# What color am I?



## Darth_Ariel (Jun 20, 2013)

I know it's hard to tell when they're still young, but he is 7 months old now and has been the same color since I got him for the most part. His chest, cheeks, eyebrows and stomach turned from a light cream to a white. His legs minus a very very light cream/tan (as light as you can go with still having pigment) stripe down the fronts of them. The rest of them wrap around to a white color. 

Any clues? 

Also, since I'm pretty sure we were duped about his parents (Non AKC, not from breeder, fell in love at the store) is it possible he came from two black and tan saddle backs when him and all his siblings look like this? 

Please forgive the quality of the pictures, getting any in good lighting with him semi-still is next to impossible.


----------



## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

He's a black and tan blanket back.

What do you mean you were duped? Duped about what? He looks purebred to me.


----------



## Darth_Ariel (Jun 20, 2013)

I was wavering between B/T blanket back and Black and Silver. Minus the cream spot on his front legs and it's literally a small stripe the rest of his light spots are almost pure white so I wasn't sure. 

The store showed us a picture of the "parents" they told us his litter came from. They were black and tan saddle backs, dark tan so maybe a black and red even? I wasn't sure if we could assume they were his parents or not. It really doesn't matter I was just curious about the possibility that they were actually the dam and sire to the litter.


----------



## GSDGenes (Mar 9, 2006)

Black and tans/black and reds can definitely carry the genes for cream or silver. The markings of a puppy who will end up with tan markings are often dingy, muddy, grayish tan. Lighting variations also can greatly affect how intense a dog's pigment is. Your puppy looks like he will end up being a blanket black and tan at maturity.


----------



## belladonnalily (May 24, 2013)

My pup was from b/t mom and r/t dad. Under his neck has gotton very cream/white and he has some silvery white hairs along his back now. And I know he is purebred.








Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## GSDGenes (Mar 9, 2006)

Red/tan dad? Did he have any black on him at all? What color was his nose?


----------



## Darth_Ariel (Jun 20, 2013)

Black Nose, Small black saddle other than that it was a dark tan or a red. Not quite sure from the pictures. 
The Dam was your very typical what most people think when you say GSD, just with floppy ears (if that was his Dam, I was really thankful his ears went up on their own) 

This may sound like a stupid question but does the B/T mean he's going to gain pigment back with age now? When I brought him home he was a cappuccino color, apologies that's the best thing I can compare it to. And as he's grown it was first the 'sweet bottom' that lost color, I've also heard it called a vent but I'm not sure which is the correct term for it, and then his chest/cheeks/eyebrows followed by his stomach and now his feet are losing the color. Is he going to start going in reverse now and gaining pigment? I'm sorry this all sounds so redundant! I guess I'm just wondering if it's going to go back and darken up or not.


----------



## AshleyD (Aug 20, 2012)

Store?


----------



## Darth_Ariel (Jun 20, 2013)

Yes, a local store.


----------



## Anubis_Star (Jul 25, 2012)

Black and tan blanket. 

Zekes sire was pure black, his mom was black and tan saddle. Every single pup in the litter was a black and tan blanket back, with the exception of one silver and black blanket back.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

is the dog well ?


----------



## Darth_Ariel (Jun 20, 2013)

He is, thank you for asking. 

General consensus seems to be they could be his parents then. It wasn't a big deal, since I know nothing of the dogs except their color which is pretty irrelevant, but was curious about it. I assumed there would be more that looked like them or some different variations. 

Tan seems to have a pretty wide spectrum for different shades with their coats from the sound of it. I wanted to sound more educated than just saying "Maybe?" when being asked if he was a black and silver or a black and cream. Thank you all!


----------



## Cschmidt88 (Nov 24, 2010)

Sliver, cream, and tan are from the same base color of what's most commonly referred to as "Red".(Just varying shades/intensity due to phaeomelanin dilution.) You get the different shades when the Intensity locus differs. Although we don't fully understand how the Intensity locus works yet. 

This talks about it in some areas. This whole page isn't about it, some of it is about other traits.
Dog Coat Colour Genetics


Edit: Sorry if that was a redundant post. He looks like a cute boy.


----------



## Darth_Ariel (Jun 20, 2013)

Thank you, not redundant at all! 

Because they're from the same base color, does this mean he could end up varying from either Silver, Cream or Tan by the time he's full grown as he goes through different lightening and darkening? I'm reading through the Color Genetics page, it's a long read and a lot to take in. 
I know he's still got at least a year of changing to do coat wise, but from what you said combined with the Intensity Locus does that mean the end coat result could be any variation of those 3 things?


