Tired of everything normal? Even a normal colored dog? Well, try tri-color pitbull. These dogs are not unique but also becoming the talk of the town. So let’s see if you are going to give your heart to this beauty or not… We bet it’s a Yes!
What is a Tri color pitbull?
We have seen Pitbulls in ordinary colors and they already have proven their worth too. Now is a time for a little change though. Tricolor Pitbulls are Pitbulls who have unique tints of three colors on their coats.
Although the tricolor coat is unique but found in almost all the bloodlines of the pitbull. All the types of Pitbulls have tri-colored coats in their breed. These are
- American Pit Bull Terriers in tricolor coats
- tricolor American Bully puppies
- American Staffordshire Terriers in tri coats and
- Tricolor Staffordshire Bull Terriers
As the name suggests, tricolor pitbull have three different shades in their coats. Usually, the base color is any of the common colors like black, lilac, or blue. The two other shades that create tri-color magic are usually white and tan.
Now there are three colors on the plate so breeders are trying to create as unique delicacy as they could. Three colors are quite a weapon on canvas to play with. (Keep in mind how three basic colors have created an entire rainbow).
Why tri-color Pitbulls are still rare?
Despite the popularity, you must wonder why you haven’t adopted one of them before. Well, because they are rare. Breeders don’t take risk of producing tricolor litter for just having a colored coat. Why? Because
People mistaken tri-color coats for being a mixed breed. Pitbulls are darlings and people love them genuinely. Any confusion can lead to adopting another normal pitbull. This can be heartbreaking especially when tricolor pitbull breeders have put a lot of effort and faith in breeding tricolored pets.
Also, as these Pitbulls are not in AKC standard so breeders tend to produce puppies that are more show quality.
The science behind having a tricolor pitbull
The process of getting a tri-colored pitbull is more than just “mating”. There is a whole science involved behind it.
A gene called Agouti genes defines the coat color of a pitbull. Any variation in a responsible gene will change the pup’s color from dark to light or black to tan. This is how it works
- If the puppy has an A allele gene, this gene makes black color. In the presence of this gene, the dog will be black, blue, or chocolate colored.
- In the presence of the Ay allele gene, the puppy will have shades of yellow. The tricolor pitbull produced by crossing this gene will be red and skin shades.
- When At gene is present in the pitbull, it produces dominant tan-colored Pitbulls. This gene is recessive and will not show itself when the other two are present. Also, dogs can carry a recessive gene for generations so you never know when the gene will show up.
Breeders mate the genes carefully for the desired tri-color. There is no guarantee that puppies from the same litter will share the same coat tri colors.
A little breeding maths
This is no easy game about how to make tricolor Pitbulls. Trust us.
- A tan and black dog means your dog has inherited AT genes from both parents. Here the tan gene was recessive and it showed itself now.
- If a dog is red-yellow, it has inherited At genes from one parent and the Ay gene from another parent.
- Similarly, a black dog inherited A genes and At genes from parents. This A and At combination can also produce brown and blue dogs. So you never know, even when you are following a science you will get the exact desired color. A game of chance indeed!
Few tricolored Pitbulls
The pitbull color is given a name according to its dominant coat color. Here are some of the common colored Pitbulls
Black tricolor Pitbulls
Black ones are quite common. The other two colors are mostly tan and white. These dogs will have a solid black color coat with tan markings near the eye area. The belly and paws will be white though.
Chocolate colored Pitbulls
Mostly this tri-color will show up in American bully because chocolate is their base coat color. These pit bulls have dark brown, fawn, and White color in their coat.
Blue tricolored pitbull
Blue-colored Pitbulls have a blue base coat with white and tan color markings. Also, in blue colored pitbull, the nose will always be blue.
Purple tricolor Pitbulls
These dogs will have light tan markings and mostly appeared colors are purple and white. The tan marking may look like another shade of purple. These dogs can come in beautiful variations of purple and white.
