An interesting article I found regarding the genetics of coloration. Not sure on the accuracy, but I found it interesting if nothing else. It may help you predict the coat colors.
Figured I would provide you all with an update. The puppies are almost 5 weeks old. I had first pic of the litter. This is the one I went with (had my fingers crossed for a pure black, but I still ended up picking the darkest). He is very cute.
Excited to see how his coat develops. Let me know what your thoughts/predictions are.
A dark sable? Or just a sable? How can you tell that the puppy will not progress into a bicolour like the picture I provided? I figured the puppy had markings in all the same places.
Hard to tell what kind of sable, maybe some breeders might chime in on that one. Bicolors and saddlebacks are two entirely different genes than a sable.
Fair enough! All of the other pups are considerably lighter in the face than this little guy. The sire's sire was a bi-color carrying the pure black gene. Thanks!
I have another picture of the pup from when they were maybe 2 weeks old. His coat has changed so much! Lightening around the ears, and a bit on the legs. I notice his paws are black in this pic, but it looks like it might have dissappeared in the 5 week photos. Interested to see the outcome here! It really does fascinate me.
Quick question: I have read numerous places that state sables tend to retain their colour just after birth (2 weeks), but to me this does not make sense. Is this confirmed, or people just estimating? So if they are lighter at birth, they tend to be lighter in adulthood? Is it just me or are all puppies born rather dark, and then they lighten up substantially?
Another thing I have noticed is people often recommend looking at the sire and dam when predicting the coat, but from my research their offspring can often look entirely different.
For example, if you have a light red sable bred with a pure black, the outcome is not predictable. Some of them might be very dark, some of them might be very light, some of them might be right in the middle. But the question is, are there any predictions you can make at all? Especially since in some cases the tan colour has been known to almost completely eliminate any black that the puppy had. Would this have been predicted by the early colour of the puppy?
The Dame is a black and tan. The sire is a pure black, with a long history of sable genetics in his pedigree. I thought to be considered a sable each hair had to have a black tip? What about the red/tan patches (legs, chest)? Looks like our boy might be patterned sable.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
German Shepherds Forum
2.6M posts
121.9K members
Since 2002
A forum community dedicated to all German Shepherd owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about bloodlines, training, breeding, service dogs, and more!