# Questions about Coloring as Puppy Grows



## lexiz (Apr 4, 2015)

Both of Vesper's parents are saddle-back black and tan GSDs, with much more tan than black. However, Vesper is almost completely black. Will her coloring change as she grows? Will she end up as a blanket-back, or a saddle like her parents? I've included a couple of photos to show her current coloring. You can see that she has tan markings on her chest and legs, but that she is primarily black.


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

Looks like a blanket back now,but when she loses her puppy fur that could change to a saddle.


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## ILoveBella478 (Mar 13, 2015)

What age do they start to lose their puppy hair ?


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

12-14 weeks, you notice a swirl down the spine with the new coat taking over...same time the teeth start falling out


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## ILoveBella478 (Mar 13, 2015)

I might be blind but Bella coat hasn't changed much


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

the puppy coat is essentially the undercoat...the adult coat that comes in is the guard hair(coarse, shiny) and it takes over the body.....then the undercoat may blow bringing in the adult undercoat, so the puppy undercoat may become matted, always a good idea to keep brushing pup when the transition occurs


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## lexiz (Apr 4, 2015)

onyx'girl said:


> 12-14 weeks, you notice a swirl down the spine with the new coat taking over...same time the teeth start falling out


She just turned 12 weeks, and I noticed the swirl you described just the other day. How long will the transition take? So her adult coat could potentially be totally different in color?


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## ILoveBella478 (Mar 13, 2015)

onyx'girl said:


> the puppy coat is essentially the undercoat...the adult coat that comes in is the guard hair(coarse, shiny) and it takes over the body.....then the undercoat may blow bringing in the adult undercoat, so the puppy undercoat may become matted, always a good idea to keep brushing pup when the transition occurs


I did notice Bella swirl at three months so her shinny coat could go away ?


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

depends on the dog, black and tans can take a year to show the true adult color, same with sables...though sables generally show what color they will be as an adult at birth. Then they lighten/darken/lighten/darken at the coat change.Seasons also play into a sable's coloring. Coat change in most pups takes about 3 weeks for the outer guard hair to fully come in. 
Most showline black and tans lighten up, look at the parents for a better guess as to what they'll look like as an adult, including the facial pattern and coat pattern.


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## lexiz (Apr 4, 2015)

That's what I was wondering. She appears to be much darker than both of her parents right now, but I didn't know if she would stay that way.


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## Ruger Monster (Jan 29, 2015)

Ruger was very dark to begin with, and stayed that way for a few months, now I can see him lightening up. His "thighs" are very light now (not sure if its from chewing his fur down a lot there due to the flea allergy, or if that's just what color they're going to be). His mom was a very light sable and his dad was a blanket, so what he's going to look like keeps me wondering! 

3 months old

















7 months old


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## lexiz (Apr 4, 2015)

Wow! That is a huge difference. The first photos look just like Vesper.


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## amburger16 (May 22, 2015)

This is my album on Bear, his mother is the bi-color and his father is the other full grown. Bear already has more tan in his face then his father, and its till coming in. Hes also starting to get the whiteish gray his father has. Its hard to tell in the pictures, but he has ALOT more tan then when I got him. Hes going to be a blanket back, just not sure how much black he will lose.

Bear by amburger1692 | Photobucket


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## Zeusthegsd143 (Nov 24, 2014)

dogma13 said:


> Looks like a blanket back now,but when she loses her puppy fur that could change to a saddle.


I can see that happening. Probably saddle.


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## lexiz (Apr 4, 2015)

Very interesting color changes.  Bear is a handsome boy! I asked my breeder as well, and she said that all of her puppies lighten a considerable amount.


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## Kayathefrustrated (Aug 22, 2013)

Ruger looks a lot like Kaya, She's two years old. Her sire was a black and tan with mostly tan. The Dam was a beautiful red sable. Kaya just came out dark. Personally I like the dark look better. She still has a lot of black on her legs and down to her elbows but it has tan salted into it. I asked about her coat once too, the general consensus was that at her age it probably won't change much more if at all. I am just kind of shocked given how light her dad dog was.


