Every dog breeds boast of something different, whether its size, glamour, or skills. The American Bully is no other, and it’s a beautiful breed known for its impressive physique and wide range of colors. This guide will explore all the American Bully colors so you can find your favorite.
Animal coat and color often dictate breed. For example, the Australian Shepherd is closely identified with its blue merle coat, and the Dalmatian is known for its black spots on a white background.
The American Bully comes in various colors that make it one of the most diverse breeds.
What Coat Colors Do American Bullies Come in?
Before we dig deeper into the dog’s coat and colors, let’s first look at what makes the American Bullies’ color varied.
Color pigmentation in dogs is created by two primary colors, eumelanin, and Pheomelanin. Eumelanin is responsible for black and brown tones, while Pheomelanin creates reddish, yellow, or cream hues. The American Bully’s coat can be a single color or have various markings. The most common coat colors are black, blue, brindle, fawn, red, and white.
Markings on the American Bully’s coat can include:
- A mask (a darker color around the dog’s eyes).
- Ticking (small spots of color on a background of another shade).
- Brindle (streaks of color).
American Bully Breeding Colors Chart: Genes and Combination
The recessive gene in American Bully, like other breeds, can also play a role in the American Bully’s coat color. For example, the liver color is recessive, so two parent dogs must carry the liver gene for their offspring to inherit it.
So to get a much brighter or solid coat color, one must breed two dogs, two with the desired coat color. The recessive gene on each parent dog will make a much higher chance of the offspring being that desired coat color.
Now that we know how American Bully’s coat colors are determined, let’s look at what specific colors this dog breed can be.
American Bully Coat Colors: Ancestral Colors
Due to American bully ancestral roots, you will find that this dog breed can come in a wide range of colors. Coming from the lineage of the American Staffordshire Terrier and American Pit Bull Terrier, this dog breed exhibits colors that are similar to its ancestors.
American Staffordshire Terrier coat and color may be black, blue, brindle, fawn, red, or white. You may also find that some American Staffordshire Terriers have a merle coat color, but this is not recognized by or white. You will also find that this dog breed can have various markings on its coat, including a mask (a darker color around the eyes), ticking (small spots of color on a background of another shade), and brindle (streaks of color).
The American Pit Bull Terrier also comes in a wide range of colors, including black, blue, brindle, fawn, red and white. This dog breed can also have various markings on its coat.
When it comes to the American Bully, you will find that this dog breed can come in any color or combination of colors found in the American Staffordshire Terrier and American Pit Bull Terrier.
American Bully Coat Colors: Groups
The American Bully comes in a wide variety of colors that make it one of the most diverse breeds. There are three primary groups that these colors can be divided into solid, mixed, and rare.
Solid Color
American bully with a solid coat color will have one color that is consistent throughout its entire body. Solid Colors can include but are not limited to Black, Blue, Brindle, Fawn, Red, and White.
Standard coats in a solid color can be:
Black Coat
Black pigment in the American Bully is created by an excess of eumelanin in the dog’s coat. Black pitbull has a dominant black gene, so it only takes one black parent for their offspring to inherit a black coat. A solid black coat, black nose, and black brindle are the three main types of black American Bully or black pitbull.
Minimum proportions of color on the body are as follows:
- 80% of the entire coat should be a solid color other than white
- 20% or less of the coat can be white markings.
Blue Coat
Blue is another popular color in the American Bully. A diluted black gene creates this color. The blue coat can range from light blue to steel blue. The nose on a blue American Bully will also be blue.
Brindle Coat
The brindle coat is created by the interaction between black and red genes or light brown. The brindle pattern can range from light to heavy, and it can be challenging to predict how much brindle a dog will have. The nose on a brindle American Bully may be black, brown, or liver.
Brindles in American Bully result from the interaction of the black and red genes. Brindles can range from light to heavy coat, making it difficult to predict how much brindle a dog will have. The nose on a brindle American Bully may be black, brown, or liver-colored.
Brindle Dogs Variation
Brindle Coat can be in red brindle, blue brindle, black brindle, liver brindle, and fawn brindle.
Blue Brindle: Blue brindle is a variation of the brindle coat where the stripes are blue instead. Blue Pitbulls are very popular. A Blue Pitbull was featured on the cover of American Bully Kennel Club magazine.
Liver Brindle: The liver brindle Pitbulls coat is a mix of brown and black hairs, usually in a 60/40 ratio. Liver Pitbulls and Liver Brindle Pitbulls are not the same things.
Red Brindle: This coat is a mix of red and black hairs, usually in a 50/50 ratio.
Fawn Brindle: The fawn brindle is a variation of the brindle coat where the stripes are fawn instead of black. There can be blue fawn brindle pitbull, red fawn brindle Pitbulls, or black fawn brindle Pitbulls.
Fawn Coat
The fawn coat is created by the interaction of the black and agouti genes. Fawn can range from light cream to red-brown. The nose on a fawn American Bully may be black, brown, or liver. Fawn Pitbulls can also have brindle markings.
Other Fawn Dogs Coat
Blue Fawn Pit: Blue Fawn Dogs are very popular in the bully community. The coat is a mix of blue and fawn hairs, usually in a 50/50 ratio. Blue Fawns can also have brindle markings.
Red Fawn Pit: Red Fawn Dogs are not as common as other colors, but they are still beautiful dogs. The coat is a mix of red and fawn hairs, usually in a 50/
Sable Fawn Pit: The Fawn Sable Pitbulls is a beautiful coat mix of black and fawn hairs. The ratio is usually 70/30, but it can be anywhere from 50/50 to 90/
Reverse Fawn Brindle Pit: The reverse fawn brindle is when the brindle markings are on a fawn background instead of the traditional black experience.
