# AKC Registration & Coat Colors- Blue / Liver ?



## Emilyl22 (Mar 8, 2018)

Hey! 
Kimber is my puppy and she is just over 10 weeks old. We got her from a breeder where we live & were told she was full blooded and that we would get papers on her. showing that she is AKC registered. Well, we've had her for 4 weeks and still haven't received papers. The breeder said that there was a hold up bc they had to get a DNA test on one of the parents. Has anyone heard of this??
Okay, so on to the coat color question.. I know that German Shepherds are notorious for their coat color changing and was curious if anyone has a good guess of what color she is/might be..
When we got her at 6weeks, she had blue eyes(I know this is normal in puppies, but hers stayed blue longer than the others in her litter), her coat color was gray(blue) & tan blanket pattern with a VERY small white patch of fur in the center of her chest, nose leather was a gray color, and the pads of her feet were a gray/brownish color. 
If you look at the pics, her coat & nose look like they might be slightly brownish in certain lights, so at times I'm not entirely sure she is gray. 
In the last 2 weeks or so, her eyes are turning more of a dark gray color with a lighter gray in the middle..
And now I'm starting to see some extra light blonde 'grown up' hairs coming in on her stomach and there are two spots on her tail that are black(a band halfway down her tail and the tip of it--like the last one inch), but all the other colors are staying the same. 
From what I've read about the blue color, the gene for black coat is inhibited, so she shouldn't have any black fur on her.. so maybe her tail is just a super dark gray..? It's hard to get a picture of it b/c the contrast of it against her gray makes the two spots look black. 


Needless to say, I'm so confused. 
The breeder said she would more than likely turn black.. but it is strange to us b/c all the pups from her litter were born black&tan except 2.. And those two were gray.. So we were thinking why would they be born gray and not black.. and then turn black..? I don't know if this is typical of Sable coats? I've looked at a lot of pics of Sable puppies, but none look as gray as Kimber does. 


Sorry that this post is so scattered.. It's my first one and I have so many thoughts! Any help or comments would be greatly appreciated!! 


Thank you,
Emily


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Blue. What's her pedigree?


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## CometDog (Aug 22, 2017)

Very cute puppy

Any pics of parents? That would help.

As info, 6 weeks is too young for them to leave the litter and can present with some training issues. I have no experience there but I am sure others will chime in. Welcome to the forum!


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

She is blue. She won't change color, but the blue areas will recede and the tan areas will spread. 

Not impressed with breeders that let puppies go to their new home at six weeks of age, and cannot pass on the information of what color the puppy is. 

I could be wrong, but I think AKC will only ask for a DNA test of the parents if they have doubts about the parents lineage.


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## Emilyl22 (Mar 8, 2018)

Not going to go into all of the details, but we were under the impression that she was 8 weeks old when we got her. It wasn't until two weeks later when I had my fiancé ask the breeder for her shot records that we found out that we got her when she was 6 weeks old. Turns out that my fiancé didn't ever ask the breeder when she was born/how old she was.. The breeder just told us when the pups would be ready to go home (and everything I had read said that puppies shouldn't go home before 8 weeks, so I assumed that was how old she was grr). 
Needless to say that when I found out, I was not a happy momma! I know that was our mistake for not asking. It was one of those live & learn things for us.. Our family has a farm and 6 dogs, so Kimber is definitely getting plenty of socialization.. and hasn't had any problems with training so far. *fingers crossed* Does anyone have any tips for our situation and/or training?
Thank you for confirming that she's blue. We were thinking that, but weren't 100%. I've attached a pic of her mom and dad.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

They don't look blue but each must carry the dilute gene. I believe blues are a double dilute?


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

The parents look very nice! Have they produced blues before?


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## kayek9 (Aug 27, 2002)

If a dog sires more then 5 or 6 (can't remember exactly, would have to look it up) litters in his lifetime he needs to have a DNA profile on file with AKC. So maybe that's the case with your pup's sire?


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## Curing (Dec 4, 2017)

Jax08 said:


> They don't look blue but each must carry the dilute gene. I believe blues are a double dilute?


You are correct blue is d/d Meaning the parents were probably D/d x D/d which would make sense that only 2 puppies were blue. 

The puppies eyes will most likely be a lighter brown colour as she matures and she seems to be a darker blue meaning the dilution gene is probably be expressed less then in d/d parents. 

CDA is common in dilute puppies so keep an eye out for hair loss for sure.


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## Emilyl22 (Mar 8, 2018)

Castlemaid said:


> The parents look very nice! Have they produced blues before?


Thank you! The parents haven't ever been bred together. And as far as I know, the mom hasn't ever had a blue puppy aside from this litter.


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## Emilyl22 (Mar 8, 2018)

Curing said:


> You are correct blue is d/d Meaning the parents were probably D/d x D/d which would make sense that only 2 puppies were blue.
> 
> The puppies eyes will most likely be a lighter brown colour as she matures and she seems to be a darker blue meaning the dilution gene is probably be expressed less then in d/d parents.
> 
> CDA is common in dilute puppies so keep an eye out for hair loss for sure.



Thank you for all the information, it's super helpful! I've never heard of CDA before and just looked it up. There is a place on the back of her ear, right where it meets the neck that looks thinner than most of the surrounding areas. I will be sure to keep an eye out for any changes!
.


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## LeoRose (Jan 10, 2013)

kayek9 said:


> If a dog sires more then 5 or 6 (can't remember exactly, would have to look it up) litters in his lifetime he needs to have a DNA profile on file with AKC. So maybe that's the case with your pup's sire?


The Frequently Used Sires program required a DNA profile for a dog who sires more than three litters in a calendar year, or more than seven litters in his lifetime. Frequently Used Sires Requirement - American Kennel Club


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