# Is my female German Shepherd a sable? and if so, what kind of sable is she?



## FrenchGirl21

Hello everyone!!

Could you guys please tell me if my female german shepherd is a sable? Her saddle has a really strange colors, If I pull her hair it has two colors on it, tan and black tips. When I bought her she was all tan, at 4 months, as you can see on the photo, she get darker. She's 2 years old now and she get more lighter. Her mother was like her but a little bit darker and her father was black and tan. So, is she a sable? and if so, what kind of sable is she?¿


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## Jax08

She sure looks like a sable. I believe she is a patterned sable?


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## KZoppa

She's a patterned sable. 

Here's my girl when I brought her home at 12 weeks old. .. . 



Shasta now. . .


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## FrenchGirl21

What is a patterned sable? =D


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## KZoppa

patterned sable is a sable coloration on the dog but the dog has the saddle. Not full bodied sable. Hence patterned sable. Sable saddle instead of solid black saddle.


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## FrenchGirl21

KZoppa said:


> She's a patterned sable.
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> Here's my girl when I brought her home at 12 weeks old. .. .
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> Shasta now. . .



Oh my god!!! your german shepherd is identical to mine!!:wild: what a beautiful dog you have!!


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## FrenchGirl21

Thank you all!! =D Now I know that Nina, my german shepherd is a sable, a patterned sable. It's good to see another german shepherd that has the same colors as my dog Nina. =D


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## FrenchGirl21

Oh, I have another question, it's normal for sables to get lighter, like my dog Nina?¿ because all the sables I have seen are dark, gray and brown.


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## KZoppa

FrenchGirl21 said:


> Oh my god!!! your german shepherd is identical to mine!!:wild: what a beautiful dog you have!!





FrenchGirl21 said:


> Thank you all!! =D Now I know that Nina, my german shepherd is a sable, a patterned sable. It's good to see another german shepherd that has the same colors as my dog Nina. =D


 
Thank you! My first GSD was a patterned sable as well. Glad you were able to get some answers! Your dog is beautiful!


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## KZoppa

FrenchGirl21 said:


> Oh, I have another question, it's normal for sables to get lighter, like my dog Nina?¿ because all the sables I have seen are dark, gray and brown.


 
sables change so much as they grow and age. What I've noticed is they get darker and lighter with the seasons but its not always noticeable until you go back and look at pictures. Sables are notorious for coat changes. Shasta is pretty dark whereas Zena was a lighter patterned girl. Lemme see if I can find the picture I have of the two next to each other.


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## KZoppa

Shasta on the left and Zena on the right. Sorry for the quality, it's a camera phone picture



















Zena is estimated to be 10-12 years old.


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## FrenchGirl21

KZoppa said:


> Shasta on the left and Zena on the right. Sorry for the quality, it's a camera phone picture
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> Zena is estimated to be 10-12 years old.


OMG how beautiful they are!!! :wub: awww how cute!! I'm glad to see other german shepherds like my Nina.:wild:


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## KZoppa

if you do a google image search for Patterned Sable GSD, it'll pull up several pictures. I just did the same search and have found not only several of my own pictures but other dogs as well.


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## KZoppa

This guy would be considered sable. Not patterned, just sable.


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## FrenchGirl21

Oh I see, so, he would be considered a Black Sable?¿ Isn't it?


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## KZoppa

FrenchGirl21 said:


> Oh I see, so, he would be considered a Black Sable?¿ Isn't it?


 
I would consider him to be a black sable. I'm actually hoping one or two of the breeders can pop in here and explain all the differences. The above picture is one I found on a google search. GSDs come in so many different colors and so many different ranges IN those color palates, it amazes me still.


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## FrenchGirl21

KZoppa said:


> I would consider him to be a black sable. I'm actually hoping one or two of the breeders can pop in here and explain all the differences. The above picture is one I found on a google search. GSDs come in so many different colors and so many different ranges IN those color palates, it amazes me still.




It amazes me too!! It's a shame that people in Europe doesn't know the Sable German Shepherd. They think it's a mix of german shepherd xD. Whenever I go for a walk with my dog Nina, people ask me if she is a mix of german shepherd, and I'm like: ignorant aranoid: 
I remember one day when I was at the park, there was two man, one of them had a show german shepherd and the other asked him if my dog and his dog were german shepherd. And the show german shepherd's owner said: mine is a german shepherd, this one (pointing at my dog) it's not a german shepherd. And I was like: What the **** did this man say?¿


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## KZoppa

You cant cure ignorance. YOU know what your dog is and that's what counts. If someone wants to argue with you about it, that just shows their ignorance. Sometimes you just have to walk away. It's hard sometimes but it works.

It wasn't until I joined this board that I learned just how many "types" of GSD there are! I knew they came in a range of colors because I'd seen the show lines AND the working lines but I've learned more on this board than I ever thought I would.


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## FrenchGirl21

KZoppa said:


> You cant cure ignorance. YOU know what your dog is and that's what counts. If someone wants to argue with you about it, that just shows their ignorance. Sometimes you just have to walk away. It's hard sometimes but it works.
> 
> It wasn't until I joined this board that I learned just how many "types" of GSD there are! I knew they came in a range of colors because I'd seen the show lines AND the working lines but I've learned more on this board than I ever thought I would.




Thank you for your advice  you're very nice!!:hugs:


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## KZoppa

FrenchGirl21 said:


> Thank you for your advice  you're very nice!!:hugs:


 
no problem. thanks!


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## Piper'sgrl

she's a stunning pattern sable! Just like my girl..but my girl is a long coat


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## FrenchGirl21

Piper'sgrl said:


> she's a stunning pattern sable! Just like my girl..but my girl is a long coat



I just saw your dog photos, and she's very beautiful!!


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## Pooky44

Whatever she is, she's beautiful.


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## Piper'sgrl

FrenchGirl21 said:


> I just saw your dog photos, and she's very beautiful!!


Thank you very much!


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## FrenchGirl21

So, she's a patterned sable, a sable that has a saddle.


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## Lauri & The Gang

The word 'sable' is actually describing the dogs hairs. Each individual hair has bands of different colors along the shaft.

The other words used with 'sable' are describing either the the coat as a whole or are more descriptive of the hairs.

Patterned Sable - the dogs hair is sable but the overall coat looks like a typical GSD pattern - with the saddle.

Black Sable - a dog with sable hair that has more black on each hair than other colors, making the dog seem very dark in color overall.


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## FrenchGirl21

Lauri & The Gang said:


> The word 'sable' is actually describing the dogs hairs. Each individual hair has bands of different colors along the shaft.
> 
> The other words used with 'sable' are describing either the the coat as a whole or are more descriptive of the hairs.
> 
> Patterned Sable - the dogs hair is sable but the overall coat looks like a typical GSD pattern - with the saddle.
> 
> Black Sable - a dog with sable hair that has more black on each hair than other colors, making the dog seem very dark in color overall.



Ohhhh I see, so what is your opinion about my german shepherd, what kind of sable is she?¿


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## FrenchGirl21

FrenchGirl21 said:


> Ohhhh I see, so what is your opinion about my german shepherd, what kind of sable is she?¿



Her saddle looks brown with black tips.


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