# More pictures of my puppy... dark or light sable?



## baileys423 (Jun 7, 2011)

I'm curious if he will be a dark sable with a dark mask or a lighter Sable? He is 4 weeks this Thursday, I can't wait to get him! (His Name is Abel) as in Cain & Abel.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

What a cutie! The mask isn't very dark now, so I don't think he'll be real black faced as an adult.
Do you have access to pics from the birth? Usually Sables will be the color they look when born. 
They lighten up over the first several weeks then the adult coat comes in and that is pretty much what the coat will be.
Seasonal changes will bring lighter/darker hues. My sable is darkest in the summer when the undercoat is thin(he has a tan undercoat). Some Sables will look darker in the Summer, however...they are all different!
This is Karlo at 8 weeks(his stripe down his back is what the coat changed to) :








And at 10 mos in the winter coat:








Last Fall(18 mos) before his undercoat lightened him up. He looks like this now in the Spring:


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## baileys423 (Jun 7, 2011)

onyx'girl said:


> What a cutie! The mask isn't very dark now, so I don't think he'll be real black faced as an adult.
> Do you have access to pics from the birth? Usually Sables will be the color they look when born.
> They lighten up over the first several weeks then the adult coat comes in and that is pretty much what the coat will be.
> Seasonal changes will bring lighter/darker hues. My sable is darkest in the summer when the undercoat is thin(he has a tan undercoat). Some Sables will look darker in the Summer, however...they are all different!


I do...here he is... just a minute after birth


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## baileys423 (Jun 7, 2011)

onyx'girl said:


> What a cutie! The mask isn't very dark now, so I don't think he'll be real black faced as an adult.
> Do you have access to pics from the birth? Usually Sables will be the color they look when born.
> They lighten up over the first several weeks then the adult coat comes in and that is pretty much what the coat will be.
> Seasonal changes will bring lighter/darker hues. My sable is darkest in the summer when the undercoat is thin(he has a tan undercoat). Some Sables will look darker in the Summer, however...they are all different!


 
Here he is...


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Awww. He looks a bit like a red sable. What do the parents look like?


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

Are you wanting a darker dog? Are any of the littermates darker? |

Just wondering why this pup is "yours" at such a young age when temperament cannot be tested yet.


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## baileys423 (Jun 7, 2011)

onyx'girl said:


> Awww. He looks a bit like a red sable. What do the parents look like?


 The mama is a gray sable, not a real dark sable though, and the father is a saddleback but doesn't have the black mask...i hope he takes after the mama with the mask:fingerscrossed:


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## baileys423 (Jun 7, 2011)

sagelfn said:


> Are you wanting a darker dog? Are any of the littermates darker? |
> 
> Just wondering why this pup is "yours" at such a young age when temperament cannot be tested yet.


I'm very happy with him but some of his litter mates are almost black. No he isn't mine yet, I just get pictures of him till he is old enough to come home with me.


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## baileys423 (Jun 7, 2011)

sagelfn said:


> Are you wanting a darker dog? Are any of the littermates darker? |
> 
> Just wondering why this pup is "yours" at such a young age when temperament cannot be tested yet.


Here is the ink to my original post on him...I should have added this to my new thread. I'm just adding more pictures with a question and thought I should start a new thread.
http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/general-puppy-stuff/160337-my-new-furry-baby-pics.html


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## baileys423 (Jun 7, 2011)

onyx'girl said:


> What a cutie! The mask isn't very dark now, so I don't think he'll be real black faced as an adult.
> Do you have access to pics from the birth? Usually Sables will be the color they look when born.
> They lighten up over the first several weeks then the adult coat comes in and that is pretty much what the coat will be.
> Seasonal changes will bring lighter/darker hues. My sable is darkest in the summer when the undercoat is thin(he has a tan undercoat). Some Sables will look darker in the Summer, however...they are all different!
> ...


Just GORGEOUS!!!! Thanks for sharing him!


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

I know he isn't with you yet, I meant why is that particular pup the one you will be bringing home.


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## baileys423 (Jun 7, 2011)

sagelfn said:


> I know he isn't with you yet, I meant why is that particular pup the one you will be bringing home.


 Hes the only male sable of the bunch.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

baileys423 said:


> I'm very happy with him but some of his litter mates are almost black. No he isn't mine yet, I just get pictures of him till he is old enough to come home with me.


the darker pups are probably black and tans. They will lighten up with maturity. Most pups are darker til the coat change, with the exception of the sables, black and bi-color
(usually bi's and blacks don't change at all )


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## baileys423 (Jun 7, 2011)

(usually bi's and blacks don't change at all )[/QUOTE]
Its so exciting seeing them change, my 9 yr old female GSD was a typical tan and very black saddleback...now look at my old girl, very little black on her back...mostly tan with a white patch on her chest.