A blue fawn tricolor pitbull
The rarest of all, the blue fawn tri color pitbull is very beautiful. Instead of tan markings, these dogs will have silver-blue and white markings which makes them unique.
Champagne tricolor pitbull
These dogs are mostly beige or fawn and have tan and white markings on their bodies.
Lilac tricolored pitbull
Lilac ones are very cute. They have lilac, tan and white colors but the dominant color will be lilac.
Red tricolored pitbull
Red ones have a base coat in a slightly reddish tone and markings will be more Tan colored with fewer white patches.
A tan tricolor pitbull
Tan Pitbulls will have more tan markings with few shades of white and maybe another darker color like blue or chocolate etc.
White tricolor pitbull
They have dominant white or silver coats and tints of any other two colors. Some people may confuse merle puppies with white tricolor pitbull.
Ghost tricolored Pitbulls
These dogs have white and Cream markings on a silver coat. Ghost Pitbulls are the rarest of all tri-color pitbull.
Brindle tricolor Pitbulls
Brindle Pitbulls can come in any color combination from above tricolor Pitbulls. The difference is that instead of patches they will have stripes on their body.
Is there something like merle tricolor pitbull?
No!. Merle such as in poodle is dangerous.
Merle is discoloration and happens with a dilution of not just color but the overall body. Merle puppies can have birth defects like deafness and blindness. Also, in merle puppies, one color appears in different shades but in tri-color pitbull, there will be three distinct colors in one puppy. Also, merle puppies will have blue eyes.
Will the tricolor coat change over time?
Yes!. A tan puppy may grow up to become fawn or cream. This doesn’t mean that coat color will change entirely or into a new shade. It can just appear to be darker or lighter. For example, a lilac-colored puppy may change into purple but once the dog is adult, the color is permanent.
The coat color can fade only because of poor health or grooming conditions and this requires serious attention.
Are tri-colored Pitbulls AKC recognized?
Unfortunately, AKC doesn’t recognize three-color Pitbulls. Which means they can not appear in dog shows. This certainly doesn’t mean the dog is a mixed breed. The world needs to open up to changes. Phew!
How to know if the tricolor pitbull is a purebred or mixed breed?
Easy peasy lemon is squeezey!
When two different breeds are crossed, the puppy inherits the physical traits of both the parents. So this means the puppy will not only inherit coat color but also some other physical traits too. A puppy looking exactly like a pit bull is a pit bull. The mixed Breed will be a look-alike but not the same.
Tricolor pitbull temperament
Well, the tricolor pitbull is still a pit bull. Tricolor is pure because of aesthetic reasons. Like every other pitbull, it will be a gentle, affectionate, and loving family pet who can be trained to socialize very well.
Tricolor pitbull price
Life is more than just dog shows. Tricolor pit bull owners know that. People love unique dogs and they don’t always care if it matches breed standard or not. A tricolor pitbull puppy cost can be up to $750. The price can be more or less. How much a tricolor pitbull is worth, depends on the availability of tricolor and the reputation of the breeder.
Why tricolor Pitbulls are not for you?
And after even having a good read, you don’t want a tricolor pitbull? Well, this dog is not for you because
- Maybe you want to have show-quality dogs.
- You are not into Aesthetics. A rare beauty needs true admirers.
- It is safe to say that you are a person of papers. You believe in the practicality of things and want all that pedigree and genetics game set right.
- You simply don’t care.
Reasons you should adopt tricolor Pitbulls
Here are few reasons why tricolor Pitbulls are for you!
- They are Pitbulls.
- Like all Pitbulls, they are warm and affectionate with their owners.
- They are intelligent and can be trained well.
- Like normal Pitbulls, tricolored also have supersonic running speed.
- They make great family pets.
- Their aesthetics is satisfying to the soul.
- No matter the color Pitbulls love to cuddle just like huskies.
- They are cutie patuties… Sheer beauties!
Finally, all we conclude is that Pitbulls are Pitbulls no matter what color they are. They have and always will rule our hearts. Period!
