The Ideal Black-and-Tan Coat Colour.

The ideal black-and-tan coat colour is a three-coloured coat, with black base coat, tan points and white urajiro areas. The individual hair shafts are tri-colour as well, giving the dog a sooty or rusty black appearance. Each guard hair, if plucked from the back of a black-and-tan Shiba, holds some degree of all three colours as follows.

 Starting at the base with white/cream, graduating slightly to reddish/buff before changing to the dull and sometimes rusty black, not shiny blue black, on the tip. The undercoat is reddish buff to light grey and the black tipped guard coat stands away from the body allowing the undercoat to show through when the dog is viewed from behind or when running your hand backwards against the grain of the coat.

The graduation of colour on the coat of a black and tan puppy can be somewhat darker then on an adult, especially on the facial features. It is not unusual for a black and tan puppy at birth to appear almost solid black with the gradual lightening of the urajiro taking place as the dogs matures to be an adult. The coat is black in most of the dorsal areas, with tan points and urajiro as described in the following paragraphs.

The back of the ears, skull, forehead, and bridge of the nose are black, and the inside of the ears is reddish-tan to white. The urajiro ranges from light cream to white. On the face it will appear on the cheeks and the upper lip, chin and throat. It must not extend over the bridge of the nose or up around the eyes. A few lighter hairs around the eyes are often seen, but the appearance of “spectacles” is not allowed.

Urajiro can travel down the throat to connect with the triangular spots on the chest but should not extend to the left or right of the chest beyond the shoulder. It can continue onto the belly and is always on the inside of the thighs and around the anal area blending into the tail. The guard hair on the ventral side of the tail (part uppermost when curled over the back) is straight, bushy and white in colour. There is some tan between the black dorsal side and where the white ventral meet.

Keeping in mind the progression of the three colours of black to tan to white, the tan points are seen on the face as two oval spots (about the size of a thumbprint) over each eye. They are never so large as to blend to the point of giving the impression of an eyebrow or half-moon over the eye. The tan eyespots may include white hairs, caused by urajiro or aging. Tan is also seen between the black on the bridge of the nose and the white of the upper lip. This tan starts at the nose leather and is more colourful along that point. It will gradually fade to a slight tan as it travels between the black under the eye and the white of the cheeks. On the outside of the forelegs, tan will be quite apparent from the carpus, or a little above, downward blending to the light white/cream urajiro on the toes. The same pattern is repeated on the outside of the hind legs, down the front of the stifle and broadening from the hock joint to the lighter cream/white urajiro on the toes. Black is permitted on the rear of the pasterns, the back of the hock and as a small amount of black pencilling on the toes.

Although commonly termed black and tan, the black Shiba is always a tri-colour. It is not a black and tan dog like Rottweiler or a Doberman, nor is it a black and white dog like a Boston Terrier, but in fact it is a gentle blend of white/cream, tan to reddish buff, and dull, rusty black.  

The Ideal Red Sesame Coat Colour.

Red Sesame is possibly the most misunderstood Shiba colour,  both by judges and fanciers. This is due to the fact that there are so few “correctly coloured” Sesames, both here and in Japan. The ideal Red Sesame has an even distribution of black tipped hairs on the body and head over a rich red background. This is highlighted by proper urajiro. A Red Sesame can be quite dark, but not over 50% black. There is no concentration of black anywhere on the body and the black hair should be down the sides to the top of the legs and on the head down to the muzzle. The correct Sesame pattern is very similar to that of the Black and Tan because the black tipping appears in all of the same areas that the black appears in the Black-and-Tan Shiba. Exceptions are that the upper legs and bridge of the muzzle of the Sesame are not always tipped. Occasionally the tipping ends on the forehead of the Sesame in a widow’s peak rather than continuing down the bridge of the muzzle as in a Black-and-Tan Shiba. Often it takes a couple years for good urajiro to form on a Red Sesame Shiba.

The term Sesame is used to differentiate the Sesame pattern from the sable. The AKC Complete Dog Book defines a sable as: “A coat colour produced by black tipped hairs upon a background of silver, gold, grey fawn, or brown.” According to the AKC’s definition of a sable, all Sesames are sables, but according to the Shiba Standard, not all sables are Sesames. Many people, including  Shiba breeders, incorrectly label “sable” Shibas as “Sesames. They are red dogs, frequently carrying the black and tan gene as a recessive, that have a scattering of black hairs on the back and down the sides, but not covering the entire torso and head (minus urajiro). The black tipping exists in varying degrees of density, unlike the evenly tipped true Sesames, and extends only part way down the sides and is not present on the head. A sable with a small amount of black tipping is acceptable under the standard, but sable that takes the form of a black saddle, like a German Shepherd, is very undesirable. This black is in varying degrees and does not truly have a definition by the Japanese. They may call it “red with black inserts” and register it as a red, while the Americans call it an “incorrect Sesame” and register it as a Sesame The rich red background of the proper red Sesame colour is not always seen either. Many “Sesames” are more fawn, tan or brown underneath, giving the whole a rather washed-out appearance. Once a red Sesame with an excellent coat colour is encountered, it is not soon forgotten. 

The Ideal Red Coat Colour.

Of the the three allowed colours , Red is most frequently seen and understood. The ideal red coat is a clear, intense, candle-flame orange. It is not an autumn-leaf red or a pale grocery-bag tan,  but the colour of your worst forest fire. Several things can detract from this colour, but it should always be sought. Sometimes a lack of guard hairs will allow too much cream undercoat to show through, making the dog look pale. This is often topped by a much darker red coat on the mid-dorsal line. Dogs housed outdoors in extremely cold climates may develop such a thick undercoat as to appear too light on the sides. The Shiba coat has banded guard hairs that are red tipped with a white band in the middle and a lighter red (tan or grey in black and tan) band near the skin. If a substantial portion of the middle of the hair shaft is white, it can make the coat appear lighter, even though the tips may have good colour. A coat that is shed out or about to shed may also appear dull and washed out. A scattering of dark hairs is acceptable on the back and on the dorsal side of the tail on a red dog.

On an adult, urajiro may blend into short white socks and white on the chest and belly, so to make them indistinguishable from one another. Freckles may appear in the white socks and are not desirable. They are especially noticeable on a young dog with a dark red coat, and long socks. They usually fade as urajiro encroaches on the white socks, lightening the red freckles. White markings on the neck, body or head other than in the specified places are a serious fault.
Urajiro must be present on all colours of Shiba. There is generally more extensive urajiro on a red than on a black and tan or on a sesame. The latter two colours often take longer to acquire a good undersurface of urajiro, but it should never be completely lacking. On young dogs, the presence of urajiro around the vent and up the ventral side of the tail for about 1/3 its length indicates that more urajiro will be infused into the proper places as the dog ages. This ventral white should be present by the time a puppy gets its adult coat. In an adult Shiba, a light tipping of red or dark hairs (black on a black and tan) on the end 2/3 of the ventral side of the tail is very acceptable.