# How sable color develops...



## lucymom (Jan 2, 2009)

Hey folks,

UGH! I had my perfect dark sable girl picked out, fell deeply in love, and days before I go to get my angel, she was diagbnosed with megaespophagus. I *may* still take her, as I'm half in love with her already. However, my head my prevail over my heart and I may need to regroup.

That said, if I have to look again, I've always had a question about color. I know that color is not the number one priority, but if given a choice, I love the richly colored red or mahogany sable. I have a lovely dark sable male now, although I think he's fading a tad as he gets over age ten.

If a pup is a chocolatey sable, with dark feet, lots of dark on the face, is it likely that they will retain their rich color even as the pattern of the colors change on the body?

If a pup is described as a "tan sable" and has less black and the non-black parts and legs are lighter tan, does this mean the dog will likely have be overall lighter, the tan stays tan and less black in the pup means less black in the adult?

I hope this doesn't sound petty---the right personality is the right dog. But I can't help but be curious, as I'm rather smitten by the darker sables.

I don't know what I'll decide about the little ME pup, but in the meantime, I can learn about color.

Many thanks,

Jennifer


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## HeidiW (Apr 9, 2009)

Hi Jennifer,

I have a sable boy puppy at the bottom of my Post called Finally my piks Bella and Daisy in recent topics and I am really wondering what he will look like later too. Good questions in the piks he is 8 weeks old.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

How crazy is this email. My name is also really Jennifer. And I'm getting a sable female GSD with mega next week!

Since she's my 2nd mega dog and the first was an agility Champion, I'm excited to get my new girl Glory!


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## scannergirl (Feb 17, 2008)

My dog as a pup was not at all as she is today. She was light, and truth be told, quite goofy. Now she's stunning (but I admit a bit of bias). I think sables vary a lot from puppyhood to adulthood.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Could you post some baby pics/ adult pics Lisa?
Congrats Jenn on your GloryGirl!!! She is lucky to join your pack


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## HeidiW (Apr 9, 2009)

I don't know if you looked at my post with the piks labled Finally but my puppy on the bottom looks like that Maggieroselee puppy.
He has a black line down his back.


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## HeidiW (Apr 9, 2009)

I would like to see those piks Lisa too please.


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## lucymom (Jan 2, 2009)

Lisa--I'll take goofy any day--light or dark!!!

Other Jennifer...I'm going to PM you for more info, that pup is adorable. 

Jennifer 2


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## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

Sables darken as they get older...usually showing the lightest around Month 2 and 3 when they have their puppy coat. I would say that generally dogs that appear darker as puppies will be darker as adults. With the black you usually look for dark feet and penciling on the toes. The parents are good indicators. 

Did you check out this thread?

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=288992&page=1#Post288992


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## HeidiW (Apr 9, 2009)

Thanks for the thread, it is amazing to see them change. I will take lots of piks of Bo. He still has his soft puppy fur.


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## kelso (Jan 22, 2007)

Definately check out the sable thread that JKlatsky posted...lots of good examples of changes there...

Here is Kelso, male

small pup










a few weeks older than the first pic, blowing coat! YES! this is the same dog in all these pics!










Kelso with the sable puppy stripe









just another few weeks later










2 months ago at 2.5 yrs old....on the right (the sable, not the bicolor)



















Just a few weeks ago, different lighting


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## Minnieski (Jan 27, 2009)

Wow, what a change!! And I thought my black and tan girl was changing!


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Steph, Kelso is a very handsome boy! I hope Karlo will look as dark. I remember reading that the color of a sable when it is born, it will be the same hue as an adult. They lighten after birth and then go thru all those changes but birth color is a clue?


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## gsdlove212 (Feb 3, 2006)

I hope so Jane, cuz Gianna was super dark as a sausage.


