First, a little leasson in color genetics in German Shepherd Dogs. The colors are (listed dominant to most recessive): Sable, Black and Tan, Bi-Color, and Black. There are other modifiers which control how much black, the shade of tan, etc. So the puppies in your litter will either be sable or black and tan.

I think the pups will most likely be darker than Theo due to Caroline's dark coloring and genetic make-up. You will notice what color they are right away as far as sable or black and tan, but it can be hard to tell just how much black they will have until they are a little older.

 

Gotcha, thanks. At birth, would breeders be able to tell the difference between a black & tan vs solid black? Or even a tiny bit of how dark the mask will be/whether the mask will be solid black? I only ask because it looks like they both might potentially be carrying recessive black genes looking through their pedigree

 

Yes, breeders can tell the difference between solid black and black/tan at birth. The black/tan pups will have some tan markings already, whereas the solid blacks will of course be solid black. Sables are also very easy to identify. The only ones that are tricky when young is bi-color vs dark (blanket) black/tan. Often one has to know the underlying genetics in terms of which of the 2 is possible to tell if it's a bi or a black/tan.

When it comes to black/tan pups though, no one really can't tell with a pup how dark it will be at adulthood, how dark of a mask, etc... One can get an inkling as the pups grow, as those who will be lighter black/tans will be lighter as pups, and those who will be darker will be darker as pups. But all black/tan pups are darker, with more black and less tan, when puppies, and how much the tan will advance and black will receed is just a guess. The best way to predict how dark a black/tan, or sable, will be is to look at the parents and underlying genetics. But it's still just an educated guess.

 

Thanks! Yeah I was trying to look through the parents and grandparents etc through the pedigree database. Trying to make educated guesses as to what the possible outcomes would be, but its hard to tell what was passed along as a recessive gene and such. I guess it really is up to chance. I think all GSD's are beautiful anyways. I'll leave it up to the breeder to make the best guess for me. But please do keep this discussion going. Learning lots and it is all very interesting.