Pardon my pants falling off.


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## dhaney81 (Nov 5, 2014)

Mine is just starting to heavily shed his undercoat now and he's 9.5 months. I'm curious to see if his coat will be closer to his father's or mother's coat.


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## lexiz (Apr 4, 2015)

All beautiful dogs!


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## Ruger Monster (Jan 29, 2015)

Kayathefrustrated said:


> Ruger looks a lot like Kaya, She's two years old. Her sire was a black and tan with mostly tan. The Dam was a beautiful red sable. Kaya just came out dark. Personally I like the dark look better. She still has a lot of black on her legs and down to her elbows but it has tan salted into it. I asked about her coat once too, the general consensus was that at her age it probably won't change much more if at all. I am just kind of shocked given how light her dad dog was.
> 
> 
> Pardon my pants falling off.


Kaya is lovely!! And they do look a lot alike, Ruger's just a smaller version (currently!) 
I love the darker look as well. My BF was/is hoping Ruger will stay darker - he actually asked the breeder which puppies they thought would stay the darkest out of the litter - which worked out since we had already had Ruger marked as ours! Ruger & Kaya both have the lighter fur in the same places. He has chewed his tail and rear leg fur a lot, so it needs to grow back in a little better.

I look at it as a color-changing adventure, without a certain destination at this point! I'd love him to have Kaya's coloring as an adult though ... and her tail! He's got a skinny lil tail still, hasn't filled out yet LOL.

His mom had almost no black except the diamond on her head and some around her eyes.


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## LeoRose (Jan 10, 2013)

Leontine, April 23, 2012.


Leontine, April 23 2015. 
2015-4-23 Dogs DSC_0217 by Rosemary Elwell, on Flickr

She has noticeably less black now than she did as a puppy.


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## lexiz (Apr 4, 2015)

LeoRose said:


> Leontine, April 23, 2012.
> 
> 
> Leontine, April 23 2015.
> ...



What a beautiful girl! Yes, she looks considerably lighter.


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## Kayathefrustrated (Aug 22, 2013)

Kaya had a skinny rat tail for the longest time, that and her long angled nose, her nickname was ROUS. Now she's got a nice tan plume to her tail.


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## Vadermomma (Jan 15, 2015)

My boy started Out dark but not as dark as your baby and he slowly lost a considerable amount of his black he is colored very much like his dad sorry for the bad picture quality he is going on 7.5 months


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## Ruger Monster (Jan 29, 2015)

I love these transformation pictures  So many pretty pups!


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## WIBackpacker (Jan 9, 2014)

Lots of beautiful dogs! I think you'll probably see lighter colors come forward, as the months go by.

Tica was very, very dark as a puppy. At 8 weeks, she had red paws and tiny eyebrows, the rest of her body was black. One of her sisters was solid black and stayed that way, not a single white hair on her body. Around 12-14 weeks, the red/tan started to creep up her neck and under her legs - 










Six years later, she's still dark overall, but has a lot more red/tan than when she was younger.


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## Vadermomma (Jan 15, 2015)

WIBackpacker said:


>


Love the look on her face it's so adorable!!!!!??


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## lexiz (Apr 4, 2015)

WIBackpacker said:


> Lots of beautiful dogs! I think you'll probably see lighter colors come forward, as the months go by.
> 
> Tica was very, very dark as a puppy. At 8 weeks, she had red paws and tiny eyebrows, the rest of her body was black. One of her sisters was solid black and stayed that way, not a single white hair on her body. Around 12-14 weeks, the red/tan started to creep up her neck and under her legs -
> 
> ...


Tica looks a lot like our Vessie.  Very pretty girl!


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## WIBackpacker (Jan 9, 2014)

Vadermomma said:


> Love the look on her face it's so adorable!!!!!??


Over the years, her coloring has changed.... but her disdain for the camera has not.


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## Zrowland50 (Jun 23, 2015)

my girl started out light and is slowly getting darker.


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## Kellmurph001 (Nov 16, 2015)

You answered one of my questions a while back and this is what my puppy looked like before and now.


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

My baby boy Anarchy from birth to 15m


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