# What do you think, Saddle Back or Blanket?



## cwalsh (Jun 2, 2010)

Beauty just turned 8 months old! Do you think she'll end up a saddle back or blanket back? Her dad was saddle and her mom was blanket!


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## Rerun (Feb 27, 2006)

blanket


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## crisp (Jun 23, 2010)

I second Rerun. At eight months, thats a lot of black on her back side.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Blanket


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## squerly (Aug 3, 2008)

Yep, beautiful blanket!


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## Baby Byron (Aug 20, 2002)

Beautiful blanket just like my Molly.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I'm going to go against blanket and say there will be more tan coming in. Though will probably have a big saddle.
I can also see a bitch stripe peeking thru. 8 months is still young as far as the final coat color on a B&T. Beauty is a beauty!


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## Shepherd Mom (Aug 30, 2010)

Not qualified but she sure is a beauty no matter which way she goes


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## GSDBESTK9 (Mar 26, 2002)

I don't believe he is a blanket, he is going to continue to lighten up. Beautiful dog though.


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## Stogey (Jun 29, 2010)

Blanket ...


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## patti (Apr 7, 2010)

I'm not qualified to answer, but she looks much like Bo...so I say beautiful!


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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

I throw my vote in with a large saddle. I think a lot of the black on her back legs and such will fade to tan, but you never know.


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

I vote black and tan saddle as well. Stark at 8 months was WAY darker than that and he is considered a black and tan blanket back.


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## Miikkas mom (Dec 21, 2009)

Is it a fine line between a saddle back vs. a blanket back? I really don’t know the difference. Would a saddle back have less black, whereas the blanket would have more black down through the thigh area?


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I looked at pics of Jax and I think she'll fade out to a saddle. I'm changing my vote!  Jax has a more solid black at 6 months than your girl does at 8 months and she has more black at 2 years than Beauty does right now as well.

At 6 mths










About 1 year









This past spring at 2 1/2 years


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## cwalsh (Jun 2, 2010)

I know right!! It's so hard to say! That's why I wanted to see what everyone thinks! People say she'll be like her parents, BUT mom is blanketed and dad is saddle!lol
omg Jax is sooo pretty!! How big is she? Beauty just turned 8 months on saturday and she is 68lbs.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Thanks! She's 25" tall and runs between 62-67 lbs. She's a maniac.


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## LuvourGSDs (Jan 14, 2007)

onyx'girl said:


> I'm going to go against blanket and say there will be more tan coming in. Though will probably have a big saddle.
> I can also see a bitch stripe peeking thru. 8 months is still young as far as the final coat color on a B&T. Beauty is a beauty!


I so second this, because both our bk/red & bk/tan lightened up way more than I thought ! They both started like this, lots of bk.......

Beauty though............... :wub:


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

I am going with a saddle as well. Rush is a blanket back, at four years old he just started peeking some light hairs through on the upper thighs. At eight months old he was very dark. Let's see if I can find pictures.

Jenna at six months:









Rushie at eight months:









Jenna at 1 year:









Rush at about 2.5 years:









Rush at 4 years:









These pups are about eight months: Ninja in the foreground is a blanket and Milla is a saddle:


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## Mrs.K (Jul 14, 2009)

What about Indra? Probably going to be a Saddleback too. 

I really don't understand why you have all these different words. Can't you just do it as the Germans? Everything is schwarz-braun which is black&tan


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## cwalsh (Jun 2, 2010)

Selzer, you have beautiful dogs!!!!!! I hope to one day add the Beast for a playmate for Beauty!


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Americans always try to make things bigger and better in some way or another. I some people's opinions, they do so; in others they fail miserably.

So the AKC allows Black and Red, Black and tan, Black and silver, Black and Cream, Sable, Bi-color, Black, white, and maybe a few others I am not thinking of. For markings the Germans do a much better job at describing them. the AKC its, 000 for no markings. But then, we cannot even get colors straight, the idea we would be able to list masks, and pencil toes, and blanket, saddle, solid, tar heels, etc, I don't know. 

It is just one of the wasy the SV differs from the AKC and should as the SV is a German Shepherd registry, while the AKC is a purebred dog registry. So you have to expect us to be a little more generic, or pay attention to details with respect to dogs in general, and not GSDs in particular.


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## cwalsh (Jun 2, 2010)

Thank you everyone for comments!! I too think she may end up saddle back with a large saddle! I loved all the pictures everyone posted too! What beautful German Shepherds!!


