| I'm fairly certain that a lighter shade is not considered a fault. According to the FCI (international) standard, as long as the color is accepted it is fine, and they make nothing more than a statement that the "darker shade is preferred", with no mention of disqualification for lighter tones. Im not certain on the AKC standard, but I think it is along the same lines. There are plenty of people active in AKC conformation on this forum who I am sure can and will give more insight to this or correct me if I'm wrong.
As far as the markings behind the ears, I'm pretty sure that would be a disqualifying fault, because I don't think those are standard markings, just as a white patch on the chest (which I have seen from time to time) is a disqualifying fault if it is over the allowed size.
Any conformation people here want to chime in ? I'm curious myself. |