out of ignorance (which they should not). Some dews are floppy but they should actually be well attached with bone and be actual extra toes. Some pure Pyrs will have singles in back or no dews at all, likely due to poor breeding. And there are many other breeds and mixes who can have double dews.
The breed standard was created to describe the perfect Pyr for livestock guardian purposes and therefore breeding purposes. It was created based on the requirements of the original French shepherds whose families originally bred them. Conformation shows are meant, and always have, to evaluate breeding stock against the standard, not each dog against each other. It is not a beauty contest. The fact that Pyrs are beautiful is only a result of the conformation/structural requirements for a good livestock guardian Pyr. Each dog is evaluated against the standard and the one the judge feels best fits the standard is awarded the win. A judge can withhold wins if they feel none of the dogs present that day represent the standard well enough.
Now, for the color terms used in the AKC/GPCA breed standard. Pyrs can be solid white or white with certain color markings. "Markings" is the correct term as a general description of any acceptable coat color markings. There are many people who think they are all called "badger markings" or "badger marks" but that is a specific color marking. Markings can be wolfgray/gray, badger (blaireau), reddish brown (arrouye) or varying shades of tan. The outer coat markings must not cover more than one third of the body.
American Kennel Club (AKC)/Great Pyrenees Club of America (GPCA) Illustrated Breed Standard
Reunion Des Amateurs De Chiens Pyreneens (RACP)/Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI) Breed Standard in French
Reunion Des Amateurs De Chiens Pyreneens (RACP)/Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI) Breed Standard in English
The Kennel Club (TKC)/Pyrenean Mountain Dog Club of Great Britain (PMDCGB) Breed Standard
Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) [*NOT* the Continental Kennel Club]/Great Pyrenees Club of Canada Breed Standard
Pyrenean Mountain Dog Club of Victoria (Australia) (PMDCV) Breed Standard
Pyrenean Mountain Dog Club, Inc. - New Zealand Breed Standard
United Kennel Club (UKC) (United States) Breed Standard