Do German shepherd puppies color change as they grow older?

Question

Just curious i have never had a german shepherd puppy I got mine when he was a year old and i have a 12 week old GSD pup she has a black body and brown legs will her color change as she gets older heres a pictures

http://pictures.sprintpcs.com/share.do?invite=MEFrJjmFY5zsv8T70hTh&shareName=MMS&messageState=RETRIEVED

Answer 1

You're pup is cute!

Yes, it's possible for the hair color to change, usually they turn lighter, but it's common for their colors to stay as well.

Answer 2

Not really.
But the DISTRIBUTION of the tan and the black will usually change.

Yours is a normal saddle-marked pup, so at about 14 weeks she will develop a black diamond about 3 inches down her tail, and then her adult coat will start coming in all over and then her tan will start encroaching on her black area.
If she has inherited lots of colour-paling from her ancestors her tan may degenerate to a gold or even a cream by about 18-24 months old.
If she has inherited black-reduction from her ancestors you might find that her saddle degrades to a chocolate at about the same ages.

Colour-paling and black-reduction genes can affect all proper GSD colourations, but conscientious breeders keep in mind that where 2 GSDs are of equal quality the darker one is to be preferred, so avoid black-reduction as if it were the plague, and try to avoid colour paling as much as possible.

From what little I can see (the process used by that web-site starts the pic too pale then gradually makes it too dark) I don't think your pup has inherited much in the way of paling or reduction genes, but I haven't seen her parents & grandparents.

Other correct markings for GSDs are
● Wolf-Sable - has interesting variations, but typically starts with a brownish pup that has a black stripe above its spine, then goes honey-brown all over, then banded guard-hairs come through in the areas where your pup has black, to produce a shimmering cloudy effect. This was the foundation marking & colour of our breed, and is one of the two most common in performance blood-lines.
● Bi-Colour - literally, has only black and one tan without any shadings, just like a Rottweiler. Typically has black pencilling along each toe and up its heels.
● Self-black - no tan whatsoever, although many have a few tan hairs between their toes and/or on their chest. Very popular with people who want other people to be scared of their dog.

Read & study http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/LongTermHealthEffectsOfSpayNeuterInDogs.pdf to help you decide WHEN to neuter your b_itch. There is no universal "best" age, and there are drawbacks to both neutering & not neutering, but you need to know a LOT more before you can judge whether a mating should be done, and who the stud should be, so your b_itch SHOULD be neutered.

My e-group is set up to answer almost any question about GSDs, but most of the members have had their dogs for years so the experts are getting few questions to answer, just chit chat. Look at the Home Page, make sure you can accept the Rules, then click [Join].
Les P, owner of GSD_Friendly: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/GSD_Friendly
"In GSDs" as of 1967

Answer 3

They sure do. When our black and tan ***** had her litters they looked like little black labs for the first 6 weeks until their lighter areas grew in. It's hard to tell from the picture just how dark she is but her legs will get lighter, she will probably develop lighter areas on her face and she may develop quite a bit of red in her coat too. She looks pretty and has the big wide space ears that I like on a shepherd.

Answer 4

It depends! Sometimes the black may fade in some areas to a lighter color, and sometimes a tan could turn to a darker shade of brown. It really depends on the breeder, and the parents. : )

Answer 5

My pup looked the same way. Hes about 2 years old now and the brown on his chest has turned darker than what it used to be and the black has filled in all around. His paws arent as brown as they used to be either.

Answer 6

I think that all pups color changes as they get older but, not to extremes.

Answer 7

Yes, I think they do. Usually pups are borned out brown fur. But as they grow, their coat will start to have a black spot on their back.

Answer 8

She will get a bit lighter and the black will recede so that it will not be the dominant color.

Answer 9

I am not familiar with GSD, but I do know that most dogs lighten as they age.

Answer 10

Yes, they do.