Dalmatians are not just black and white, as many would think.  In fact, you will find Dalmatians in quite a few different colors.  According to the AKC, only white with black spots or white with liver spots are recognized colors, but there are several other color variations that occasionally pop up.

Lemon

The recessive “e” gene is responsible for lemon coloring on Dalmatians, and dogs with this color will have black or liver nose and eye rims.

Orange

Orange coloring in Dalmatians is quite similar to liver, but is distinctly orange colored – not brown.

Blue

The blue color in any dog will look more like gray, but is called blue.  Blue Dalmatians have blue spots and are a result of the “d” and “B” genes.  These are very uncommon.

Tri-color

Tri-color Dalmatians are either black/tan/white or liver/tan/white and are caused by the A(t) gene.

Brindle

Brindle is a patterning of stripes and shows up in tri-color Dalmatians.

Mosaic

Unlike a tri-color, mosaic Dalmatians will have just one spot of a different color, such as liver or lemon on a dog that is otherwise spotted black.

Two-tone spots

Some Dalmatians have spots that contain two colors, such as light colors in the center and transitioning to darker colors at the outer edge of the spots.

So next time you see a strangely colored Dalmatian, he is probably one of these beautiful and unique color variations.  While these cannot be bred or shown, different color strains sure do make for some unique dogs.