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## scannergirl (Feb 17, 2008)

By request-Lucina V Dare at ten weeks








And Lucy today


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## HeidiW (Apr 9, 2009)

WOW!!! Bo's dad was a bicolor and his mom sable. I look forward to his final colors but no hurry he is so soft right now and just so sweet.


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## kelso (Jan 22, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: onyx'girl Steph, Kelso is a very handsome boy! I hope Karlo will look as dark. I remember reading that the color of a sable when it is born, it will be the same hue as an adult. They lighten after birth and then go thru all those changes but birth color is a clue?


Thanks









I have read that as well, about the color when the sable dog is born is similiar to the adult color

soo... just found these pics of Kelso when he was a sausage...



















He was one of them, not sure which. His sire was solid black, dam was "medium" sable

The adult color on Kelso looks pretty dang similar here...when compared to new born pics so maybe that is very true?!?!

Here is another lighter stage...seems like he went from dark to light to dark to light and then dark again







And then it all depends on the light as well! I did not alter these photos, just the camera

Kelso, 6-7 mo old??!?!?










Here is a pic from last year,those first few months to a year (like above) the color changes were amazing
...but it seemed he did go back to what he originally looked like as a small pup? although it does differ in lighting

Kelso, 1.5 yrs old


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## HarleyGirl52874 (Jun 16, 2006)

I have a question about sables, if as a puppy they have no toe penciling or shading down their leg, does that mean as an adult they won't have any either?


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## angelaw (Dec 14, 2001)

In my last litter, I had some sables with the markings, other's that did not. The ones that had the markings I suspect were bicolor recessive as the same striping as dad. Some of the others had no striping and I don't forsee them getting it, I suspect they're black recessive.

I imported Grace and her brother. Her brother had the markings and kept them, she never had them and at 2 yrs still doesn't.


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## Chris Wild (Dec 14, 2001)

If toe penciling is there as young pups, sometimes it will fade away but most of the time it stays. If not there as young pups, it doesn't appear later though. So I'd never expect a pup without it to develop it in adulthood.

I don't think it has anything to do with black vs bicolor vs anything else as recessives though. I've known several homozygous sables with toe penciling, and have owned and bred tons of sables with black recessive who have toe penciling. So it doesn't appear to be at all related to having bicolor recessive.


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## angelaw (Dec 14, 2001)

I've never had a dog homozygous with toe penciling, they've all lacked it. I only mentioned bicolor recessive as the last couple of litters I've had with sables are either ONLY black or bicolor recessive. The ones with the penciling, etc I'm assuming are bicolors due to the way their body markings were overall versus say a saddle sable. Next generation we'll see.


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## gsdlove212 (Feb 3, 2006)

My little sable girl has pretty heavy toe penciling (darker on back feet than front feet), and she is out of a black dam and sable sire.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Halo has penciling on her toes, and I'm guessing she'll keep it since she's almost 6 months old and it's just as pronounced now as it was when she was little. She's out of a sable dam and a black sire, the opposite of Gianna.


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## allieg (Nov 4, 2008)

Athena is a red sable.Her she is at 7 weeks.








A month or so after we brought her home.


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## angelaw (Dec 14, 2001)

Grace, no penciling:


10 wks:









Few months older, some down the arm:










2 yrs, no more down the arms:










her brother though, hubba hubba (too bad he was a couch potato with no drive)











Diesel, no penciling, produces blacks:


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## allieg (Nov 4, 2008)

I think that's what is another thing that makes these dogs awesome.No 2 are alike except maybe the blacks or whites.When you see a Black Lab or Irish Setter you know exactly what it is.But Shepherd are all unique to me.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Grace's brother with no drive probably became a centerfold model!! He is a beauty! This is a very interesting thread. Much more fun than watching a black and tan change!


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## JThomas23 (Jul 23, 2009)

Hey all,

I know this is two months later, but to those still wondering about the possibilities of a growing Sable pup, here's a video I found a few days ago on YouTube. This might help somewhat:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faeNjSqlf5U

- Jerry


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