The Black Otter is My personal Rabbit Improvement Hobby Currently. As you can see from the picture these are beautiful creatures. My line is working toward creating a true Homozygous Otter. When your Otter/Otter mating produce only Otter patterned animals, and when out-crossed to a self, you get only Otters then you have achieved a Homozygous Otter ( remember that in coat genetics that the tan pattern is dominant over the recessive solid color) A good foundation animal is one in which the phenotype (appearance) really matches the genetic makeup (genotype) There is nothing finer than to watch a well marked animal go for BOB then best 4 class then BIS. Otters have achieved this distinction In the future more will follow, but the Otter as a variety will only succeed to survive if each breeder concentrates on the qualities that make the Otter Rex a distinctive animal, and that is the fantastic color and distinctive pattern. So culling heavily for both type, weight and color pattern is critical for this unique animal. When working with the Otter we have to realize this beautiful creature's History. In England the Otter runs quite a bit smaller than those found in the states by about two pounds. Many imported Otter lines have run small and fine boned in the past because of their English Ancestry. In the U.K. the standard calls for Rex to be between 6-8 pounds with many running towards the small end of the scale In the U.S. many breeders are turning up with Otters that exhibit quality type and size and many are found winning BOB and BOSV at shows on a consistent basis. ARBA standard calls for a jet black uniform body color, with slate blue to reach the skin The pattern to include the underside of chin and tail to be pale cream, belly to be pale cream or pale cream over slate (pale cream preferred), to be divided from the body color by a distinct border of tan. nostrils and the triangle at the nape of the neck to be tan. Eye-circles and inside of ears to be fawn Chest is an even mix of black and tan, merging into the main body color, the forefeet to be black, and the tan border between the belly and flanks shall continue down back feet. The otter pattern will continue to improve after several generations of direct Otter to Otter crosses. Crossing the otter to another color to "improve" the line you find a vast regression of the otter pattern. We have to realize if the sole distinguishing factor of the otter is it's pattern then we need to work towards clarifying and strengthening its trait.