# Papers say Black and Tan but...



## Amshru (Aug 7, 2015)

Hope I'm posting in the right place for this. My wonderful puppy was born 19 May 2015 and when we picked her up, we got her UK Kennel Club registration. Her dam is a sable and sire is black and red: she was registered as black and tan.

Now she's 4 and a half months and her coat is changing a lot. Not just is her black receding but where her coat has changed, the hairs are multicoloured: black at the tips with other colors at the root. Really hard to photograph with my phone so apologies!

Of course, I love her lots and don't really care what color she is: she'll always be perfect to me, but I wondered if it affects her registration and what would normally be done if a puppy is registered as one color and matures into something else. Anyone can advise?


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

Looks Black and Tan from the pic, but I thought if either parent is sable then the pups would be sable as it is dominant? Hopefully those with more knowledge regarding this will post. Also, I believe the color banding on the hair should have 3 bands, my B&T's have two, my sable has three.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

black and tan , probably going to end up with "bitch stripe".

sable is dominant in that one or both parents needs to be sable for it to appear - two black and tans can not have a sable offspring . A black and tan with one sable parent , bred to a black and tan cannot produce a sable .


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

The color doesn't matter, the person just picks when registering. It does not need to be corrected and has no effect on what you can earn/title/enter.

Sable + black and tan/red can produce black and tan/red. Legend (left) is sable and Nikon (right) his father is black and red but he has siblings that are black and red as well. Dam is sable.


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## Amshru (Aug 7, 2015)

Thanks very much, Nigel, Carmen and Liesje. My biggest concern was actually with insurers, who seem to always look to not cover a claim. (I'm insured through the Kennel Club.) Would the dog's color influence them? Hopefully not and you've reassured me.

Her color changes almost daily at the moment, so I'm intrigued to see how she ends up. The multicolour hairs are beautiful, but whatever she ends up as, is just fine with me 

Legend and Nikon are beautiful - if she ends up life either of them, I'll be lucky!


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Puppies don't change colour as they mature, as in a black and tan won't change into a sable, or asable into a black and tan. They do change the amount of black they have on them as they grow though - black and tan puppies are born almost solid black, then lighten up getting more tan as they grow - some will keep a lot of black, others fade to a very small saddle. 

Sables in general go through a lot of colour changes going through phases of being very ligh grey, to getting in their darker, adult coat, but they don't change from sable to black and tan.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Living in the USA and using a different kennel club, I'm not sure, but I would hope that if they are really strict on identifying the dog in question, they are using something more specific/unique than the color of the dog's coat? Wouldn't they ask for a microchip number or tattoo? When dogs are registered with the AKC, you can pick any coat color. They do not verify this genetically or check the pedigree, you just pick whatever you think it is. Some bi-colors end up listed as black and tan, and vice versa. Here, it doesn't matter because the dog is identified by the registration number (and microchip and/or tattoo, DNA profile with AKC, etc), not the coat color.


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