What Colors Do German Shepherds Come In?
Did you know that The GSD comes in a variety of colors? The typical German Shepherd is black and tan, as seen in dogs like Rin Tin Tin. But there are other just as beautiful GSDs that are not what you typically see in the US. Check out these different GSD breed types (follow that link, but be sure to come back!).
So let’s break down just two of the color variations in simple terms. But before we do, let me state that the solid black GSD is recognized as an official AKC breed, but the white GSD is not recognized as a breed standard for a Shepherd. Not that they are any less of a dog, but the white Shepherd is not registrable as part of the official AKC breed. I know that the White Shepherd debate is a huge one, but all I’m referring to is the ability to register them in the AKC. Here’s a specific quote from the AKC Standard for the German Shepherd (http://www.akc.org/breeds/german_shepherd_dog/):
Color –
The German Shepherd Dog varies in color, and most colors are permissible. Strong rich colors are preferred. Pale, washed-out colors and blues or livers are serious faults. A white dog must be disqualified.
So what’s the difference between sable and black and tan German Shepherds?
What’s a Sable?
Here’s my (I know, here I go again…) sable female when she was 12 weeks old. I’ll have to update her photo, as she’s almost 6 years old now:
Sable GSDs are not the typically colored Black & Tan color variety that you see. Their coat is black and tan, or black and red, but not in the saddle back configuration. And the ends of their fir contain either silver, or red, or more, hence the sable name! Now, again let me remind you that I’m not a pro at this stuff, so if you want a concise description of GSD’s and their colors, you can Google a hundred different sites for that.
What’s a Saddle back?
Saddle back is the color pattern you’ll see in most common GSD’s. Their coat can be black and tan, or black and red. They come in a variety of patters, two of those being “saddle back” and “tri color” patterns.
Here’s my (I know, I know…) black and tan male:
And again, the black and tans are the more typically seen dogs. I’m not sure why though. I mean, yes – they are very beautiful and majestic looking, but there are just as many beautiful grey, red, and black sables that people own. I would love to get another huge sable male GSD myself, but that’ll have to wait until my Zero is old enough not to care, or lives out his 15 years I plan on still having with him.
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May 25th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
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May 28th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
I have a female that has the typical black face and ears of a GSD but the rest of her body is tan to reddish. She has a little smittering of black hair on her back and tail. Just wondering if she if full blooded or not and was wondering if you have ever seen one. She is beautiful and every other way acts like a GS. Thanks for any input. God bless
May 28th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Hello Ron,
If you can submit a picture of her, I can tell pretty quickly. Where did you purchase her? From a pro breeder, or another resource?
Take a look at the different color variations on this page, and see if you find a match:
GSD Breed Colors.
June 14th, 2008 at 12:01 am
Hi, was wondering if you could take a look at my German Shepherd and tell if she looks like a purebred. I did not get her from a breeder. I adopted her from an animal shelter when she was 8 months old. She is about 6 years old in the pictures. Pics are at http://www.power-premium.com/Gretchen/Gretchen.html
Thanks!
June 14th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Hello Dawn,
Was the animal shelter you got your girl from “breed specific”, such as a German Shepherd Rescue, or was it an all breed one?
I have no reason to doubt she’s NOT pure bred. She’s a pretty “bi-colored” “blanket back” Shepherd. Meaning the black portion of her fur extends past her front shoulders, giving way to the tan. My male is also a blanket back.
A closer side shot will determine this better. Can I scale the image down, and load it up here for our readers to see your beautiful girl?
June 15th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Hi Martin,
I sent a reply via email, and yes, I would love to have her picture on the site. Thanks!
June 15th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Added a few more pics to the site, BTW.
June 24th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
My 6 month old German Shepherd Is black and tan but has white around her nose and a white line ging up to her head. She also has a completly white chest. I bought her last out of her litter because noone wanted her due to the fact that her colors did not look like a shepherd. Has anyone ever seen one with these colors before. I have tried to find pics online but cannot find one that looks like her. I wonder will she always have the white face and chest or will her colors blend more.
