Red & Cream Color Genetics in the Russian Salon Dog

The Russian Salon Dog is known for its beautiful range of warm coat colors, from deep, saturated red to soft fawn and pale cream. Although these colors may sometimes appear similar, the genetics responsible for them can be quite different.

This guide is intended to help breeders, owners, and those interested in the breed better understand how Red, Fawn, and Cream colors occur and how they may change as a dog matures.

Understanding the Red Color Range

Several different genetic combinations can produce dogs that fall within the red color range. These colors are influenced primarily by genes at the A locus and E locus, along with additional genes that affect pigment color, intensity, and pattern.

Within the Russian Salon Dog, the red color range can be divided into four primary genetic expressions:

1. Dominant Red Without Darkening

2. Dominant Red With Darkening (Sable)

3. Zonal Color

4. Recessive Red (Cream)

A dog's visible coat color does not always reveal which genetic mechanism produced it. Two dogs that appear similarly red or fawn may therefore have different underlying color genetics.

1. Dominant Red Without Darkening

A dominant red dog without darkening appears predominantly or completely red without darkened eumelanin hairs throughout the coat.

This expression is associated with the Aʸ (ay) allele at the A locus.

Coat Color

The red pigment can vary considerably in intensity. Depending on the richness of the color, the dog may be described as:

Red — a rich, strongly saturated red coat.

Fawn — a lighter or less saturated expression of red.

Puppies are born red or fawn, and the registered color is based upon the intensity of the red pigmentation.

A mask or differences in undercoat shading are not included in the registered color name.

Pigment Color

The color of the coat should not be confused with the color of the dog's skin pigment.

A Red or Fawn dog may have black, brown, blue, or isabella pigment affecting the nose, lips, eyelids, claws, paw pads, and skin.

Black pigment:
The nose, lips, eyelids, claws, and paw pads are black. The eyes are generally dark brown.

Brown pigment:
The nose, lips, eyelids, claws, and paw pads are brown. The depth of the brown pigmentation may vary. Eyes may range from brown to lighter brown.

Blue pigment:
The nose, lips, eyelids, claws, and paw pads appear gray or blue-gray. The intensity of this pigmentation may vary. Eyes may range from brown to lighter brown.

Lilac pigment:
Pigmentation may appear grayish, pinkish-brown, or diluted brown. The nose, lips, eyelids, claws, and paw pads generally display corresponding diluted pigmentation. Eyes may range from brown to lighter brown.

Dogs expressing this type of dominant red must have at least one E allele at the E locus.

2. Dominant Red With Darkening — Sable

Some Red and Fawn Russian Salon Dogs are born with darker pigment distributed through portions of their coat.

This is commonly referred to as sable.

In these dogs, the base of the hair is red while portions of the hair shaft are darkened. Depending upon the dog's pigment genetics, that darkening may appear black, brown, blue, or lilac.

How Sable Can Appear

The amount of darkening varies considerably from dog to dog.

Dark pigment may affect only the tips of the hairs, extend through approximately half of the hair shaft, or cover most of the hair.

Some dogs may also have individual dark hairs or darker strands concentrated on areas such as the:

• ears

• head

• muzzle

• tail

Other portions of the coat may remain completely red.

A sable dog may also have a mask or darker pigmentation over the muzzle.

Sable Often Changes With Age

Sable coloration can be especially dramatic in puppies.

As the coat grows, the darker ends of the hairs move farther from the skin. Through normal coat growth and grooming, these ends may eventually be trimmed away.

As a result, a puppy that appears heavily shaded may become considerably lighter as an adult.

In some dogs, most visible darkening eventually disappears. In others, darker shading remains in particular areas, such as the ears or tail.

This is an important characteristic to remember when evaluating the eventual adult color of a young Russian Salon Dog.

The underlying red portion of the coat is still classified according to its intensity:

Rich, saturated red = Red

Lighter red = Fawn

As with dominant red without darkening, sable dogs must have at least one E allele at the E locus.

3. Zonal Color

Zonal coloration occurs when individual hairs contain alternating bands or zones of pigment.

The source material associates this coloration with the aw allele.

Unlike sable shading, in which darker portions of the hair may eventually grow out and disappear, the eumelanin zones of a zonal coat remain part of the dog's coloration.

The individual bands may be narrow or wide, and their distribution can vary considerably between hairs.

The red portions of the hair may also range from rich red to pale fawn.

Zonal Color in the Russian Salon Dog

The historical breed material notes that breeds intentionally used in the development of the Russian Salon Dog were not known to introduce zonal coloration. However, because some dogs of unknown ancestry were involved during the breed's early development, the possibility that the gene entered the breed could not be completely excluded.

Very narrow zones can also cause a zonal dog to resemble a sable dog.

For this reason, the historical material recognizes the possible presence of zonal coloration but does not encourage breeding specifically for the pattern, as the darker banding can interfere with the clean appearance desired in the red coat.

4. Recessive Red — Cream

Cream in the Russian Salon Dog has a particularly important genetic distinction.

These dogs are genetically recessive red (e/e) at the E locus.