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## xArsAmatoria (Jan 9, 2011)

He definitely looks like he's going to be lighter, although they do change a lot throughout their life. So he'll be dark at some point! However, I don't think he's going to have much of a mask. Sables are weird, though... He may surprise you! Either way, he's definitely adorable.


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## vomlittlehaus (Aug 24, 2010)

In a couple weeks you will notice he will have a ring on his tail of dark hair. It will be about 2-3 inches from his butt. You will also notice along his belly the coloring. Those colors will be his adult coloring. Sables do change a lot in coloring through out their lifetime. Maybe too early to tell about a mask.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

He does look like he'll be a lighter sable; I don't think he'll have much of a mask. But it's hard to tell with sables, they change color a lot as they grow. Do you have photos of the parents?


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## juliejujubean (May 4, 2011)

@onxy.. i love your pups winter coat. looks like a wolf... when mine gets older and the weather gets colder, i need some snow pictures too!!!  beautiful dog

and able is a cutie... i love pups little smushed noses..  i just looked at your other forum and i am terribly sorry about your loss, last may we had our gsd (king) die in both my dad and my arms (he was 8) i understand the pain it causes. 








this is king, he was very very sick in this picture, but he never let that show. he was great until the end, very humble and loving.








he was very skinny and all we did (the vet medicines, perscription food did not help... this is him when he is more "plump" than in the later part of his life, yet he is still really skinny)

so my dad being the kind of person he is was lonely and got a sable gsd to help the healing process, this dog blitz. 








this is blitz with his brother sarge around a year ago...

this is a more current picture of blitz and his color changing









good luck with able  im sure he will make you very happy.


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## idahospud49 (Jan 28, 2011)

I'd say he is going to be a lighter sable, but like everyone has said, you never know with sables!!! It is like having a new puppy every few days when they are growing up!


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

Singe has changed colors so many times. I took him to Home Depot and DH's boss was there. He hadn't seen Singe in about 2 months. "What? Did you guys get another new dog??" He couldn't believe that it was the same one


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## baileys423 (Jun 7, 2011)

juliejujubean said:


> @onxy.. i love your pups winter coat. looks like a wolf... when mine gets older and the weather gets colder, i need some snow pictures too!!!  beautiful dog
> 
> and able is a cutie... i love pups little smushed noses..  i just looked at your other forum and i am terribly sorry about your loss, last may we had our gsd (king) die in both my dad and my arms (he was 8) i understand the pain it causes.
> 
> ...


Thank you for sharing your pictures and story as well...its hard losing a member of the family, it was very shocking to us all since he was so healthy...only took this sickness 10 days to take is life and he was a big trooper to the very last breath I hope our Sable brings many yrs of happiness. Your Sable is beautiful BTW:wub:



dawnandjr said:


> In a couple weeks you will notice he will have a ring on his tail of dark hair. It will be about 2-3 inches from his butt. You will also notice along his belly the coloring. Those colors will be his adult coloring. Sables do change a lot in coloring through out their lifetime. Maybe too early to tell about a mask.


I'm noticing in some pictures that he is getting a black stripe down the middle of his back...very black at the base of the tail



xArsAmatoria said:


> He definitely looks like he's going to be lighter, although they do change a lot throughout their life. So he'll be dark at some point! However, I don't think he's going to have much of a mask. Sables are weird, though... He may surprise you! Either way, he's definitely adorable.


 thanks


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## SiegersMom (Apr 19, 2011)

dawnandjr said:


> In a couple weeks you will notice he will have a ring on his tail of dark hair. It will be about 2-3 inches from his butt. You will also notice along his belly the coloring. Those colors will be his adult coloring. Sables do change a lot in coloring through out their lifetime. Maybe too early to tell about a mask.


We have our first sable now. I started noticing the tail ring about a week or two ago. It started as a triangle...now it is like a one ring raccoon I was not sure at first if the light under hair was covering the puppy black or if the ring was new adult black hair. Since it is getting larger I know it is her new dark hair coming in. She will be relatively dark...I think but, not a black sable. Momma is a medium dark and father is solid black. the Breeder said all the pups were darker than her mom was as a pup. Looking at the parent is a good way to tell. If your pup comes from a lighter sable and a black and tan saddle I would go with lighter sable. My girl was very dark at birth.


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