Another word for this is “brindled” — I thought the dog world should step up to the bar set by tigers yesterday, even though it’s quite a different kind of genetics.
It’s strictly house dogs, though. The only colorfully coated wild canid I can think of is Africa’s wild dog — less stripes and more “splashed with paint as it ran by.”
I’m not at all familiar with domestic dog breeds, but here are a couple of videos I found on a general search to introduce them!
More information:
- Canine Weekly article on brindled dog breeds.
- The Daily Puppy (yes): Which canine breeds are brindle?
- American Kennel Club: Treeing Tennessee Brindle
A little lagniappe:
While forays into the genetics of tiger stripes come with heavy jargon alerts and a science PhD requirement, the word “brindled” is easy to understand: “Marked as though by branding or burning.”
Not accurate but descriptive and understandable — could there be a similar explanation of the tiger’s stripes?
Could be —
Featured image: Kanyshev Andrey/Shutterstock
Flight To Wonder 