# Need Help! Going to buy a sable puppy but want to know what kind of sable is the pup



## absolbes (Sep 18, 2013)

Hi
Im going to buy a GSD puppy and the breeder send me some pictures, its supposed to be a sable puppy and the breeder told me it was going to get darker with time, but i dont know if hes just trying to sell or telling the truth, need help!! 
Here are some pictures

Thanks for your help!


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

Looks like a sable pup to me. Why don't you trust the breeder?


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## boomer11 (Jun 9, 2013)

thats a sable. you cant tell from a pup how much darker it will get though. how the parents look are a better indication of how the pup will look grown up.


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## Anubis_Star (Jul 25, 2012)

Why dont you trust your breeder? If you dont trust them dont buy their pup! 

Look at the parents. Sables go through a light period and then always darken as they age



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## Konotashi (Jan 11, 2010)

I second Anubis' advice. If you don't trust the breeder about the coloring, what else can't/won't you trust?

Also, from what I've seen by others' posts on here, sables change almost daily. (Okay, maybe a bit of an exaggeration) but they change a LOT.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

Konotashi is right! Some change daily! My dog on the right looked like a Malinois until she matured! The boy on the left was salt & pepper from birth but got a little darker when he matured. Sables are kinda "like a box of chocolates.....ya never know what you'll get" but it is SO fun to watch them change colors!

View attachment 112506


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

are you buying from a reputable breeder? if i didn't trust a breeder's
word i wouldn't buy from them. if i didn't know enough about breeder's
and dog's i would find someone that knows how to pick a breeder and
pick a pup. then i would follow that persons advice. seek advice from
several knowedgeable people and do your research on lots of reputable breeder's.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

does a breeder know if their pups are going to be dark?



Momto2GSDs said:


> Konotashi is right! Some change daily! My dog on the right looked like a Malinois until she matured! The boy on the left was salt & pepper from birth but got a little darker when he matured.
> 
> >>>>> Sables are kinda "like a box of chocolates.....ya never know what you'll get" <<<<<
> 
> ...


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

I found a picture of our boy as a pup. Looks a little similar to your pups pic.
View attachment 112514


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

Sables do change, but their color after birth is probably the best indicator of how dark they will be....the really really really dark ones never are light - most get almost cream colored at 3-4 months....and alot of these do get to be nice dark sables as adults....but describing and measuring in a meaningful way "how dark" a sable is going to be is just not doable...dark darker less dark....all in the eye of a beholder...

those are average sable pups with decent masks...none will be super dark...  and they will be darker than they are right now! But only one looks like it will end up light gray - look at the contrast on the third photo - black stripe and light sides....that looks to me like a normal sable....and the tan is very tan, not reddish...they all seem to have good face color....


Lee


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

Also sable is just a pattern.....there are more important things to know about the puppy before you buy! A lot of folks like the sables but they typically come from working lines that may be higher energy and drive than most folks are used to.


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## jlhorowitz36 (Sep 2, 2013)

I think your pup looks darker than mine. This is how she's changed over the last month. 






not sure how old in this pic from breeder

12 wk







13 wk







Almost 15wk







Almost 16wk








I think she may actually be getting a little lighter again. 


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

jlhorowitz36 said:


> I think your pup looks darker than mine. This is how she's changed over the last month.
> View attachment 112522
> not sure how old in this pic from breeder
> 
> ...


Beautiful Pup!
In the end......color just doesn't matter!
Moms


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## jlhorowitz36 (Sep 2, 2013)

Momto2GSDs said:


> Beautiful Pup!
> In the end......color just doesn't matter!
> Moms


I absolutely adore her no matter what color she ends up! In all honesty I didn't know how much a sable would change when we got her and I'm having fun watching and waiting.  thank you!


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Yes, that's a sable, will probably be reasonably dark as an adult. The best indicator is their color at birth. This is how mine turned out....

8 weeks









3 months, blondie!









4 months (HUGE change once the black adult coat came in, almost overnight)









Just under 1 year









2 years









Now he is 3 (different owner) and the same color, just more filled out and mature looking.


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## LoveEcho (Mar 4, 2011)

Liesje said:


> Yes, that's a sable, will probably be reasonably dark as an adult. The best indicator is their color at birth. This is how mine turned out....
> 
> 8 weeks
> 
> ...



Goes to show how different they can all be... my guy is a patterned sable, looked identical to Lies' guy early on (8 wk and 3-4 month pics), got very dark, then very light, and this is what he looks like now:


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

Sable is a COLOR. It is called "GRAU" or Gray in Germany. 

There ARE Pattern Sables - this happens when you breed a blanket or saddle black and tan to a sable....the pup is born sable...but the darker pigment fades away and only stays in the shape of the saddle or blanket.....

PATTERNS are totally separate genetically from COLORS.

Looking at the parents will give you a good idea of the range of color.

I have a super super dark sable - she has produced 13 pups....4 blacks, and 9 sables. Only one pup comes anywhere near as dark as her...the last litter is nice and dark - but NOT in the same class as Csabre for color.

Lee


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## Chantald (Jul 23, 2013)

My sable pup came out fairly dark as well, though he did start off pretty dark in the face to begin with. 

This is him at 9 weeks, the day we brought him home.







This is him a couple weeks later







He slowly started to get darker as he aged














And this is how he looks now at 5.5 months










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## daisy mae (Jul 15, 2013)

Sables definitely darken as they grow. Here's ours.





















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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

to










patterned sable


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## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

Holy smokes! I missed out on the drama having a black pup! I didn't even get the ear dance drama  Wow, they sure do change a lot as they grow. I love the dark, dark sables. 

Pup is very cute. I agree with those who said if you don't trust the breeder, find a different one. 

It does not sound like they are trying to swindle you though, since they said the pup is a sable and it is in fact, a sable. So they are not mis-representing it in that way. You just don't know the coat colours is all.

Good luck with your decision!


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

LoveEcho said:


> Goes to show how different they can all be... my guy is a patterned sable, looked identical to Lies' guy early on (8 wk and 3-4 month pics), got very dark, then very light, and this is what he looks like now:


Pan may fade yet, he's only 3. However his stomach is black. I think he will always be darker and never a patterned sable, but may not always be THAT dark. I had a bitch that looked like your dog, lighter patterned sable. Her feet didn't have black toes or tar heels and her stomach was cream colored. I got her when she was 3 years old so I'm not sure what she looked like as a puppy.


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## Jaxx's mom (Jul 14, 2013)

Here is Jaxx when we got him:







And him now, at ten months.







(Sorry for the bad stack, he did that him self and was on a hill so his back end looks a little lower than it really is in this pic) 
He went through many stages, but was never that "sandy blonde" color. He did go through the little black stripe stage though. Is that normal? 
Oh, and your pup is DEFINITELY a sable! 


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## holland (Jan 11, 2009)

Pan is really gorgeous


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## Dainerra (Nov 14, 2003)

3 weeks (?)



12 weeks



the closest color is when they are around 3 weeks. So if your breeder can show you a photo, that will give you an idea


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