# Some updated photos of Buster with some loss of black on back



## muso (Nov 24, 2012)

Here are some recent photos of Buster, he is 16 months old.

I posted a previous thread expressing some concern about his fading black saddle with bitch stripe and silver ticking. I wondered at some point whether he was going to end up more Sable than Black and Tan but as you can see in his 9 week old puppy photo he is indeed a black and tan but I really wished he had kept a solid black saddle. You should be able to buy a $1200 pedigree puppy with full papers and be guaranteed that you will get the colour you wanted, I would like to see more strict breeding profiles ensuring no loss of black in areas where it is supposed to be!

But he is still a fine looking dog and we love him


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## BellaLuna (Jan 27, 2013)

Buster is one handsome boy 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I don't think anyone can guarantee adult coloring, it is what it is.

I guess you could always dye those white hairs black

I think he's quite handsome just the way he is.


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## MyHans-someBoy (Feb 23, 2013)

Good looking boy!
I really like the picture where he has the ball in his mouth. He just looks SO hopeful that someone will play. I bet someone did too. 


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

He looks pretty average for a black and red German show line - no reason to feel that the breeder did you wrong. Did you get a chance to see the parents in person and what their coloring was like? 

But as others have said, you can't really know or guarantee how a pup will turn out - you can give an educated guess and hope forthe best.


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## muso (Nov 24, 2012)

Thanks for all the nice comments 

At 16 months I assume he has some more growing (probably more filling out) to do and his colouring will still probably be changing for some time yet.

He was on mainly fresh meat food for some time because he didn't like the dry food (Super coat large breed puppy) but he lost weight to the point where ribs were just visible, so I took him to the vet who told me to incorporate dry food back into his diet to put weight back on, it worked and now he has more dry food than fresh meat. He is still never excited at the sight of dry food but he eats it in the end, fresh meat (chicken mince, beef etc) is more of a treat now and he looks better for it. 

I never realised that dry food puts the weight on as much as it did.


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## Vagus (Oct 7, 2012)

Were his parents very dark? If they were I can understand why you feel the odds let you down. Either way, he's a great and very happy looking boy


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## muso (Nov 24, 2012)

Castlemaid I saw both parents and they were really nice, I'm not blaming the breeder, it's just one those things, both parents were top blood lines, the father (Esko aus dem Haus Zygadto) has been used as a Sire for many puppies and Buster gets his strong red pigment from him. The mother was Sheprose your special 'Ruby' also a lovely dog


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## Vagus (Oct 7, 2012)

muso said:


> Castlemaid I saw both parents and they were really nice, I'm not blaming the breeder, it's just one those things, both parents were top blood lines, the father (Esko aus dem Haus Zygadto) has been used as a Sire for many puppies and Buster gets his strong red pigment from him. The mother was Sheprose your special 'Ruby' also a lovely dog


Great bloodlines does not necessarily = the colour you want, but if you're happy with his temperament and health then it was probably a better choice than going for a particular colour puppy/breeding


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## KathrynApril (Oct 3, 2013)

He definitely is a wonderful looking boy!


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

I hope you didn't take what I said the wrong way - his coloring is average, didn't mean to imply that Buster is average - he is very handsome!


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## muso (Nov 24, 2012)

Castlemaid said:


> I hope you didn't take what I said the wrong way - his coloring is average, didn't mean to imply that Buster is average - he is very handsome!



No not at all Castlemaid  I took 'average' as what is considered within normal limits of the breed


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## VYKING (Oct 31, 2012)

A great looking dog, I say.


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## Traveler's Mom (Sep 24, 2012)

Mine has pretty much the same coloring issue you've described. His black saddle has gotten much smaller which I wasn't too happy about but EVERYONE comments on this red coloring. They all love it and so do I.


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## muso (Nov 24, 2012)

He looks really nice with good strong colouring, only the saddle has faded slightly and he still has quite solid black on his back and the red colouring is very nice, how old is he?


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## Traveler's Mom (Sep 24, 2012)

Thank you! Traveler just turned 7 last week. He was born in Germany and we met him at the Miami Florida airport when he was 4 months old. Although he comes from great bloodlines, we purchased him just to be a member of our family. He attained his BH only because I was really tired of being the flag at the end of his leash:help: Since then we've gotten CGC and he's a TDI registered therapy dog.

Thanks again for the nice complement. That's my boy


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## muso (Nov 24, 2012)

I hope my Buster fills out more, he is at that awkward 'teenage' lanky period, when did Traveler start to fill out? Buster is still only 16 months old.


