Reference
American Bully Color Chart
Every coat in the breed, what produces it genetically, how common it actually is, and which ones carry real health risk. All of them cost $700 from me.
The American Bully comes in essentially every color, and the breed standard is genuinely relaxed about all of them. What the market isn’t relaxed about is price: the same dog in a fashionable coat costs several times what it costs in an unfashionable one. This chart sets out what each coat actually is, so you can tell scarcity from marketing.
Every coat, ranked by how often people search for it
| Coat | Rarity | Searches | Health risk from the coat | Available now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Merle | Uncommon | 720/mo | Double merle risk | 3 |
| Blue | Common | 590/mo | Dilution alopecia | – |
| Merle | Uncommon | 480/mo | Double merle risk | 7 |
| Lilac Tri | Very rare | 390/mo | Dilution alopecia | – |
| Chocolate Tri | Rare | 320/mo | None from the coat | – |
| Tri Color | Uncommon | 320/mo | None from the coat | 2 |
| Exotic | A marketing term, not a rarity | 260/mo | Breathing, skin, joints | 1 |
| Lilac | Rare | 170/mo | Dilution alopecia | 3 |
| Lilac Merle | Very rare | 170/mo | Double merle risk | 1 |
| Black | Common | 170/mo | None from the coat | – |
| Fawn | Common | 170/mo | None from the coat | 2 |
| Brindle | Uncommon | 170/mo | None from the coat | – |
| Blue Tri | Uncommon | 140/mo | Dilution alopecia | 1 |
| Chocolate | Uncommon | 110/mo | None from the coat | – |
| Champagne | Rare | 110/mo | Dilution alopecia | – |
| Chocolate Merle | Rare | 110/mo | Double merle risk | 2 |
| Blue Fawn | Uncommon | 90/mo | Dilution alopecia | – |
| White and Piebald | Uncommon | 90/mo | Deafness risk | 1 |
Rarity in that table is honest rather than promotional. Most listings describe every coat as rare. Four of these genuinely are, several are common, and the ones with the largest premiums aren’t always the scarce ones.
The three risks worth knowing
Double merle
The most serious. A dog with one merle parent is ordinary and healthy. A dog from two merle parents is at high risk of deafness, blindness or both, and you can’t identify one by looking at the puppy. Merle commands the biggest premiums in the breed, which is exactly why merle-to-merle breeding happens. Ask us about both parents of any merle puppy here and we’ll tell you.
Color dilution alopecia
The gene that makes a black dog blue and a red dog champagne carries an association with brittle, thinning hair in the diluted areas, sometimes with recurring skin infections. It usually appears between six months and three years, it’s permanent, and it applies only to diluted coats: blue, lilac, champagne and blue fawn.
Deafness with extensive white
Where white covers the head and ears extensively, the risk of congenital deafness rises, because the cells that make pigment are involved in inner ear development. A BAER test is how you find out. A dog deaf in one ear lives a normal life, but it’s better to know.
What I actually do about color
Nothing, is the honest answer. Color is the last thing I select on, behind temperament and behind structure, and I price every puppy the same because I don’t think a coat is worth money.
That isn’t a moral position, it’s a practical one. There’s no relationship between coat color and temperament, health at birth, structure or how long a dog lives. Fashion moves: brindle was sought after, then it wasn’t; tri color was ordinary, then it was expensive. The dog you’re choosing will be with you for twelve years and the color will stop mattering in about three weeks.
Every puppy is $700. Here’s what’s standing today.
Looking for a particular coat?
Tell me which one and I’ll say honestly whether I’ve it, whether it’s coming, or whether you’d be better buying elsewhere.