28/06/2020
There are 3 different types of noses in a shih tzu to determine color.
1. Black nose (the most common shih tzu, you see these everywhere)- A Black nose is the default nose color. If the shih tzu has a black nose black eye rims, lips, paw pads, then you only go by the color of the coat to determine what color the dogs is. Newborn Black Nosed Shih Tzu puppies are born with a BLACK nose at birth.
2. Liver- ( an Exotic Color ) Liver is a dilute color, Liver dogs have noses ranging from deep brown to pink. It is genetically impossible for a liver dog to have a black or blue nose. If the shih tzu has a liver (brown/chocolate/pink) nose, eye rims, lips, pads, it is a Liver shih tzu, it dosen't matter what color the coat is on these dogs its still a liver. anything except black, It cannot have a strand of black anywhere to be a liver. Newborn Liver Shih Tzu puppies are born with a PINK nose and later gets darker to the liver color. A liver nose will not have ANY blue or Black spotting on the nose.
There is also a nose color called Isabella, which is VERY rare. The isabella color is a dilute color of Liver.
3. Blue- ( A Rare Color, most people have never seen these, only a few breeders produce these )Blue is also a dilute color which is the dilute color of black. Blue dogs have noses ranging from light grey to almost black. It is genetically impossible for a blue dog to have a brown nose. However, sometimes grey(Silver) dogs can occur that don't have the blue dilution gene. So a shih tzu that has a blue coat may have a black nose and dark eyes, because in fact it is a black dog with the greying gene rather than a proper blue dilute. Sometimes blues can also be very dark, so that their coat and nose appear almost black. It can be very difficult to tell whether such dogs are blacks or blues.
Sometimes blue can be tricky and hard to determine, Some noses are obvious and are light purpleish blue or light grey, but some are a real dark gunmetal grey and you may think its black. Most blue shih tzu's have blue (grey) eye rims, lips and paw pads, some I have seen have a blue tint to their skin in some spots. A blue shih tzu can have any color coat except Black like the liver because of the dilute color gene. Some Blue Shih Tzu's are born very dark and may look black to the eye. But they are not black and may Change to a lighter blue in adulthood. Just because the coat on a dog looks blue does NOT make it a blue shih tzu. Go by the Nose. You can tell the colors better in bright light outdoors. Compare a blue nose to a black nose to see the difference. Newborn blue Shih Tzu puppies are born with a PINK nose, and will change to blue within 1-3 weeks.
*Both the Color Liver and Blue are dilute genes. You MUST have a Blue or Liver Shih Tzu or a carrier(parents, grandparents) to produce those colors.*
Source: http://www.lorispups.com/
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