An e/e dog cannot produce black, brown, blue, or isabella eumelanin in the hair, regardless of which color genes the dog carries at certain other loci.

As a result, the coat is entirely within the red-to-cream pigment range and does not contain eumelanin darkening.

What Does a Cream Puppy Look Like?

Cream puppies are born without darkening in the coat and are registered as Cream.

The actual intensity of the coat can vary.

Some Cream dogs may be extremely pale, while others can display considerably warmer or richer pigmentation. The genetic designation is based upon the recessive-red e/e genotype rather than simply how pale the dog appears.

This creates an important distinction:

Fawn describes a lighter expression of dominant red.

Cream identifies recessive red (e/e).

Therefore, a very pale Fawn dog and a Cream dog may sometimes look similar while having different underlying genetics.

Breeding Cream to Cream

Because a Cream Russian Salon Dog is e/e, each parent can contribute only an e allele at the E locus.

Therefore:

Two genetically Cream (e/e) parents produce only e/e — Cream — offspring.

The puppies may vary in the intensity of their red/cream pigmentation, but genetically they remain Cream.

Red, Fawn & Cream: What's the Difference?

One of the easiest ways to understand these terms is to separate color intensity from genetic color.

Red

A rich, strongly saturated expression of red pigment.

Fawn

A lighter, less saturated expression of red pigment in a dog whose color is not genetically recessive red.

Cream

The Russian Salon Dog designation for a dog that is genetically recessive red (e/e).

This means that Cream should not be determined solely by how pale a dog looks.

A pale dog is not automatically Cream, and a genetically Cream dog does not necessarily have to be nearly white.

Why Are Some Reds Darker Than Others?

Red pigment can range from deep brick-red through gold, fawn, pale cream, and nearly white.

The source material identifies additional genetic factors that influence the intensity of red pigmentation, including the I locus and variation associated with KITLG.

These modifiers help explain why puppies within the same litter can display noticeably different intensities of red.

Ideally, the red pigment is distributed evenly along the hair shaft and across the dog's body.

White Markings on Red, Fawn & Cream Dogs

A predominantly Red, Fawn, or Cream Russian Salon Dog may have small areas of white.

The breed material allows small white markings on otherwise solid-colored dogs, provided the amount of white does not exceed 10% of the dog.

Small markings are commonly seen on areas such as the:

• chin or muzzle

• between the eyes

• throat or chest

• toes

• tip of the tail

Some small white markings seen in newborn puppies may diminish or disappear as pigmentation develops.

White markings may also have a genetic basis associated with white-spotting genes.

When the amount of white is sufficient that the dog should no longer reasonably be considered solid-colored, the color should instead be identified accordingly, such as:

Red & White
Fawn & White
Cream & White

Masks

Some dominant Red and Fawn dogs may have a darker mask caused by the Em allele at the E locus.

The mask can vary dramatically in extent and intensity. It may involve much of the muzzle or be limited to a relatively small area.

Masks can also be particularly noticeable in puppies and become much less apparent—or disappear visually—as the adult coat develops.

The presence or absence of a mask does not change the registered Red or Fawn color designation and is not preferred over the absence of a mask.

Importantly, genetically recessive-red e/e Cream dogs cannot express an eumelanin mask in the coat.

Color Can Change as the Dog Matures

The color seen in a young Russian Salon Dog is not necessarily the color that will be seen in adulthood.

A richly colored Red puppy may gradually become lighter as it matures.

The reverse can also occur: a lightly colored puppy may develop stronger pigmentation and appear considerably richer as an adult. The breed material notes that this can be particularly noticeable in Cream dogs.

Sable puppies may undergo an even more dramatic transformation as darkened hair tips grow out and are removed through normal grooming.

For this reason, puppy color should always be evaluated with an understanding that the Russian Salon Dog's coat may continue to develop and change with maturity.

Additional Color Characteristics

Red, Fawn, and Cream coats are not always perfectly uniform.

Some dogs may develop areas that are slightly darker or lighter than the surrounding coat without those areas representing true white spotting.

Occasional individual hairs may also be darker or lighter.

The source material additionally notes that following an insect bite, injection, or vaccination, hair growing from the affected area may temporarily develop with a different intensity of red pigment.

Young puppies may also display eye colors ranging from brown and light brown to blue-gray or smoky shades depending upon their pigmentation.

Persistent distinctly blue or light-blue eyes at the age of official evaluation should be considered separately from normal puppy eye-color development, particularly when evaluating the possible presence of merle.

Breeder's Note

Coat color in the Russian Salon Dog should be evaluated as a combination of genotype, pigment, pattern, and intensity rather than by appearance alone.

A dog's visible shade does not necessarily identify the genetics responsible for that shade.

When establishing breeding color, breeders should consider the dog's phenotype together with its pedigree and, when appropriate, genetic color testing.

Within the red color range, clean, rich, evenly distributed pigmentation is desirable. Differences such as masks, temporary puppy shading, or undercoat coloration should be understood as characteristics of the color rather than entirely separate colors.

To learn more on the color genetics of red Russian Salon Dogs. Click Here