I have produced many Bi-Colors and not one of them has ever had the tan/cream around the anus until they are older, most of them have had it by about 4 months (that being the average of my pups) but I just recently had one that did not get that "tell-tale" marking until almost 8 months old, very little coloring in the feet at all, now he's 10 months and has a bit more color up the feet and some into the legs. All of mine have been born black with some having a few strands of hair between the toes..... The genetics of the Bi-Color is a very difficult and deep subject to delve into..... ----- Original Message ----- From: Karen C. There will be one place a bicolor will almost *always* have tan markings and that place is around the anus. If you ever see a basically black dog with tan around the anus, that is a bicolor dog. Bicolor pups are supposed to have the anal ring at birth, even if they are otherwise totally black. That's the way I learned it, anyway... ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2004. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://www.showgsd.org ============================================================================