With hundreds of dog breeds from all over the world and the intermixing of those breeds, it's not uncommon to get a pup unlike anything you've ever seen before. From spotted dogs to literal dip-dyed dogs, these canines have some of the most fascinating coats of fur. You may not have heard of terms like "brindle" and "dapple" but if you have a dog with a unique coat, you might just learn a little bit more about them!
It Don't Matter If You're Black Or White
Things aren't always so black and white—except for when they are. This pouty pooch looks like he slept on his side in a puddle of black paint. But this "half-dipped" look is a result of a hair pattern called bicolor.
When a dog's coat is approximately half white and half of another color, it's a bicolor coat. Based on the look on this one's face, the approximation appears to be exact!
A Dappled Dachshund With Eyes That Could Kill
Just look at these adorable, light-colored puppy dog eyes! They're the perfect compliment to this dachshund's dapple coat. While his snout, eyes, and legs are an average red, his back appears to be grey dappled with dark brown.
This little guy has a lot going on with is coat because no one side is uniform. Even his smooth, white chest is a different color from the rest of his fur!
The Dog Behind The Mask
This dog looks like she has a mask on her face with the way the black fur circles perfectly around her eyes. She also has a smattering of circular black spots on her back. Based on the sparseness of the black patches in her fur, this dog could either be a spotted dog or a tricolor dog.
The black patches are a stark contrast from the rest of the dog's fur, especially the paws which have no pigment.
A Husky You Can Easily Spot
This is a piebald husky puppy. Piebald patterns are mostly white with patches of color across their coats. In this husky's case, black spots make him stand out among the crowd. The pigment of his skin may or may not be entirely white underneath the spots, but it is determined by the migration of melanoblasts while this pup was still in utero.
Either way, he wouldn't be able to blend in with the white snow if he tried.
This German Shepherd Has A Case Of Merle
This German Shepherd-type dog looks like he once had the standard black and yellow coat but then he started to morph into a dog with a merle coat. In this dog's case, he is of the blue merle variety with mottled black patches over the majority of his coat.
As beautiful as the merle gene is, it comes with health complications. This dog is more prone to develop skin cancer from too much sun exposure.
A Boop Filled With Love
This dog has a heart-shaped nose, which is most likely the result of a spotted pattern inherent in this dog's coat. Though we can't know for sure what this dog's coat looks like since we can only see her face, that alone is enough to show what a cutie this one is.
The ears and the spots around the heart-shaped nose are just more testaments to the fact that this is likely a spotted dog.
These Dogs Have Two Competing Genes
This spotted puppy has eyes that will make your heart melt. While two of the canine siblings came out with pure black fur, the other two appear to be of the chimera variety. Chimera in animals and humans occurs when an organism has cells that are genetically distinct from each other.
This is to say that cells of these puppies didn't come together to form a new unique cell and instead, maintained their own characteristics.
A Freckled Furry Friend
This freckled friend is supposedly an Australian cattle dog mix. It is said that when Australian cattle dogs mix with other breeds, they sometimes result in having this unique freckled pattern on their fur.
Based on the way her spots are prevalent throughout her coat, we'd say that she has a tick pattern. Interestingly enough, puppies who are born with the tick pattern gene don't start developing their spots until they're older.
This Dog Mustache You A Question
This little guy has some serious 'stache game that will definitely impress the ladies. Coupled with his puppy-dog eyes and the speckles on his nose, how could you deny something so adorable?
This puppy could also be of the merle variety based on the random placement of its black patches of fur, but you wouldn't know until he reached full maturity since fur patterns can change as dogs get older.
This Dachshund Pup Has A Lot Going On
This dachshund puppy has a lot of different patterns going on with its fur. Half of her coat is entirely white, while the other half is black with brown accents. It looks like she's two different dogs at the same time!
The spotted pattern on her hind may be a roan pattern, similar to ticked coats. This happens when white hairs and pigmented hairs are so close together that they create a silvery grey look.
