Though lemon and white is one of the breed’s five acceptable colors in the AKC,  it is thought that this color combination is rare in Papillons. In fact, the lemon and white combination likely represents well under 10% of the breed in the US, and possibly less based on breeder reports and the frequency with which the color is seen in show and pet populations.

The color of these puppies appears almost pure white during their early months of life, but over time, the white darkens and changes to pale lemon. The color often appears as soft markings on the head and body, and many people find that when the lemon spots are on the ears and around the eyes, they add a touch of warmth and personality to the dog’s face.

Why is the color so uncommon?

The short answer is because both parents have to carry and pass on a special gene for their puppies to have the lemon color.

All Papillon colors are based on two main pigments—black and red—but for a dog to be lemon, it needs to have the red pigment lightened by a special gene called the chinchilla gene (cch). To actually look lemon, the Papillon must inherit two copies of this gene (one from each parent), which dilutes the red pigment to a soft, creamy yellow. Genetically, this means the dog is “e/e” at the E locus (for red pigment) and “cch/cch” at the C locus (for chinchilla dilution). Because both parents must carry and pass on this rare gene combination, lemon and white Papillons are uncommon in the breed.

If you have a lemon and white Pap, we’d love to see their photos!

Image: Vector drawing of a Papillon by Dafunia Arieda/iStock