Colors of the Toy Australian Shepherd, Miniature Australian Shepherd, Micro Australian Shepherd ...

Blue merle, red merle, solid black, red (liver), all with or without white and or tan (copper) markings: on all colors, areas surrounding ears and eyes dominated by color other than white; white is acceptable on neck (either in part or as a full collar) chest, legs, muzzle, under-parts, blaze on head and white extension from under-part up to four inches, measuring from a horizontal line at the elbow; white on head should not be predominate, eyes must be fully surrounded by color and pigment; hairline of white collar should not exceed the point of the withers. The blue merle and blacks have black pigmentation on nose, lips and eye rims; red merle and red do not; red merles and reds have liver (brown) pigmentation of the nose and lips; butterfly nose is not faulted under one year of age; small pink spots are permissible on merles' noses, but should not exceed 25% of the nose on dogs over one year of age. Disqualifications: Other than recognized colors; white body splashes, Dudley nose.

Pictured to the left is an example of a  black tri, to the right is a red tri.

Published by ASHGI; Australian Shepherd Genetics Institute

WHITES AND PATTERN WHITES
White is probably the most problematic color (actually lack of pigment) in our breed. It is not the white coat itself that is unhealthy. White outside of the areas prescribed in the standard is a warning flag that there may be health problems related to lack of pigment or to homozygousity of the merle gene. White or excessively white Aussies can be produced by several mechanisms working singly or in combination. There is considerable visual overlap between homozygous merles and pattern whites. It's not always possible to be sure which a dog is without a test breeding. As a generality, homozygous merles may have faded merling and lots of white, but in bloodlines where colors are typically dark and white markings are few, they may be dark with very little excess white. Among the defects commonly associated with excessive whiteness are deafness (full or partial in one or both ears) and vision problems and eye defects from mild to severe. There are several causes for whiteness, but the two most common are recessive pattern whites and the mating of two merles to produce a homozygous merle. For complete details please visit  ASHGI