# Sable or silver and black.



## tami97 (Sep 15, 2011)

Can anyone tell me the difference between sable and silver and black? When people ask me what Shasta is (Avatar picture) I say sable. But is she sable or silver and black? Very confused.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

I think she's a patterned silver sable.


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## tami97 (Sep 15, 2011)

thanks for the info. at first I thought she was a blonde sable.


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## gsdraven (Jul 8, 2009)

Hope you don't mind.. I took this from your album. It will help others see her better.

Sable is a pattern, where as silver and black describe the colors so it doesn't have to be one or the other. I don't see a lot of silver. I would just call her a light sable.


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## tami97 (Sep 15, 2011)

no I dont mind. Thanks.


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## tami97 (Sep 15, 2011)

Her she is 4 months. She was a little darker then. She seemed to change colors a lot when she was younger, now that she is 8 months it has been the same.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Oh that's a better picture. I still think she's a patterned sable, but probably not silver. Just a light or blond or cream patterned sable. A patterned sable is one with a blanket or saddle area that is darker than the rest of the body. Ordinarily, a sable is pretty much the same pattern all over, like 

Cash (RIP):










or Kopper:


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## tami97 (Sep 15, 2011)

Hey, I was right. (for once. lol) Blonde(Light) sable it is then. Thanks.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Yeah I would call her a light patterned sable. Haven't heard the term "blonde" before.


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## tami97 (Sep 15, 2011)

I saw it on some site that showed the colors. I just was not sure. I just say sable anyway, its easier .


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

Sable is the dominant color of GSDs. It is not a pattern. Pattern is exactly what it sounds like....a pattern. A saddle or blanket of darker color is a pattern. Pups are born with 2 colors which change as they get older. Pigment is the depth or darkness of color and nails and eyes...in Germany pups are described as Black and Brown - Brown runs the gamut from tan to rich red.... the black on a pup recedes until the dog has anything from a blanket to a stripe of black down the back,. Sables also run the gamut from pale washed out sables to black sables. Color. when the sable pup begins to lose the color on his hair, until there is only darker hair in the pattern of the blanket or saddle, then you have a pattern sable.

This girl looks like a saddle pattern sable. This happens alot when you breed sables and black and tan.

Lee


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

she's a patterned sable. She looks very similar to my Shasta's mom who was a cream patterened sable.


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## tami97 (Sep 15, 2011)

Thanks. 








This is her dad.







This is her mom







This is grandpa







and grandma

I think they are all very pretty dogs.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

she apparently takes after grandma.


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## tami97 (Sep 15, 2011)

Yes I think so too.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Grandma and Grandpa are on her dad's side?


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## stolibaby (Mar 6, 2011)

Haha I am so glad you posted this since after our conversation about our dogs I was wondering more and more about Stoli's coloring...so apparently I need to stop saying black and silver and he's a sable lol


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## tami97 (Sep 15, 2011)

Thats what made me post this hehehe. I was confused myself. lol Learn something new every day.


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## tami97 (Sep 15, 2011)

yes grandma and pa on dads side. Come to think about it she has never really said anything about the moms side.


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## Rott-n-GSDs (Jul 7, 2010)

I call my dog silver & black... not sure if I'm correct so I'm off to post a thread.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

If the dog is a mixed-breed, I don't think it matters what color you call it. But when it's a purebred, it can be confusing because the exact same color or pattern can have several different names according to the breed... for example, "red" in Dobermans is the exact same color as "liver" in Springers or "chocolate" in Labs. Whereas "red" in GSDs is a totally different color with different genetics.

In GSDs, I think "black and silver" is one of the choices you can register your dog as. To me, "silver" simply means the areas that would normally be tan or red are closer to white. I'd call OP's dog "silver sable", and register her simply as "sable".


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## tami97 (Sep 15, 2011)

thanks


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## Texas Working Dogs (Jul 9, 2012)

Your dog is called a black and silver.


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## 4TheDawgies (Apr 2, 2011)

My boy Loki is happy to demonstrate a silver sable for you guys! LOL


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

Sable is ......SABLE........

Black - red -silver- tan- all are descriptions used by people to distinguish depth of pigment.....genetically - dogs are Sable - Black and Brown or Black (and White - which is a total lack of pigment or masking of pigment)

Nothing official about "silver sable", "red sables" or "black sables"....on paper they are still all "Grau"....or Gray...

So you can call your dog a Silver or Blonde sable in describing him/her, but bottom line is a sable is a sable. A silvery colored blanketed dog is a dog where the tan pigment is very washed out, or the richer gray which shows little tan at all....these can be very attractive dogs like the ones pictured, but in the proper terminology, there is no such thing.....yes, I think AKC apps have extra colors but much like "sorrel" in horses - does not change the color genetics. The description of sorrel made up western term for certain shades of Chestnut horses!! No one in TBs or Arabs or gaited breeds uses the color term sorrel - just chestnut....

Lee


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

I couldn't open the pictures of the ancestors so I question whether this is just a very faded black and tan - came late to the party , haha


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

carmspack said:


> I couldn't open the pictures of the ancestors so I question whether this is just a very faded black and tan - came late to the party , haha


Carmen- I also can't see any pictures of the parents/grandparent dogs. I was curious though, how would you know if the dog is a super faded black and tan as opposed to a faded patterned sable? Would you only be able to tell this from understanding the genetics and applying that to what you see in the parents? Or is there a way to know this simply from looking at the dog in question?


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

Wildo , if you were able to see the sire and dam and ancestors in the generation before you would see if the dogs are sable or black and tan.
Sables must have one parent that is sable . 

Carmen


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## wildo (Jul 27, 2006)

carmspack said:


> Wildo , if you were able to see the sire and dam and ancestors in the generation before you would see if the dogs are sable or black and tan.
> Sables must have one parent that is sable .
> 
> Carmen


Thanks for this! I was just curious...


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