# Shades of sable and coat length?



## lauramichelle (Mar 11, 2009)

Does anybody have pics or a link to a website showing what a "light sable" looks like?

We have a friend with a litter who has 2 males left...a light sable and a dark sable. We can choose if we decide to get one from her. But I wanted to know what a light sable will look like as an adult. I have pics of dark sables and know what they look like.

The mom is very light (almost to being non-GSD looking...but I've seen her pedigree so I know she is)....and the dad is a dark, dark sable. I'm hoping the light pup would be darker than the mom full grown.

Also, the dad is a long-coated....the mom is short coated with no long coats in her pedigree. Will the puppies more than likely be short coated? We do not want a long haired one. Its too early to tell on the puppies as they are less than a week old right now.

Not for sure we will get one of these...we are just trying to decide. Health and temperment wise the pups should be good based on the parents. Just not sure if I like the colors enough to pay that much for one....when I might could wait longer and get the one I really want.


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## Chris Wild (Dec 14, 2001)

If the pups are less than a week old, yes it is too early to tell whether they are stock coated or long coated. Within the next few weeks it will become apparent and by the time the pups are ready to go home it should be obvious if either is coated. At less than a week old it's also a bit early to definitively say if one is a "light" or "dark" sable as sables can, and usually do, change quite a bit in short periods of time.

If you search the Pictures area I believe a while ago there was a thread "show off your sables" or similarly titled. Not sure if it's still there but if it is you'll see photos of all sorts of dark sables, light sables, medium sables, etc....


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## Papanapa (Mar 1, 2008)

Marley at 6 weeks....










Marley at 1 year...










I think she would be considered a medium sable???


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

It is also too early to be "picking" a puppy. There is no way yet to know which one would be the best match for your family. WHat happens if you pick one now based on color alone and it turns out to have the exact WRONG temperment for you?


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## lauramichelle (Mar 11, 2009)

Just wanted to clarify that we are not picking yet. There are only 2 males in the litter...and we do want a male. So if we get one from the litter...it will be one of those 2 males.

We wont be having one picked until they are older to make sure it is the right temperment for our family. I was just wondering if we even wanted to consider picking one from this litter because we dont want a long-haired one....and i didnt know what all the shades of sable looked like.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

Ok good.









Did you find the "Sable" thread?

The breeder may ber able to tell at around 4 weeks if they are long coats or not. Unfortunately there is really no way to tell at this age. Have these 2 parents been bred before? If so where there any long coats in the litter?


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## lauramichelle (Mar 11, 2009)

I looked but couldnt find the sable thread.

These 2 have not been bred together before. The male is a long-coat. The female is a short coat with no long-coats in her pedigree. 

To get a long coat do the pups have to get the gene from both parents like they would to be black? Or do coat genetics work differently than color genetics?


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

Yes, the pups woud nave to get a "coated" gene from each parent. But just because the female doesn't have any coats in her pedigree does NOT mean that she isn't a carrier of the long coat gene. She may or may not be a carrier. If she isn't there wil be no longcoats. If she is, there MIGHT be longcoats. (The mother being a carrier isn't a guarantee that there will be longcoats, just means there COULD be.)


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

Here is the sable thread.

Sable thread.


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## DHau (Feb 24, 2007)

Just curious? What's wrong with having a long coated dog? I will admit I had my doubts about owning one at first, now I think they are absolutely beautiful because each one is so unique.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: laura929 The female is a short coat with no long-coats in her pedigree.


if you're just looking at her pedigree per the pedigree database or similar... and/or looking at the parents and grandparents - then you likely won't see a longcoat since they are against the standard and not typically bred. look at the siblings and half siblings and aunts and uncles produced on the moms side (keeping in mind that all of them may not be listed). because as blackgsd said - she could still be a carrier... just depends on how extensive of a pedigree search you're doing.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: DHauJust curious? What's wrong with having a long coated dog?


nothing is wrong, i assume its just personal preference. i have many many people compliment me on Tilden and are in awe over him, but still prefer a stock coat... maybe they're afraid of the long coat addiction


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## DHau (Feb 24, 2007)

When I was looking for another dog, a stock coat was what I wanted because that was the standard. I was also afraid of the heat factor here in middle GA. Well, I ended up with a long coat and now I don't think I will ever go back to a stock. 

I think I read that long coated dogs are better tempered? So far, this one is better than the last dog I had temperment wise.


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## Chris Wild (Dec 14, 2001)

> Originally Posted By: DHau
> I think I read that long coated dogs are better tempered?


Coat type and temperament are completely unrelated genetically. Long coat is determined by a simple set of recessive genes. Temperament is determined by a huge conglomeration of different polygenic factors, but none are connected to coat type.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: DHauI think I read that long coated dogs are better tempered? So far, this one is better than the last dog I had temperment wise.


i think thats just something that us with coaties like to say









there are some light hearted theories going around about it tho. one being that all the fuzz makes them irresistible and that they get more lovin and attention then the other pups.









i also found that the fuzz keeps them looking younger, longer. Tilden is 2 and i still get the "omg he's so cute - is he still a puppy?"

quote:
_Some owners say that the Long Haired German Shepherd's personality is also different than the normal coated dog: sweeter or more comical! (Sometimes, I wonder if that is due to all of the hugging the irresistable fluff balls must receive during puppyhood!)_


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## lauramichelle (Mar 11, 2009)

There is nothing wrong at all with a long coat....I just prefer the stock coat looks and grooming. We have a long coated mutt...and he is awful to groom to keep tangles and matts out. The dad of this litter is a long coat and is very beautiful....I just dont want to own one!

I asked today and the dam has been bred to a long coat before and never produced long coat puppies. So the breeder is fairly sure the puppies will be stock coat, but wont know for sure until they are older.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

without seeing photos of the mom, the pup, or knowing exactly what you consider light and dark... its hard to decide what pics to post. i personally would consider all of the following dogs to be "light sable" but one being tan and the other being cream.



















technically/genetically this dog is a sable as well.


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## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

I also think it depends on what is meant by a "light sable". To me, a lot of that can be affected by the color of the undercoat and tan pigmentation, not necessarily the coverage of the black, which I would refer to more as a patterned sable....

Let me find pictures...

Okay. Anka is really a pretty gray sable. She has good coverage/black, but the light color of her undercoat makes her appear lighter in color overall.

As a puppy she didn't look particularly light in color.









At a year-










Argos- I would consider him to be a darker sable...but certainlly not black.

As a puppy with his brother at 8 weeks (on right)-









2 years-









This is a pretty dog, but more of a patterned sable (like a black and tan) where the black part doesn't extend down the legs at all...










So it really depends. As you can see when they go home they are very light and darken up when the get their adult coat and get older...you may not know the real color of your sable dog until 2 years!


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

thats a good point JKlatsky - laura are you referring to the richness of the tan? or the coverage of the black?


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## lauramichelle (Mar 11, 2009)

I was thinking about the coverage of black when saying its a light or dark sable. The dam is a dark tannish/red....but she has very little black. She kind of has sparse black scattered all over back and sides. I dont have a great idea of how she looks becaus the only pic I've seen was of her laying down the day she had her puppies. So not her most photogenic picture! And the sire I called dark sable....he has a lot of black on him.

I'm going to see them in person one day next week so I can tell more the coloring of the pics then. Its hard to tell in pictures what they really look like.


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