Red Hair

Most Shiba Inus have red coat, but some, like Dad and myself, are predominantly black. Humans are different. The most common human hair colour is black, though there are people who hav brown, blonde or red hair. Red hair is the most uncommon colour. I am told Daniel's dad used to have red hair, before it went white with age. Recent DNA studies have now shown that even the now extinct Neanterthals - a different branch of humans - could have red hair.

This is interesting, it seems to show red har can originate in different branches of a species. Black and tan in Shiba Inus is a recessive gene, so I have no genes carrying the red coat colour. If I would get pups by a black and tan male Shiba Inu, we could not get red coated pups, unless there would be a mutation. Mutations are rare and far in between, but it has occured to me that there may be red coated pups anyway by a combination of two black and tans, in the unlikely event that there would be a mutation in the genes about coat colour. I would never expect this to happen to me, but it is interesting to think about it anyway.