Black puppy coat questions

[triangulum]

I have a 10 week old black German Shepherd and over the last few days it seems like he is starting to turn red around his eyes and ears. I thought black puppies stayed solid black their whole lives so it confuses me a little bit. His father is solid black and his mother is red and tan. Here are a couple of pictures from today to show you what I mean:


He also seems to be growing his adult fur already. He's got a little saddle of long slick, slighly wavy fur growing down his back and more is appearing across the shoulders. Isn't he a bit young for this?

[shepherdmom]

I just wanted to say what a pretty puppy! He is gorgeous.

[Sunflowers]

I guess he is going to be like his mama

[triangulum]

Originally Posted by shepherdmom

I just wanted to say what a pretty puppy! He is gorgeous.

Haha thank you, I think he's absolutely beautiful but I'm biased His dad is one of the prettiest GSDs I've seen in a long time so I have high hopes for how he will turn out!

E: Whoops, I meant to say his mother is a red and black, not red and tan haha

[jaggirl47]

Black pups as they are shedding puppy fur can turn a reddish tint. Mine did this as well until her full adult coat was in. This will go away.

[Jag]

My pup (11 weeks) has in the last week gotten adult fur on a large part of his tail! What a change in a week! So yes, they can start changing coats young I guess. I love his super soft baby fur.. I'm hoping that I have lots more time before the rest of it is gone. Your pup is very beautiful!

[doggiedad]

is your dog black?

Originally Posted by Jag

My pup (11 weeks) has in the last week gotten adult fur on a large part of his tail! What a change in a week! So yes, they can start changing coats young I guess. I love his super soft baby fur.. I'm hoping that I have lots more time before the rest of it is gone. Your pup is very beautiful!

[Jag]

Obviously not. However, he's getting some adult coat in at the same approximate age.

[SharolStine]

My puppy is all black down to below her knees. I have noticed in the last week that she has brown tufts of fur starting to grow on her back. Is she going to change color? I'm concerned because the black is why I chose her in the beginning.

[triangulum]

Originally Posted by SharolStine

My puppy is all black down to below her knees. I have noticed in the last week that she has brown tufts of fur starting to grow on her back. Is she going to change color? I'm concerned because the black is why I chose her in the beginning.

She will almost certainly turn more tan as she ages.

And you guys were totally correct. Now that he's pretty much blown his puppy coat the reddish tint has completely disappeared. Here's a couple of recent pics showing his coat changes.