The Saddest Little Dapple You've Ever Seen
This dachshund puppy has a case of merle going on. Dachshunds with merle coats are referred to as dapples. The black speckled tan fur that covers this pup's brown fur makes her look wise beyond her years.
We bet her owners were hopeful that her coat didn't change as she grew older. It would be a shame to lose such a uniquely beautiful coat like this one but this dog would still be cute regardless.
We Hope This Panda Dog Hasn't Been Dyed
This looks like a Boston Terrier puppy based on its large pointy ears and short, wrinkle-free muzzle. Many Boston Terriers are already bicolor dogs that are predisposed to having some variation of black and white coats.
But this Boston Terrier is extra special because its coloring came out precisely like a panda's! He has dark patches around his eyes and on his extremities, just like the popular Chinese bear we all know.
A Happy Chimera Dog Displays Its Colors
Here is another doggo that apparently has chimera. To give you an idea of how this is possible, imagine two different embryos fusing to create one single organism. Because both of the embryos were individual from each other, the resulting organism will have the genetics of two different individuals at one time.
We're guessing this dog is a Labrador retriever whose parents were a black lab and a yellow lab.
She Clearly Has A Lot Of Love
This loyal girl doesn't wear her heart on her sleeve—she wears it on her chest! It's a total coincidence that the patch of white on her chest came out in the shape of a heart. This type of coloring is called a tuxedo coat.
This occurs when a primarily black or brown dog has a pure patch of white on its chest that sometimes extends to the chin and the paws.
Dogs Can Have Vitiligo Too
This dog has a case of vitiligo, which you may have heard of as a human skin condition but it can also affect animals as well. The condition isn't harmful to dogs, who can develop what is called "focal" vitiligo on the nose or "generalized" vitiligo all over its coat.
This dog has the latter case, and his coat is extremely unique. Have you ever seen a dog with two spots about their eyes like this?
These Wild Dogs Have Wild Coats
This is not your average domesticated dog but in fact, it is an African wild dog. These wild animals are also known as painted hunting dogs for their distinct coats. The variation in these animals' coats is extreme and is likely a tool they use to identify each other from over 50 meters away.
Sadly, these dogs lose their fur as they get older and there are many older African wild dogs that are completely naked.
It's Not What You Think It Is
This exotic-looking dog was spotted in India and while it may trick viewers into thinking it has a rare coat, sources on the Internet imply that this dog actually got a hair dye treatment. Finding a dog that has actual anomalies in its genes to create a unique coat is not easy.
But because of the high demand for such a rarity, many people take to dyeing dog fur in order to make a sale.
The Fluffiest "Tiger" You'll Ever See
This is an Australian Shepherd-Husky mix with a beautifully fluffy brindle coat. Brindle coats are similar to merle coats, except these ones are characteristically "tiger-striped." It happens when a dark, irregular pattern develops on a coat that is primarily lighter.
Being part Husky already makes this dog pretty fierce but with stripes like a tiger, that fierceness is amplified. This is one dog whose look is one in a million.
Have You Heard Of The Panda Shepherd?
Just like the trend of panda dogs in Asia, there have also been murmurs of the "panda shepherd." Fortunately, these types of dogs weren't artificially created but rather, their unique coat is a result of a gene mutation.
This dog, in particular, was found to be the offspring of two pure-bred German Shepherds but a mutation in her genes caused a white tuxedo coloring on her front side, much to the surprise of scientists.
These Panda Dogs Aren't What You Think
These are adorable little panda puppies. Their markings make them look like tiny little pandas. Unfortunately, this likely wasn't a natural occurrence but rather, the result of a popular pet craze in Asia.
People have become obsessed with panda-like dogs and to meet demands, breeders will dye the dogs' fur to make them look like pandas. At the very least, a pet-safe hair dye is reportedly used for these innocent pups.
