a dog called red is usually a clear sable (with little to no eumelanin tipping on hairs) or a ruddy recessive yellow. In some breeds, "red" refers to what would usually be called brown, chocolate, or liver. A "red merle" is always a liver-based merle. In Australian Cattle Dogs, "blue" stands for a densely ticked liver-based colouration with an overall red-grey appearance. Gold and yellow Gold refers specifically to a rich reddish-yellow and its variants, whereas yellow can refer to any shade of yellow and tan. Terms used include yellow-gold, lion-colored, fawn, apricot, wheaten, tawny, straw, yellow-red, mustard, sandy, honey, blond, and lemon. Dogs called golden or yellow tend to be recessive yellow, but can also be sable. Cream Cream refers to a pale yellowish or tannish colour which can be almost white. Fawn Fawn typically refers to a yellow, tan, light brown, or cream dog that has a dark melanistic mask. With Weimaraners, fawn refers to their typical brownish grey colouration that with other breeds is usually called lilac. Black Black is a pure black that can get grizzled as the dog ages, or have a tendency to gain a brownish cast when exposed to the elements. Blue Blue is a cool-toned, metallic grey. It typically means a d/d dilution of black pigment, a grey colouration that is grey from birth, but has a wide range of breed-specific meanings. In Kerry Blue Terriers, Poodles, and Bearded Collies, "blue" refers to colouration that is black at birth and progressively greys out as the dog matures. In Australian Shepherds, Rough Collies, and Shetland Sheepdogs, blue means a blue (black-based) merle. In Australian Silky Terriers, blue means a saddle-type black and tan pattern, where the black parts of the coat progressively fade to a steel grey as the dog matures and in Australian Cattle Dogs, blue stands for a densely ticked black-based colouration with an overall blue-grey appearance. Grey Grey simply means a grey colouration of any shade. It can be used as an alternative synonym of blue, but tends to mean some other type of grey than the d/d dilution of black. Synonyms include silver, pepper, grizzle, slate, blue-black grey, black and silver, steel. Greys of a dusty or brownish cast are often lilac, a d/d dilution of liver, and this colouration does not have much of a commonly recognised name. Across various breeds, it is called lavender, silver-fawn, isabella, fawn,