----------



## Anubis_Star (Jul 25, 2012)

I doubt he'll darken. Black and tans tend to lighten as they age. And in the end, "silver" is just a faded coloring. They're ALL black and tan.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Darth_Ariel (Jun 20, 2013)

I think I've got it! I appreciate your patience with my extreme slowness on this.


----------



## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

You're thinking of Sables. Sable pups go through a lot of colour changes until their final coat colour comes in at around 3 or 4. Black and tans are born almost completely black, then they lighten as they age, revealing a saddle or blanket pattern.


----------



## FoxyMom (Feb 9, 2013)

Castlemaid said:


> You're thinking of Sables. Sable pups go through a lot of colour changes until their final coat colour comes in at around 3 or 4. Black and tans are born almost completely black, then they lighten as they age, revealing a saddle or blanket pattern.


So when will you know if they are saddle or blanket? My 8 month old is still very black. He does have tar heals. His father was a saddle back and his mom was white. He actually has "sable" coloring around his neck and a white undercoat. I know he's not sable, but that's the only way I can describe it.  Just curious to have some sort of idea when we will know his end color. (Sorry if I hijacked!)


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

You can tell when they are puppies. Sables are born brown/tan or grey, Black and tans are born almost completely black. If that is Foxy in your avatar, she is black and tan, or perhaps a dilute bi-colour. Some black and tans develop what is called a 'bitch stripe', a lighter band of hair that starts at the nape and works its way down the spine area - it looks like sable markings, but that still makes the dog a black and tan with a bitch stripe, not a sable. Males can get bitch stripes too, and they are quite common in West German Showlines. 

Also, Sable is dominant, so you MUST have at least ONE parent to have a sable puppy. 

Now since one Foxy's parents was white, that complicates things, because white is a masking gene that 'covers up' the normal color and hides it. So a white dog has a regular colour gene, but it cannot be expresses because the white colour gene is covering it up, but the offspring can still inherit the colour gene and express it, so when breeding a white to another colour, any number of colours could show up, depending what other colour gene the white is carrying. 

So it is possible for a sable pup to be born to a white, but it does not look like Foxy is sable. To know for sure, do you have any puppy pictures of Foxy?


----------



## FoxyMom (Feb 9, 2013)

I'm sorry f I worded that wrong. I know my pup isn't sable. He is Black and Tan (His name is Strider. My last name is Fox, hence, Foxy Mom.  )

He does not have a bitch stripe. And yes, that is him in my profile pic. I was just wondering when I will know if he is saddle or blanket back. I'm leaning towards blanket back. Here is a pic of the "sable" coloring I was talking about. 









But I know he isn't sable. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## FoxyMom (Feb 9, 2013)

Here is another pic. Closer up, bigger, and clearer. 











Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Oh, you were asking about saddle or blanket back! My bad, I read it as Sable or blanket - hence the long explanation that did nothing to answer your questions.  

Hard to tell from the pic that you posted - maybe start a new thread with a lot of pictures? Different light, entire dog, close-ups, etc? The black in the above pic does not look solid, sorta washed out - so not sure if that just the pic, or if that is what his coat really looks like.


----------



## FoxyMom (Feb 9, 2013)

Castlemaid said:


> Oh, you were asking about saddle or blanket back! My bad, I read it as Sable or blanket - hence the long explanation that did nothing to answer your questions.
> 
> Hard to tell from the pic that you posted - maybe start a new thread with a lot of pictures? Different light, entire dog, close-ups, etc? The black in the above pic does not look solid, sorta washed out - so not sure if that just the pic, or if that is what his coat really looks like.


Haha! No worries. I appreciate the time you took! 

I was going to start a thread but then I saw this one. I'm patient enough to wait. I was just curious if there was a certain age where you can tell blanket or saddle. Like I said, I'm pretty sure he'll be saddle (he's mostly black) but I found it odd that he had this coloring on the back of his neck. I may start a thread in the morning after I get some better pics.

Thank you! 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Mantix (Oct 21, 2013)

Hi. I'm new here. Can anyone tell what color my GSD represent? He is 11 weeks old.
http://aijaa.com/0HvEw3

His dad is grey and mother is black & tan. (black & brown)


----------



## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

Mantix said:


> Hi. I'm new here. Can anyone tell what color my GSD represent? He is 11 weeks old.
> 12771501.jpg - Image - Aijaa.com
> 
> His dad is grey and mother is black & tan. (black & brown)


Black & Tan


----------



## Mantix (Oct 21, 2013)

Shade said:


> Black & Tan


Thank you!


----------



## Mantix (Oct 21, 2013)

Better picture by daylight 

12775428.jpg - Image - Aijaa.com


----------



## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Still Black and Tan.  The black will recede as he gets older, will probably have a classic saddle pattern.


----------

