I actually told the breeder I would prefer a lighter face.
I have absolutely no idea how she knew, when he looked like this, that he would end up like the picture above, but she told me that if I wanted a face like his mother's, he would have it:
I actually told the breeder I would prefer a lighter face.
I have absolutely no idea how she knew, when he looked like this, that he would end up like the picture above, but she told me that if I wanted a face like his mother's, he would have it:
Wow, that's amazing. How on earth could anyone say this dog would have a reverse mask? He looks just like Gunner at that age. And Gunner had a very black mask and he had it for a few years before it lightened.
Oh and how stinkin cute was Hans as a puppy?? :wub::wub::wub::wub:
Yes Lord vom G has a reverse mask. I read somewhere that it originated with his lines- something about his breeder preferring it or breeding him for it.
Not uncommon in dogs going back on Lord, but it didn't originate with him. It was not unusual in many of the dogs in the US back in the 50s and 60s, especially black/cream and black/silvers. Many, like the dog who played the Littlest Hobo on TV, looked almost like huskies in the face. There was someone who posted a faded sable puppy here on the board recently who also has a husky looking reverse mask.
I think your breeder could probably tell because you can see the tan coming through just a little bit. This is a picture of my dog at 10 weeks and you can see some tan poking through the mask- definitely more pronounced than your dog, but he was a few weeks older too (at least it seems judging by your picture)
Thanks Lisa and Chris for the additional info on the reverse mask
Here he is at 7 weeks. Yep, now that I look reeeeallly closely, I can see brown and not black on that mask.
And looking at that very sweet face, I realize I need to do right by my dog and get outside with him instead of talking about him on the computer, LOL.
Yes, but Robin knows her dogs very well and has seen enough puppies to have a pretty good idea how they are going to turn out. By the way, I think Hans is one of the most striking looking dogs on this forum!
What qualifies a reverse mask? A majority portion of the muzzle being brown, as well as the eyes? I wonder if this pup is actually a reverse mask or not given how dark her muzzle is. She looks awesome though! Her face is like "raccoon eyes" to a whole new level! She has a raccoon band. haha
To me it is a dark forehead and lack of black on the muzzle, so IMO faulty coloring. I'm not sure why it's called a "reverse" mask since it's really just lacking black on the muzzle, nothing is flipped around. Many dogs that have black muzzles already have a dark forehead as well. I know Coke is not a GSD or even a majority GSD (maybe a little?) but I've seen GSDs with the same face/coloring.
Even if it did I wouldn't describe a dog's color pattern based on fading with age. I tend to think of a color pattern as something the dog was born with. For example my dog with the brown nose and black forehead has always been that way, even if he may still lighten further.
Why not? Sables don't look anything like they do when they are young. Many GSDs have much more black on them when they are young, look more like blanket backs, but then will be considered saddle backs. The reverse mask is the same way, as puppies they have a black mask that fades with their puppyhood.
Sables are very distinctly sable from birth. I highly doubt that the dog in the photo is doing to loose all that black on the muzzle before 18 months or so. Mikko is what I think of when someone says "reverse mask" though I don't think the term itself is accurate.
Oh sorry, I misunderstood what you were referring to I think. I thought you when you said from birth, that like Mikko and Hans and other reverse mask dogs (or whatever you want to call it) shouldn't have a term that refers to their coloring because they aren't born that way. That's what I meant in referencing sables (probably a bad example) and the saddle coloration (better example).
I think you were actually referring to the other dog posted who is older and still has the black mask? I don't think that dog has a reverse mask, and agree further lightening would be due to age but not color pattern.
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