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SCHNAUZER COLORS
Schnauzers can be found in a variety of different colors! Almost all colors are recognized by AKC except the merle pattern.
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Black / Black & Silver​
The Black / Black & Silver colors are considered a more traditional schnauzer color. Some black puppies have minimal white. The black & silver is distinguished by their white/cream beards, eyebrows, legs/paws. A "phantom" black & silver has very prominent white/cream markings.
Liver / Liver Tan
Liver (or chocolate) is the recessive version of black. Liver based puppies can be solid liver with minimal white or Liver Tan with the prominent tan/cream colored "points" (beard, eyebrows, legs). Puppies with more color in the point are considered Liver Red or Liver Rust.
White/cream
White/Cream is also a recessive color deriving from the "e gene". An "ee" dog will either be white, cream, beige, red, or rust depending on their color intensity. All are recessive and must possess the double "ee" to be in this category. The puppies can be either black or liver based (expressed through their nose color), but the ee gene overrides the black or liver color.
Parti / Roan Parti
The parti gene appears as "spots or patches" covering the body. A parti always has white under the belly with the spots or patches covering their back and head. The spots and patches can very from dog to dog with each one having a unique coloration. A parti with ticking has little "ticks" or spots within the white hair. Roan is a genetic trait that makes the color fill in over time in the white areas. This creates a gorgeous mix of white and colored fur around the patches of pigmentation. When the "ee" gene is also present, you get red partis.
Beige / Light Red
A beige or light red schnauzer is an "ee" recessive colored schnauzer. They have more "red intensity" than the white/cream colors giving them a bit more color to their coat.
Merle
The Merle gene is a genetic pattern that creates mottled patches of color. As with other schnauzer colors, there can be a lot of variation in the merle schnauzers. They can be both black and brown based. They can have "points". Some with more color intensity than others resulting in black & red merles or liver rust merles. There are also different types of Merle patterns such as a harlequin merle. Harlequin is a modifier to the merle gene that eliminates color in some areas leading to larger white patches within the merle pattern.
Black & Red / Liver Red
This was touched on a bit previously, but the Black & Red or Liver Red has more "red intensity" in their points. This gives them deeper color in their beard, eyebrows, and legs.
Red / Rust
The Red / Rust colored schnauzers are considered recessive with the "ee" gene. What distinguishes them from the lighter "ee" colors is their "red intensity". The intensity is measured on a 1-10 scale when DNA testing is done. 8/10 to 10/10 being classified as INTENSE RED.
