Shades of sable and coat length?

[lauramichelle]

Does anybody have pics or a link to a website showing what a "light sable" looks like?

We have a friend with a litter who has 2 males left...a light sable and a dark sable. We can choose if we decide to get one from her. But I wanted to know what a light sable will look like as an adult. I have pics of dark sables and know what they look like.

The mom is very light (almost to being non-GSD looking...but I've seen her pedigree so I know she is)....and the dad is a dark, dark sable. I'm hoping the light pup would be darker than the mom full grown.

Also, the dad is a long-coated....the mom is short coated with no long coats in her pedigree. Will the puppies more than likely be short coated? We do not want a long haired one. Its too early to tell on the puppies as they are less than a week old right now.

Not for sure we will get one of these...we are just trying to decide. Health and temperment wise the pups should be good based on the parents. Just not sure if I like the colors enough to pay that much for one....when I might could wait longer and get the one I really want.

[Chris Wild]

If the pups are less than a week old, yes it is too early to tell whether they are stock coated or long coated. Within the next few weeks it will become apparent and by the time the pups are ready to go home it should be obvious if either is coated. At less than a week old it's also a bit early to definitively say if one is a "light" or "dark" sable as sables can, and usually do, change quite a bit in short periods of time.

If you search the Pictures area I believe a while ago there was a thread "show off your sables" or similarly titled. Not sure if it's still there but if it is you'll see photos of all sorts of dark sables, light sables, medium sables, etc....

[Papanapa]

Marley at 6 weeks....



Marley at 1 year...



I think she would be considered a medium sable???

[BlackGSD]

It is also too early to be "picking" a puppy. There is no way yet to know which one would be the best match for your family. WHat happens if you pick one now based on color alone and it turns out to have the exact WRONG temperment for you?

[lauramichelle]

Just wanted to clarify that we are not picking yet. There are only 2 males in the litter...and we do want a male. So if we get one from the litter...it will be one of those 2 males.

We wont be having one picked until they are older to make sure it is the right temperment for our family. I was just wondering if we even wanted to consider picking one from this litter because we dont want a long-haired one....and i didnt know what all the shades of sable looked like.

[BlackGSD]

Ok good.

Did you find the "Sable" thread?

The breeder may ber able to tell at around 4 weeks if they are long coats or not. Unfortunately there is really no way to tell at this age. Have these 2 parents been bred before? If so where there any long coats in the litter?

[lauramichelle]

I looked but couldnt find the sable thread.

These 2 have not been bred together before. The male is a long-coat. The female is a short coat with no long-coats in her pedigree.

To get a long coat do the pups have to get the gene from both parents like they would to be black? Or do coat genetics work differently than color genetics?

[BlackGSD]

Yes, the pups woud nave to get a "coated" gene from each parent. But just because the female doesn't have any coats in her pedigree does NOT mean that she isn't a carrier of the long coat gene. She may or may not be a carrier. If she isn't there wil be no longcoats. If she is, there MIGHT be longcoats. (The mother being a carrier isn't a guarantee that there will be longcoats, just means there COULD be.)

[BlackGSD]

Here is the sable thread.

Sable thread.

[DHau]

Just curious? What's wrong with having a long coated dog? I will admit I had my doubts about owning one at first, now I think they are absolutely beautiful because each one is so unique.