COLOR AND PATTERN IN THE GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG

WHAT THE BREED STANDARDS SAY

From the SV/WUSV/VDH/FCI Standard (Also known as the International Standard; it is used by almost all countries except the US & Canada):

Pigment

Black with reddish brown, brown, tan to light-grey markings. Solid black, grey with darker overcast, black saddle and mask. Inconspicuous small white chest markings, as well as lighter pigment on the inside of the legs is permitted, but not desirable. All dogs, no matter what their color, must have black noses.

Missing mask, light to white markings on the chest and inner leg sides, light toenails, and a red tail tip are signs of faulty pigmentation. Undercoat has a slight grey cast. White is not permissible.

From the GSDCA/AKC Breed Standard:

Color – The German Shepherd Dog varies in color, and most colors are permissible. Strong rich colors are preferred.

Pale, washed-out colors or blues and livers are serious faults. A white dog must be disqualified.

Disqualifications – ….. white dogs; dogs with noses not predominantly black; ……

From the GSDCC/CKC Breed Standard:

Colour
The German Shepherd Dog differs widely in colour. Generally speaking, strong, rich colours are to be preferred, with definite pigmentation, and without appearance of a washed-out colour. White dogs are to be disqualified.

Disqualifications
Albino characteristics; …… white dogs.

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ON COLOR

German Shepherd Dogs essentially have two pigment genes melanin (or eumelanin) and phaeomelanin. In its normal form, melanin is black. It has two mutations in the GSD: blue and liver, both of which are serious faults.

Blue is a lighter shade of black. In young puppies, it does really look sort of blue, but in a mature blue GSD, you may have to put it side-by side with a black dog to see the dilution. Liver is a brownish-red color replacing black. It is known in Australian Shepherds and Border collies as red. Any of the 4 basic patterns (described below) can come in blue or liver.

Phaeomelanin gives us tan in its middle intensity. When diluted, it gives us the undesirable silver and cream colors. In its richer form, there will be an orangish cast to the tan. In its richest form, it becomes deep mahogany red (the color of a rottweiler’s legs); this is known as red in the US, but brown in Germany and is fairly uncommon. Most dogs are tan or orange-tan. Unfortunately, under the strong Southern California sun, the phaeomelanin tends to bleach out. Because of this, our dogs often appear more diluted than they genetically are. Many a beautiful import has faded out here to pale tan.

White is the absence of pigment. The dog may not be able to make pigment at all (albino with pink eyes and nose) or may be able to make it but just not not deposit it in the coat (will have colored eyes and nose).

What’s wrong with white?

Albino whites are prone to sunburn, cancer and eye problems and are truly genetically inferior. Non- albino whites are not. Health wise and behaviorally the non-albino whites are the same as colored dogs. (However, some lines of white dogs, because of the shortsightness of breeding only for color, have some serious problems.) White dogs are capable of work, although in many of the work situations, their whiteness renders them less efficient than a colored dog. As Germans are a very efficient people, white is not tolerated.

While white dogs (or otherwise very light-colored) can herd, they usually have to work harder to impress their power upon the stock. This is especially a problem if the stock are used to a stock guardian dog, which are almost always white or light-colored. A mostly white dog should have at least a colored head if it is to have full effectiveness. (Hence, the collie standard.) Also, it is more difficult for a shepherd to distinguish a white dog from a group of white sheep; a shepherd can’t give the dog proper directions if he cannot determine where the dog is.

Even among colored dogs, darker dogs impress live stock more than lighter dogs do. Dark colors impress people more too, making dark dogs more effective as police dogs too. Hence, the GSD standard calls for rich pigmentation. A solid black dog has even extra presence.

As a war dog, whites glow and give away their presence. Those used in Vietnam were quickly eliminated by enemy shooters. You might as well paint a bulls-eye on them.

A not predominantly black nose would include a nose with a non-insignificant amount of pink on it. A genetically black nose can turn pink as a result of an injury, but will return to black after a healing period. A genetically pink nose is always pink and can sunburn and lead to cancer.

