# My Sable Pups Coat (light now but later?)



## KaizersMomma

We just bought a German Shepherd pup from an AKC breeder and we are curious about his coat. Anyone have an idea of how his coat will look like as he gets older? I have attached a few pics of his dad (black/tan sable) and his mom ( the lighter one with the pups) and some pictures of our pup Kaizer. Any input would be greatly appreciated!


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## MaggieRoseLee

He's beautiful! 

And though I've raised 2 sables, from what I hear, it's crazy how they can change over the next year!

Best indicator IS the breeder (a repeat litter would be a perfect example  ) and the adult dogs. PLUS if you have the pedigree and can look up the parent dogs, you can get a look at that.

Here's one for my Osin (Obsidian) Obsidian vom Wildhaus


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## qbchottu

Sables will be very dark at birth, then lighten up during baby puppy months and then darken back up progressively as they blow puppy coat. Once adult coat comes in, they will be much darker - similar to how they were at birth. 

My sables at 2 years old are markedly different than they were at 3 months. Best idea of his final color will be the parents and his color at birth.


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## crickets

I'm also looking forward to the color changes my sable baby is going to go through. He's 13 wks and is losing his puppy fuzz. He was lighter when I got him at 8wks than he is now.


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## qbchottu

Sables change a lot! Working line sables will change somewhat differently than show line sables, but both follow a similar pattern.

My working line sable Xochi

Baby pup 2-5 months

















Xochi about 2 years old









My showline sables 

Sable father on the left and black/red mother on the right








sable father









At birth:

























4-8w
























Sable sister next to her black/red brother









9weeks to 3 months 

































Over 4 months

























Adult showline sable - you can see a sable working line behind the showline


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## qbchottu

Color changes will usually start to occur when you see the black ring on the upper to middle of the tail 
That black ring will slowly creep up over the back and then the rest of the body will darken up. A dark black stripe of thick, curly hair down the back is usually a good indication of the sable darkening up 

You can see the black ring on Aphrodite's tail in these photos


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## KaizersMomma

Wow!!! Such beautiful shepherds!!! I can't wait to see how his coat turns out, his ears are halfway up! The only thing I really disliked was when we went to the vet for the first time, several people kept asking what breed he was and when I told them purebred German Shepherd they insisted he was a mix! I wish people could see and know how many different beautiful coats this breed has! Frustrating!! Haha thank you all for sharing your pictures with me!


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## Liesje

They will generally be like one of their parents or somewhere in between, but most likely not lighter than the lighter parent or darker than the darker parent. Of course there are exceptions, but I would just anticipate something in between the sire and dam.

These are two of the sables I've raised and their coat changes. Both boys went though a very "blonde" phase!

Pup 1 - sable mother, sable father
8 weeks









3 months









This change happened very rapidly! 4 months









Adult









Pup 2 - Black and red father, sable mother
9 weeks









3 months









5 months









1 year


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## qbchottu

The mother is a very lightly pigmented Black and Tan. The father is normal sable. I bet the puppy will be lighter than the father with slight patterning in the sable. His pigment should lighter than the father considering how little black the female has on her saddle and mask


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## Chief's mom

I recently bought a sable German Shepherd puppy. I am also curious to know what color he will be...well how dark sable he'll get. Dad is DDR Shepherd, he's a beautiful bi-color. Not sure what line of shepherd mom is but have a light sable color to her. If anyone have an idea please let me know or show an example please 🙏🏾


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