As you can see, the puppy to the left does have a white coat...It is approximately 75% white...and lemon, both light and dark) cover the remaining 25%.
If a breeder has a puppy that is similar to this, he or she may advertise that pup as a "white", although it is deceiving as the lemon will grow in as the
puppy
grows older... While he or she has the option to register the pup as a solid white, one must understand that what a dog is registered as does not mean that they will grow to be that color. In many cases, the coat will be much different than what the papers imply.
Age plays a huge factor here. This is because, when born, a L & W newborn puppy will be completely white. Over the course of time, the shading will begin to appear.
Some will argue that one can tell a L & W apart from an L & tan by nose color...However this is not true in all cases. There is no guarantee. The majority of newborns will have pink noses...and some will turn to liver, some to black...and a few will remain pink.