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## Whiteshepherds (Aug 21, 2010)

Mrs.K said:


> I really don't understand why you have all these different words. Can't you just do it as the Germans? Everything is schwarz-braun which is black&tan


Breeders and the general public use color and pattern description, the AKC only registers by color.

Black & Tan
Black & Red
Black & Silver
Black & Cream
Bi-Color
Black
Sable
White
Gray
Blue
Liver
and my favorite....OTHERS


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## GSDAlphaMom (Jul 20, 2010)

I don't think she is blanket either. I noticed the choke chain has tags on it. I hope you aren't using it as a regular collar. They shouldn't wear choke chains unless supervised, too dangerous. They can get it caught on something and be choked to death.


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## cwalsh (Jun 2, 2010)

Nice observation!!! She was in training when we took the pictures! My dog school requires tags on the dogs durning sessions! Yep a pain in the butt transfering week to week! But we graduate next week!!


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## Mrs.K (Jul 14, 2009)

GSDAlphaMom said:


> I don't think she is blanket either. I noticed the choke chain has tags on it. I hope you aren't using it as a regular collar. They shouldn't wear choke chains unless supervised, too dangerous. They can get it caught on something and be choked to death.


You can get run over by a car anytime you cross a street and that risk is much higher than a dog hanging himself on a choke collar.

My dad has dogs for 50 years. My parents are breeding for over 30 years, I am 31 years old and we have never had any accidents and they wore them day and night. Mine wear them too and I never take them off.


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## ChristenHolden (Jan 16, 2010)

When Do GSDs stop chaning color. To reach there final adult color? Is it a yr+ or younger?


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## cwalsh (Jun 2, 2010)

It's sounding to me since I first posted this, that it's around a year mark or even later! I could be wrong though!!


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Mrs.K said:


> You can get run over by a car anytime you cross a street and that risk is much higher than a dog hanging himself on a choke collar.
> 
> My dad has dogs for 50 years. My parents are breeding for over 30 years, I am 31 years old and we have never had any accidents and they wore them day and night. Mine wear them too and I never take them off.


I know this is not a collar post, but training collars should be used for training only. The choke chain will continue to choke and it will frighten the dog and make it worse if it gets it caught at all.

Decks are very common here, they have slats. My first dog wore his choke chain all the time. I left Frodo out on the porch one day because it was nice out and I had a baby gate across the steps that he never bothered with. I was just inside the door working on my computer.

A couple of hours later I heard a cry like a women's, strangled. My first thought was: OH MY GOD FRODO IS EATING SOMEBODY!

I ran outside to a sickning sight. Frodo's head was pinned to the porch and he was on his legs. I ran inside and called my landlord (I was renting at the time) and told him my dog was strangling on the porch, he said they would be right over. 

Frodo had fallen asleep, and while he slept, the circle at the end of his choke chain fell through the porch slat. It twisted, when he woke up, he tried to get up and was stuck to the porch. Instead of crying out, he just started twisting himself around and around until the choke chain was choking off his airway. Finally he made a noise which I heard. 

My landlord went up underneath the porch to try to twist the choke chain, cutting it would have cut into him. He and his wife got him loose, I stayed at his head trying to keep him calm. 

If I was not home, if I had not heard him, he would have been dead.

Chokers have their place, but on the dogs at all time is not where it is.


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## ChristenHolden (Jan 16, 2010)

LoL your post has me curios. Right now my almost 11 month old female has a blanket back sable pattrn. And was wondering if she would keep it or fade to the saddle patern her mom had. Her dad was a blanket back. So I'm hopeing she keeps most her black raying:


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## GSDTrain (Apr 21, 2008)

saddle back


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## LuvourGSDs (Jan 14, 2007)

selzer said:


> I know this is not a collar post, but training collars should be used for training only. The choke chain will continue to choke and it will frighten the dog and make it worse if it gets it caught at all.
> 
> Decks are very common here, they have slats. My first dog wore his choke chain all the time. I left Frodo out on the porch one day because it was nice out and I had a baby gate across the steps that he never bothered with. I was just inside the door working on my computer.
> 
> ...


WOWSA, Glad he was ok Sue ! I agree on training collars, time & place to be used. I do wear a flat rolled leather collar on them + tags all the time. So far, been yrs of doing so & all ok. When I find a naked (LOL) dog, I say, IF they only had a collar & tags...........  

BTW, On color change stopping, I noticed it still going on with our crew past 1 yr !


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## Sashmom (Jun 5, 2002)

At his point, Id say blanket. I considered my Sash a Saddle back. 
but might change?
She is beautiful!


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## cwalsh (Jun 2, 2010)

Thank You!!


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