# Do German Shepherd puppies change colors?



## morgan&thor

I dont have my gsd puppy yet, I have been waiting on the litter to be born actually, Well my breeder called me yesterday and said that the puppies were born and she said that I could come in a week and I could look at them and maybe even pick out the puppy that I want. (Obviously wont be bringing him home for a few weeks) But im not sure that I want to pick out my puppy just yet cause I have read that German Shepherd puppies can change colors and I would be picking him out at only 1 week old and I didnt know if he will look the same or even be the same color by the time I would go to pick him up and bring him home.... So my question is, Do German Shepherd Puppies Change Colors At This Age???


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## Cheyanna

Yes. Fiona was the most tan of her sable littermates. She has black coming In now. No more light tan.


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## curedba

They change drastically the best bet is to just to look at the sire and dam and any past puppies from the same pairing for example my boy is red/black he was born nearly all black and is starting now just at 4 months to get most of the red coloring feel free to take a look at my album


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## KZoppa

yes.


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## doggiedad

my pup was blk&tan when i picked him up at 9 weeks old.
i called his breeder because i wanted a blk&red dog. his
breeder assured me that as he gets older he'll become more red.
by the time he was 2 yrs old or so he had that deep red color.


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## carmspack

yes colour changes a lot .
have you gone around and looked at a couple of litters , possibly in the 6 to 8 week age range? Might be good experience , give you something to compare . I would be sceptical of a breeder that would allow you to choose "your" puppy at one week of age. There is no way to tell anything about the temperament or character "personality" at this age , at 8 weeks of age may not even be a pup you would consider.


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## Swifty

You'd probably have to wait a couple months to get an idea of what colors you'll be seeing, I think. Shadow had black shoulders and thighs, but those areas lightened up to tan within a month or two.


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## LoveEcho

I have a blanket patterned sable. He did not reach his final coloring until almost two years old. He changed really, really dramatically until over a year old. Every month he looked different. First, he was really tan. Then almost completely black. Then the black started receding and the tan started creeping back. Then the black lightened to the more distinct sable coloring and the tan got redder. :shrug:


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## Kittilicious

I took pics of mine every week until he was 6 months old, then I took monthly pics. The weekly ones looked like I had a different dog every week!


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## Freestep

carmspack said:


> I would be sceptical of a breeder that would allow you to choose "your" puppy at one week of age. There is no way to tell anything about the temperament or character "personality" at this age


That's what I was going to say. You don't want to pick your puppy at a few days old because you won't know anything about him, not even color. Actually, unless you are very experienced with puppy and dog behavior, the breeder shouldn't be letting you pick at all. You tell the breeder what type of dog you want, temperament, color, etc. and then the breeder does the matching. Since they are around the puppies 24/7 and have seen patterns of behavior emerge over time, the breeder is the one who knows the pups best, and will be best able to pick a pup that matches your needs and desires.

And yes, color in GSDs can change dramatically. Black/tan pups are born nearly black and lighten as they mature. Sable pups are born tan and get darker as they mature. Bicolor pups change very little, and only solid black pups stay the same color. You have to look at the parents to get an idea of what you may end up with. If one parent is bicolor and one is a black/tan saddle, you may not be able to tell which pups will be bicolor and which will be black/tan saddles.


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## morgan&thor

Freestep said:


> That's what I was going to say. You don't want to pick your puppy at a few days old because you won't know anything about him, not even color. Actually, unless you are very experienced with puppy and dog behavior, the breeder shouldn't be letting you pick at all. You tell the breeder what type of dog you want, temperament, color, etc. and then the breeder does the matching. Since they are around the puppies 24/7 and have seen patterns of behavior emerge over time, the breeder is the one who knows the pups best, and will be best able to pick a pup that matches your needs and desires.
> 
> And yes, color in GSDs can change dramatically. Black/tan pups are born nearly black and lighten as they mature. Sable pups are born tan and get darker as they mature. Bicolor pups change very little, and only solid black pups stay the same color. You have to look at the parents to get an idea of what you may end up with. If one parent is bicolor and one is a black/tan saddle, you may not be able to tell which pups will be bicolor and which will be black/tan saddles.


 
That's what I thought about picking out a puppy at that age. But I did see The parents & the Father was Black & Tan and then the Mother was Silver & Black and I got to see the last litter of puppies and they looked like the Father Black & Tan. Then my breeder told me that the puppies should be All Black, Black & Tan, and then some Silver & Black


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## Longfisher

morgan&thor said:


> I dont have my gsd puppy yet, I have been waiting on the litter to be born actually, Well my breeder called me yesterday and said that the puppies were born and she said that I could come in a week and I could look at them and maybe even pick out the puppy that I want. (Obviously wont be bringing him home for a few weeks) But im not sure that I want to pick out my puppy just yet cause I have read that German Shepherd puppies can change colors and I would be picking him out at only 1 week old and I didnt know if he will look the same or even be the same color by the time I would go to pick him up and bring him home.... So my question is, Do German Shepherd Puppies Change Colors At This Age???


Yes, they do.

But the basic markings remain and they mostly get lighter.

LF


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## carmspack

Freestep wonder if our comments will appear on the comments about comments about comments thread.

Morgan&thor , do go around and have a look at some other puppies just to compare .


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