Colour Breeding

Guidelines for the novice breeder, what you can get and what you can’t get when two Bull Terriers are mated together.

First a list of colours.

1. Brindle and White or Solid Brindle.

2. Black/Brindle and White or Solid.

3. Red and White, Red Smut and White, Solid Red.

4. Fawn and White, Fawn Smut and White and Solid Fawn.

5. Tricolour or Solid Black and Tan

6. All White.

7. White with a, Brindle, b, Red, c, Fawn, d, Black/Brindle or e, Tri head mark.

The expression Solid after a colour means that the dog has no, or next to no white blaze on face and very little or no white on chest or feet.  A black/Brindle is completely black in coat, with or without white markings, with Brindle points on cheeks, forelegs and thighs.

A Tricolour is similar (with white markings) but his points are Red or Fawn. showing no Brindling anywhere.

Smut on the Reds/Fawns indicates a black or smutty muzzle as against a clear red/fawn that has no dark colour on the muzzle.  Solid reds/fawns are almost always smuts.

The most valuable colours for breeding are:- 1, 2, 7(a) and possibly 6.

We know that 1, 2 and 7(a) have the ability to produce brindle pups without the help from their mats since they show brindle colour on their bodies and heads.  6, may have this ability also but, as he shows no colour, the only way to find out is to mate him or her with a non-brindle mate and so try him out. 

All whites carry colour in their make and will pass this colour on to their progeny, when mated to a coloured.

Two Whites mated together will ALWAYS produce white puppies, such puppies may or may not have head marks but they will always be White and never Coloured.

The Solid colours, on the other hand, will never produce a white puppy.  Pups from a mating when either one or both parents are solid will always be coloured, even if one parent is white, these solids are therefore of great value in Colour breeding producing as they do, 100% coloured puppies.

Brindle and White and Black/Brindle and White mated to any coloured can produce the whole range of colours.

The non Brindle colours, reds, fawns, tricolours, whites that do not carry brindle cannot produce brindles unless mated to a brindle, black/brindle or white carrying brindle, but they can produce all other colours and white (unless solid).