I have a German Shepherd puppy and she is a lot more black than tan, i know that she will get blonder, or tanner, but my mom doesn’t think so, what age do they really start to change their colors?
As with most Askers in Y!A, you left out lots of important information
• How old she is
• Which pattern her breeder said she is or will be
being probably the 2 most important omissions.
From the little you did state,. I will assume that she is in the 8-to-12 weeks range, and a tan-point.
Tan-points have 3 versions, the differences being according to which modifiers they inherited. All 3 are born almost all black, with tan on just their cheeks, pasterns, and by their anus.
· Bi-colours change little, remaining with little tan, and a very sharp delineation between the black area and the tan area – literally, just 2 colours: one black, one a single tan (usually an orange-tan). There are distinctions required, such as pencil-lines down their toes, and their hocks being black right to the heel – the so-called "tar-heels".
The other two start increasing their tan area very slowly, then change the distribution rapidly when the adult coat starts emerging at about 14 weeks old:
· Blanket-backs aka extended saddles have the leg-tan stop spreading almost as soon as it reaches the belly.
· Saddle-backs saddles have the leg-tan continue upwards until the remaining black is little more than the shape & position of a racing saddle.
"Blonde" is NOT a desired colour in GSDs. It is allowed, but when two GSDs are equal over all, then the darker/richer-coloured one is to be preferred.
If you Join the first group below, you can access its Photos section and look at the Coat Colour albums, showing how various patterns & colours develop – sometimes from as young as 1 day old.
◙ Add http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/The_GSD_Source to your browser’s Bookmarks or Favorites so that you can easily look up such as rescue groups, feeding, vaccinations, worming, clubs, weights, teething, neutering, disorders, genetics.
◙ To ask about GSDs, join some of the 400+ YahooGroups dedicated to various aspects of living with them. Each group’s Home page tells you which aspects they like to discuss, and how active they are. Unlike YA, they are set up so that you can have an ongoing discussion with follow-up questions for clarification. Most allow you to include photos in your messages.
Les P, owner of GSD_Friendly: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/GSD_Friendly
"In GSDs" as of 1967
The tan bits will spread very slowly from puppyhood so as you hardly notice.
Your dog will probably be almost a year old before her final true colour stabilises.
Ps. Some gsd puppies with just tan paws may stay black over their whole body and not have any other tan markings at all ever.
References :
I have a black and tan and his markings didn’t really change all as he got his adult coat. He is mostly black with just tan feet and markings on his cheeks.
Usually they do get a little tanner though with marks on their chest and face…
References :
As with most Askers in Y!A, you left out lots of important information
• How old she is
• Which pattern her breeder said she is or will be
being probably the 2 most important omissions.
From the little you did state,. I will assume that she is in the 8-to-12 weeks range, and a tan-point.
Tan-points have 3 versions, the differences being according to which modifiers they inherited. All 3 are born almost all black, with tan on just their cheeks, pasterns, and by their anus.
· Bi-colours change little, remaining with little tan, and a very sharp delineation between the black area and the tan area – literally, just 2 colours: one black, one a single tan (usually an orange-tan). There are distinctions required, such as pencil-lines down their toes, and their hocks being black right to the heel – the so-called "tar-heels".
The other two start increasing their tan area very slowly, then change the distribution rapidly when the adult coat starts emerging at about 14 weeks old:
· Blanket-backs aka extended saddles have the leg-tan stop spreading almost as soon as it reaches the belly.
· Saddle-backs saddles have the leg-tan continue upwards until the remaining black is little more than the shape & position of a racing saddle.
"Blonde" is NOT a desired colour in GSDs. It is allowed, but when two GSDs are equal over all, then the darker/richer-coloured one is to be preferred.
If you Join the first group below, you can access its Photos section and look at the Coat Colour albums, showing how various patterns & colours develop – sometimes from as young as 1 day old.
◙ Add http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/The_GSD_Source to your browser’s Bookmarks or Favorites so that you can easily look up such as rescue groups, feeding, vaccinations, worming, clubs, weights, teething, neutering, disorders, genetics.
◙ To ask about GSDs, join some of the 400+ YahooGroups dedicated to various aspects of living with them. Each group’s Home page tells you which aspects they like to discuss, and how active they are. Unlike YA, they are set up so that you can have an ongoing discussion with follow-up questions for clarification. Most allow you to include photos in your messages.
Les P, owner of GSD_Friendly: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/GSD_Friendly
"In GSDs" as of 1967
References :