What Is Reverse Brindle on a Great Dane?

The Six Standard Colors

• There are six standard colors of Dane recognized by the Great Dane Club of America: harlequin, mantle, fawn, brindle, blue and black. Breeders strive to uphold specific standards in each of these six color categories in an effort to breed strong and healthy pedigrees. To achieve this, breeders remain within the boundaries of the "color lines." Breeding outside the color lines often results in dogs with genetic flaws and disabilities, such as blindness, deafness and serious health problems.

Standard Brindles

• The official standard of brindles is a yellow-gold coat with strong black cross-stripes, usually in a "chevron pattern" (GDCA). Like fawn danes, brindles also usually have a black mask. Brindles vary in the intensity of their markings. Some are darkly brindled, and some are colored more lightly. A strong even brindle is preferred by judges in a show.

Reverse Brindles or Onyx Brindles

• Reverse or "onyx" brindles are Danes that are so darkly brindled that they actually appear black with fawn stripes rather than fawn with black stripes. They usually also have a black mask. These Danes are within the breeding standard, but because their coloring is on one extreme end of the spectrum, they are not as desireable from a judging standpoint as a more moderately colored Dane.

Blue Brindles

• Blue brindles are a non-standard color. These dogs look very similar to an onyx brindle and may be confused for one. Rather than black brindle stripes, blue brindles have blue stripes and possibly also a blue mask. This results from crossing the color code and breeding a dog from the blue line with a dog from the brindle line.