He’s a Mal.
They come in all degrees of color concentrations, now.
Probably some Euro blood popping out.
One of my Dobes is pure Euro and the rust markings on her face are so dark, her face looks black in dim light.
Perfectly acceptable, just different from what most are used to.
She also "talks" a lot...all kinds of noises. She seems to have this need at least once a day to just bark for no reason. She knows that we don't like it, so now spends five minutes barking into a pillow to muffle the noise...I kid you not...LOL! Total goofball.