Brindle coat may also exhibit different colors such as blue brindle, reverse brindle (brindle on a white or cream background), red brindle, and tiger brindle.
Mixed Color
The mixed-color coat is the most popular among American Bullies. A dog with a mixed-color coat will have two or more colors on its coat.
The most common mixed colors are black and white, blue and white, brindle and white, fawn and white, and red and white. Some colors are solid combined.
Solid colors are commonly blue, black, liver, and red.
There are also many different variations of the mixed-color coat with solid color and solid colors combined:
- Black and Blue
- Black and Red
- Blue and Fawn
- Black and Brindle
- Liver and Brindle
Because the American Bully breed is a mixture of genes between different dog breeds like the American Pitbull Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and other Pit Bulls, some solid colors may combine with brindle maybe with packed rock-solid colors.
Rare Color
The rarest colors among the American Bully breed are not typically found in the other two groups. Some of the rare colors that you may find in an American Bully are found in other dog breeds.
Merle Coat
Merle Pits are stunning, but they are also very rare. Merle pits coat is when the dog has patches of color that are different from the rest of the coat.
Merle Pits may have white patches, blue patches, or liver patches.
Blue Merle Coat
The color patterns in blue merle can be blue, black, or liver. The nose color is usually black, but it can also be liver.
White Coat
A white coat is not a color, but it is still considered a rarer color pattern. White dogs get this coat from interacting with the genes that control coat color. White Pitbulls can have any color of eyes, but they are usually blue.
There are two different types of white coats:
The tan point gene causes the dog to have a white coat with patches of color on the face, ears, and legs.
Albino
White dogs that do not have patches of color are called albinos. Albino dogs are scarce, and they usually have blue eyes. White dogs are different from dogs with a white coat with patches of color. White Pits with patches of color are not albinos.
Piebald
The piebald coat is when the dog has patches of color on a white background. The most common colors for the piebald coat are black and white, blue and white, brindle and white, fawn and white, and red and white.
The piebald coat is different from the merle coat because the patches of color are not a different shade than the rest of the coat.
Irish Marked
The Irish-marked coat is when the dog has a white chest and legs. The rest of the body can be any color. The Irish-marked coat is different from the piebald coat because the dog does not have patches of color on its body.
Tri-Color Coat
Tri pattern colors are not as common in American Bullies as in other breeds, but they are still beautiful dogs. The three colors of the Tri-color coat are black, white, and brindle.
Some tricolor Pitbulls may exhibit color coats such as the Tri Choco, black, chocolate, and white. Like other tri-color combinations, Tri Choco can also have brindle in their coat.
The Most Popular Dog Coat Color Combinations:
- Black and white
- Blue and white
- Brindle and white
- Fawn and white
- Red and white
- Black and blue
- Black and red
- Blue and fawn
- Black and brindle
- Liver and brindle
As you can see, the American Bully comes in a wide variety of colors. Pitbull’s coat may also vary from darker tones to lighter tones. The light brown tone, for example, could be fawn, Isabella, cream, or lilac. The soft chocolate tone could be Chocolate, Brown, or caramel.
And then there are also what we call “Pinto” colors. Pinto colors are when the dog has large patches of white fur with another color. The most common Pinto colors are black and white, blue and white, brindle and white, and red and white.
American Bully Coat Color: Pitbull’s Nose Color
When it comes to coat colors of American Bullies, there is a wide variety of colors and color combinations to choose from. One thing that you may be wondering about is what color Pitbull’s nose is.
The truth is, there is no one answer to this question. The color of a Pitbull’s nose can depend on the color of its coat.
For example, a blue Pitbull will typically have a blue nose. However, this is not always the case. Some blue Pitbulls may have a black nose.
American Bully breeds may fall into different variations depending on nose colors.
Black Nose
A black nose is the most common nose color for American Bullies.
Blue Nose
A blue nose is a nose that is gray or silver. Like a blue fawn, a blue nose can be a light blue or dark blue.
Pink Nose
A pink nose is a very light brown or tan.
Red Nose
A red nose is a brown or black nose with a reddish hue. Red nose family dogs are considered some of the most famous American Bullies. The red nose family is rarer than black or blue nose Bullies.
Liver Nose
A liver nose is a nose that is brown or chocolate.
Tan Nose
A tan nose is a nose that is the same color as the Tan Points on a dog’s face, ears, and legs. Tan points are the areas of a dog’s body that are typically a lighter color than the rest of the body.
Nose color is not the only thing that can vary among American Bullies. Another physical characteristic that can differ is eye color.
American Bully Coat Colors: Dilution
Color coat and color patterns are affected by many factors, including dogs’ combined genes, the base coat of parental dogs, and even the distinction between darker shades and lighter shades on coat colors of ancestry.
Dilution genes can also play a role in coat color. A dog that is “dilute” will have a coat color that is lighter than the coat color of its parents. On the other hand, deep red is a coat color that is darker than the coat color of its parents due to red pigment not being diluted.
American Pit Bull Terriers with dark coat color may beget pitbull puppies that are blue, gray, or liver-colored if they inherit the dilution gene from their parents. A black coat may also become a blue coat if the dog inherits two copies of the dilution gene. Darker shade base coat color, thru dilution, may also become lighter.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are a wide variety of American Bully colors and color combinations to choose from. When choosing the right color for your American Bully, it is vital to consider the many factors that can affect coat color.
Remember that coat color does not affect a dog’s temperament or personality. So, no matter what color you choose for your American Bully, you will have a loyal and loving companion by your side.
Refer to the chart above to get an idea of all the American Bully colors and color combinations available.