What is a reverse mask?

[Liesje]

Yeah to me Hans, Mikko, and the ones Lisa posted (coming from Lord), and my Coke are what I picture when someone says "reverse mask", though it's really just a lack of a mask, not reverse anything. But you are right because it's not really a color pattern anyway, it's just lack of a mask. However I guess I would say to use the term the color is pretty much set once the dog is 12-18 months or so, I wouldn't use that term to describe normal fading of color over the dog's lifetime. Like I don't think an older dog that gets faded in the face is a "reverse mask" (for example my 11 year old foster dog Ruger had very little mask left but did when he was younger). A dog with little black on the muzzle will see it mentioned in a show critique but an older dog that is faded white probably will not, if that makes sense.

[BlackthornGSD]

Actually, from what I understand, the mask pattern that Lord has is a result of fading and that many of his descendents with dark muzzles will end up with a reverse mask as mature adults. Maybe that's why they retain the black masking around the lips as opposed to not having the muzzle-mask at all, as you see in, say, Rotties or Dobes.

[kai0401]

[kai0401]

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum...21-120242.html

[kai0401]

[LeoRose]

This is my Leo a few days after I rescued her. She was about 12 weeks old at the time. I've been told, in the critique section, that she has a reverse mask.