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## muso (Nov 24, 2012)

Buster is very long in the body and quite big boned. He is 41 kg (90 pounds weighed on the vet scales today) at 16 months old and still lean, the vet said he is in ideal condition but he still looks lanky. He is 65.5 cm at the shoulder so at the maximum desirable height, at 16 months he still has some filling out to do, how big is he going to get?


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## Traveler's Mom (Sep 24, 2012)

muso said:


> I hope my Buster fills out more, he is at that awkward 'teenage' lanky period, when did Traveler start to fill out? Buster is still only 16 months old.


Hi,

Traveler started to look proportional at about 3 years, maybe 3.5 years. His chest really bulked up after he turned 4.5 years old. His weight was 85 lbs since he's been 2 years old and it now hovers between 85-90. He's not food motivated which made training a little tougher. Everyone still comments he's too thin and he's always had a really shallow waist. 

Until he was around 2, we used to call him "rabbit ears" since they never seemed to fit his head ;-)


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## muso (Nov 24, 2012)

Traveler's Mom said:


> Hi,
> 
> Traveler started to look proportional at about 3 years, maybe 3.5 years. His chest really bulked up after he turned 4.5 years old. His weight was 85 lbs since he's been 2 years old and it now hovers between 85-90. He's not food motivated which made training a little tougher. Everyone still comments he's too thin and he's always had a really shallow waist.
> 
> Until he was around 2, we used to call him "rabbit ears" since they never seemed to fit his head ;-)


Thanks Travelor's mom, Traveler is certainly a lovely handsome animal  So that means that my 16 month old Buster will fill out, this photo shows how long Buster's body is


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## Typhoon (Aug 16, 2012)

> You should be able to buy a $1200 pedigree puppy with full papers and be guaranteed that you will get the colour you wanted, I would like to see more strict breeding profiles ensuring no loss of black in areas where it is supposed to be!


Man...

Not to pick, but I don't agree at all. I think Buster looks great. And as has been mentioned, that coloration is pretty common in WGSL's. There's not much chance if you buy one that you absolutely will not get a dog with his coloration.

But that said, Ranger -- also full WGSL -- lost a lot of black from about 8 to 14 months, and he's since been gaining a lot of it back.

So maybe Buster's not done yet.

But either way, I think he's a really good-looking dog.


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## muso (Nov 24, 2012)

Thanks Typhoon


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Don't be disappointed in your dog, for his coloring. It may be the first thing we see, but it is really the last thing that matters. Your dog looks beautiful, well-adjusted, happy, and healthy at this point. I hope that the many things that plague this breed skips over him, and you have many years to enjoy him.


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## muso (Nov 24, 2012)

Thanks Selzer, good point


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## Traveler's Mom (Sep 24, 2012)

I totally agree with what everyone else has said- your boy is beautiful! I would be happy to be his mom. 

It is my observation that every GSD I see is longer rather than taller and that goes for my Traveler as well. Be happy


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## ShadowXx (Nov 5, 2013)

Wow, your dog is beautiful!! Congrats


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## muso (Nov 24, 2012)

Traveler's Mom said:


> I totally agree with what everyone else has said- your boy is beautiful! I would be happy to be his mom.
> 
> It is my observation that every GSD I see is longer rather than taller and that goes for my Traveler as well. Be happy


I really like the 'longer than taller' configuration, I think that is also most desirable as far as breed standards go.


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## Patrolman424 (Jan 8, 2014)

My male is 9 months old and he has some silver ticking. His hair has some brown under the black hair. Is this common for a GSD? He is full AKC. He already weighs 90 lbs +.


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## misslesleedavis1 (Dec 5, 2013)

The lady up the way has a GSD with the same look, her dog is gorgeous! so is yours


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## Patrolman424 (Jan 8, 2014)

misslesleedavis1 said:


> The lady up the way has a GSD with the same look, her dog is gorgeous! so is yours


Thanks. I think he has great color and markings. Here is a good pic I got of him a couple days ago.


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## mcdanfam (Aug 27, 2013)

I don't know anything about the coloring....but he looks beautiful! 


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## Traveler's Mom (Sep 24, 2012)

Here's another one of Traveler. I think he's not quite as light as Patrolman's pup.

I think they are all beautiful dogs and we should be happy to have them in our lives


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## Patrolman424 (Jan 8, 2014)

Traveler's Mom said:


> Here's another one of Traveler. I think he's not quite as light as Patrolman's pup.
> 
> I think they are all beautiful dogs and we should be happy to have them in our lives


Beautiful dog! I like the red coloring! Definitely darker than my Rambo.


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## Traveler's Mom (Sep 24, 2012)

Thank you, Patrolman. I like the red to!


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Is he sable? I had a lighter patterned sable that sometimes was hard to tell sable vs. black and tan (but both her parents were sable).


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