BRINDLING IN AUSSIES

There was a time in our breed history when brindles cropped up occasionally. Brindle is not a recognized color in the Aussie breed standard. I have heard rumors of ranch and working Aussies with brindled tan points, and I now have one example of one. If anyone else has a photo of an Aussie known to be purebred with either all over brindling or with brindle in the tan points, I'd be happy to add it here as an example. Brindle was thought to be located on the E locus, but geneticists now say the exact location is unknown. Visually it is a tiger striping pattern such as one sees in American pit bull terriers. In dogs that have a black gene B the background is yellowish with black stripes. In red dogs bb the background is yellowish with liver stripes. Brindles can also be dilute. In Catahoulas and APBTs merle can combine with brindle to make a very wild pattern.

This is Snickers, a half Aussie brought into rescue. This is what whole body brindle looks like on a dog with an Aussie type coat. It is a definite tiger striping, not an indistinct mottling of black on yellow. In dogs with the tan point pattern, brindle appears only in the tan points if e^br is present. Snickers' probable genotype is ...(a^t ? B? K? mm S?).

This is an Aussie puppy who is a black tri with brindling in the tan points. These are not random smudges of black like we see in dogs with smutty tan points. These are distinct stripes of black most visible on her legs, shoulder patches, and neck.

Here is a photo of the same girl several years later. The brindle pattern is limited to the area of her tan points. The brindling forms vertical black stripes on her legs and it is horizontal on the sides of her face. She also shows some ticking on her toes and throat. This is a registered Aussie with known parentage. Brindle does occur in low frequency.