This Pooches Brother Thinks He's Adopted
If we didn't know any better, we'd think that this unique pooches brother in the background isn't too keen on not having a cool marking. Well, it's either that or he thinks his brother was most definitely adopted.
Either way, this good boy looks more than okay with having this cool stripe going down his face. Considering how common Golden Retriever dogs are, this pooches human is lucky never to have to worry about losing him at the dog park!
Fur Or Mud?
Fur or mud, that is the question. Either this good boy decided to jump into a huge pile of mud, or he has one of the more unique fur colors we've seen. Well, we guess its more of a pattern than a color, but you get our meaning.
Even though he is quite adorable and most likely the only pooch with this particular pattern, we can't help but think of the human. We mean, bath day must be miserable! How do you ever know if he's dirty or not?
This Dog Has Some Dream Highlights Going On
First off, no animal should be able to have this gorgeous of highlights. Two, how is it even fair that the universe gave this good boy highlights naturally, but we can't even get a decent dye job at our local salon?
Thirdly, how gorgeous does this pooch look just basking in the spring air. We mean, he literally looks like he's posing for the cover of Vogue. Cool, guy; just keep going on with your luscious locks, and we'll be over here with our $20 haircut.
The Full-Face Mask
If you can see beyond this precious animal's puppy dog eyes, then you'll notice he has some strange markings. While his head is totally black, he has a white body with some tiny spots.
Although adorable, this pooch looks like he just stuck his face in either a mud hole, a vat of oil, or decided to go a little heavy on some face paint. Either way, he gets a solid 13/10 for picture etiquette.
Black And White And Cute All Over
This pooch looks just as confused as we do! Is this good boy a Dalmatian, a collie, or something else altogether? Well, whatever he is, he's perfect and looks beyond soft.
Not to mention he has the coolest fur ever! With those curly black ears, the spots covering his body, and his nose that looks a bit slanted due to a black spot on the top, we're awarding this pooch top marks for his unique fur.
Brother And Sister But Totally Different
Not that we're going to disregard the good boy on the left, but he's not what we would call "unique," considering he's a regular-looking Dalmatian. Again, no offense, pooch, but the young lady to your right is way more unique looking.
The auburn spots and ears are way too cool to go unnoticed next to the black and white dog. Also, props to their human for being able to get them to focus long enough to get this great picture! Puppy kisses all around!
If I Fits I Sits Like This
We guess this puppy isn't old enough to have learned how to sit properly. But his tiny feets up in the air isn't the only cute thing about this puppy. Nope, we're talking about his cool markings.
From the black spot on the top of his head to his thigh-high blonde spots going up his legs, this pooch is going to be one handsome doggie one day. The only thing we wish is that his tiny ears stayed the same size, but we know that's most likely not going to be the case.
Lake Dog That Might Be A Leopard
While this pooch looks like he's kind of mad at this human for interrupting his lake time, we don't blame the person. We mean, with this unique coat, you kind of have to do a double-take and make sure a forest leopard isn't lounging on your deck.
Alas, it is not a leopard and only a good boy trying to catch the last rays of his vacation. Obviously, he's not humored by the photoshoot, though.
Photoshop Or Just Unique?
We know, these two good boys look like they're totally photoshopped. We mean, look at those chocolate brown heads sitting on the shoulder of a spotted doggie. It looks too unique and strange to possibly be real.
Well, it is real! These German Pinchers are literally turning their heads in a questioning manner because they're getting sick of everyone telling them they're "fake." Sorry, guys, you're beautiful and real looking jut the way you are.
When Wearing Your Heart On Your Sleeve Is Too Cliche
Come on, folks, the phrase "wearing your heart on your sleeve" is so last year. The new phrase that's all the rage is wearing your heart on your eyes like this good girl is quite literally doing.
This dog has one of the coolest fur markings ever, having actual hearts over both of her pretty little eyes. Even though this pooch probably loves their human, they can't voice it. Thankfully, they can just stare at their human until the point gets across!
