The OBBA breed standard accepts all colors and patterns. There are no disqualifying colors. That's a deliberate choice - the OEB was rebuilt as a working bulldog, and working bulldogs have always come in every color.
Some colors are more common than others. A few colors come with health caveats that buyers should understand before paying premium prices for them.
Color marketing. Some breeders charge specialty prices for "rare" colors. Some of those colors are genuinely uncommon. Others are produced deliberately by introducing genes that come with health risk. Know which you're paying for.
Common colors
- Brindle. Vertical tiger-stripe pattern. The most common OEB color. Comes in shades from light fawn-brindle to dark "reverse" brindle that looks almost black with tan stripes.
- Fawn. Solid tan, ranging from pale cream to deep red-fawn. Often with a black or brown mask.
- White. Solid white or near-white. Eye color usually dark; pink eye rims or nose are a fault.
- Piebald. White with patches of color (brindle, fawn, or solid). Common and accepted.
- Black with white markings. Less common but accepted.
- Solid black. Uncommon, accepted.
Dilute colors
"Dilute" colors are produced by a recessive gene (dd) that lightens the base coat. Dilutes appear in OEBs occasionally and are accepted by OBBA, though they have known health considerations:
- Blue. Slate-gray. Often advertised at premium prices. Carries increased risk of color dilution alopecia - a skin condition causing hair loss along the back. Not all blue dogs develop it, but the rate is higher than in non-dilute coats.
- Lilac. Diluted chocolate. Two recessives (chocolate + dilute) stacked. Even more uncommon, even more premium-priced. Same alopecia risk.
- Champagne. Diluted fawn. Pale cream-yellow.
Buying a dilute is a personal choice. The dogs aren't unhealthy as a population, but they have measurably higher risk of skin issues. Pay accordingly.
Merle
Merle is a coat pattern that creates marbled or mottled patches. It is genetically uncommon in OEBs and the source of merle in the breed is questionable - it does not appear in any of the foundation breeds Leavitt used.
Merle puppies marketed as OEBs are often crossbred with another breed (typically Catahoula or Australian Shepherd-type) to introduce the merle gene. They may register with some lenient registries but are not consistent with the breed standard.
Health risk: double-merle puppies (from breeding two merle parents) have very high rates of deafness, blindness, and other defects. Any breeder producing a double-merle litter is breeding irresponsibly.
OBBA's position: we don't disqualify merle but we strongly discourage merle-to-merle breeding and treat unverified merle pedigrees skeptically.
Markings on the head and chest
- Mask. Dark muzzle on a fawn or fawn-brindle base. Common, accepted.
- White chest blaze or paws. Common, accepted.
- White around the eyes. Common in piebalds and some lines, accepted.
- Ticking. Small flecks of color on white areas. Accepted.
Color changes with age
OEB puppies often change color noticeably between 8 weeks and 1 year. Brindle tigering develops or intensifies. Fawn puppies darken or lighten. White areas may fill in slightly. Don't assume the puppy color is the adult color - ask the breeder to show you photos of the parents at the same age.
A breeder's perspective on color
Reputable OEB breeders breed for structure, health, and temperament - not color. Color is a tiebreaker, not a primary selection criterion. A breeder advertising primarily on color (especially "rare" or "specialty" colors) is signaling that color is their main commercial driver.
That doesn't mean every blue OEB comes from a bad breeder. It does mean: when shopping for a puppy, prioritize parents' health, structure, and temperament over coat color.