ON PATTERN

Essentially, all correct German Shepherd Dogs are black and tan. They vary only in the amount and distribution of the black and the intensity of the tan. There is one major pattern gene in the GSD and several minor pattern genes, plus modifiers that effect the amount of black within each pattern. The major pattern gene has four alleles (variations). In order of dominance, they are sable>saddle>bi-color>black. Saddle is by far the most prevalent pattern. The other three are seldom seen outside of the true working lines. All four of the patterns are considered correct.

Sable, known as grey in Germany, derives its name from a Euasian weasel prized for its fur of two-tone hairs. Sables have light undercoats and outercoats with black only on the tips of the hairs. Individuals vary as to how many guard hairs have black tips and how many lack the tipping. Dogs with most of the guard hairs tipped are known as Black Sables. Some dogs have a discernable saddle pattern to the tipping; I suspect these dogs carry the recessive saddle allele. Sometimes, you have to part the hairs to verify that it’s a sable. When I wetted my sable, the guard hairs clumped together exposing the light under coat and making her looked striped. Sables will appear lighter in winter than summer because of the dilution effect of more light undercoat in relation to the same amount of black. As puppies, only the very, very tips of the guard hairs have black; the color spreads down the shaft as it ages (or do they get darker when the replace the puppy coat? I’m not sure which is the correct mechanism)¹. This is the only pattern that gains black as the dog matures. The original Rin Tin Tin was a sable. Indeed, in the early days of the breed, sable was the most common pattern. See photos of sable dogs Kaibab and Chicco.

Saddle – this is what is often referred to as a Black and Tan although the latter name is a misnomer as all of the patterns come in black and tan. The saddle is a black marking spread across the back and rib cage. If it includes the croup and shoulders, it is said to include a blanket. [A separate minor pattern gene determines whether the dog will also have an eye mask and black behind the head (mantle). (The mask and mantle are part of one genetic marking). Whereas, a separate gene controls the presence or absence of the muzzle marking. A diffuse stripe of light hairs down the back is another gene, one which is sexually influenced. It is much more common in females than males. And the males that have it are often bitchy in other aspects too. Being a dilution, the stripe is obviously a fault.] Saddle dogs have light undercoats. Puppies start out with a lot of black, which gives way to tan as they age. A normally pigmented saddle pup will look like a bi-color at birth, but quickly reveal their true identities. However, some dogs progress from black to tan much more quickly than others. Some pups you know at 8-weeks that they won’t keep a lot of black - Already their foreheads will be mostly tan. Others may hold onto to a lot of black for a year then suddenly restart the transformation. Saddle dogs that carry the recessive bi-color or black gene generally stay fairly dark. Although not all dark (hi black) saddle dogs are heterozygous.

Bi-color – these dogs are mostly black on the torso. They have tan on the majority of the legs. Sometimes that’s it and those dogs are sometimes called Bi-blacks, but bi-colors may also have discrete paired spots of tan above the eyelids, on the cheeks and on the forechest. Essentially, they are marked like a typical Rottweiler or Doberman. Bi-colors have dark undercoats. (However, those with fading modifier genes can have light undercoats.) This feature is useful in distinguishing them from very dark saddle dogs. Bi-colors are born nearly black. One must sometimes look carefully under the tail or between he toes to try to figure out their true identity at birth. See photo of bi-colored Ilja.

Black – in the GSD black is a pattern, not a color. Blacks may be totally black or may have tan between the toes and perhaps also a dusting on the legs. The under coats are always black. They are usually born without any tan anywhere. My Drazi was 6-months old before she got tan between her toes and much older still before her legs started to dust. The tan on a black’s legs is never solid as in a bi-color’s, only a dusting, and blacks never have any tan on the torso. See photos of black Drazi.

Black dogs tend not to show well in conformation because they have nothing to break up the judge’s eye. Thus, the judge gets a different impression of their structure and movement than he would a patterned dog. Without pattern, the judge focuses in on faults that her would not see otherwise.

Dorothy DeLisle