June 24th, 2008 at 11:37 pm
Hello Brie,
Where did you purchase her from (a professional breeder)? Does she have a pedigree? Can you send me a picture of her? She may be a German Shepherd mix, but we’d like to see her to make a better call.
I bet she’s a great part of your family!
June 25th, 2008 at 8:12 am
Martin, Should I send the picture to your email. I purchases her from a lady I work with. She has bred German Shepherds for years. I’ve seen the mother and the father and are both Full Blooded GSDs. She has papers. The lady said two out of the litter of 11 pups had the white on their face and chest. So you have never heard of this before? Please let me know where I can send a pic. I don’t know if I have a REAL good picture but definitely have one where you can see her face.
Thanks!!!
June 25th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Hello Brie,
I have gotten your pictures. Can I post them here for others to view as well?
I have to say, I have never, ever heard of two purebred GSDs having a pup in a litter with colorings/markings that would place those white strips on a face. Your (pretty girl!) looks like she’s mixed with Border Collie, or some other collie type.
In my humble, honest opinion, just by looking at your pictures of your girl, I say she’s a GSD/mix.
The color variants of the GSD are such as these (see next link), and do not vary from them:
Types of German Shepherds
I would also say that sometimes an accidental litter happens…with one/two – or more – of the pups showing the markings of the non-GSD male.
June 27th, 2008 at 8:29 am
Martin, Just thought I would let you know some information I found out. I have been speaking w/ the lady I bought my dog from and there is no possible way this could be a mix breed, The said the sire that the mother was bred with had also had two other litters, each with a couple of pups with the white markings. So I spent about an hour last nigth doing some research and found a few things online about this. It says that occasionally even when the mom and dad have no white, there is a recessive gene that some of the pups can get that creates white markings on the muzzle and chest and inside of the legs and sometimes the tip of the tail. I can find the website again if you would like to post this on the site. So I am happy with my baby and now know that she is special and unique. Thanks for your opinions on this. I would love see Sams picture posted. I will try to get one with where where she is standing up so everyone can really get a good look at her.
June 28th, 2008 at 12:57 am
Brie,
I think it depends on how much of a purest you are. My GSD, Gretchen, which you can see pics of from my previous posts, looks to be a genuine GSD with great markings. I ran in to a breeder while on the road with her (trucking) and He looked ar her and said he was sure she was pure bred, but he did note that the underlying hair could be considered “white” which was not good as far as “German Standards”. All I know is that she was the best dog I ever had, and I am now looking for a GSD puppy or such as they are thr BEST as far as I am concerned.
“It says that occasionally even when the mom and dad have no white, there is a recessive gene that some of the pups can get that creates white markings on the muzzle and chest and inside of the legs and sometimes the tip of the tail. “
July 9th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Hi! I have a german sheperd pup that my partner and I adopted early this year. The humane scociety told us that she was a mix but we have had lots of people tell us that she looks full blooded. I have asked a breeder friend of mine and she said that she looks to be a mixe between the white german sheperd and the black and tan german sheperd. So I was wondering if you could help us out with this dilima.
Thank You,
Ann
July 11th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Hello Ann,
Can I get your permission to post her picture here? Your girl is a real beauty! her look does indicate a GSD X (mix), especially her “tummy” cut.
So are you going to do advanced obedience training, or agility sports with her?
July 13th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
i have a pure bred all black german shepherd and i was wondering if i bred him with an all white girl what would the pups look like
July 16th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Hello Brittany,
As far as color variations between two sets of GSDs, it really depends on the pedigree. You need to also look into the sire/dam of both dogs, and see what colors/variations there are there.
And as a side note, the decision to breed German Shepherds (not that I’m singling you out, just in general) needs to be really thought out. Here are just a few things to think about:
What about working or obedience titles? Do your dogs have any?
show ratings or placements? Do your dogs have any?
How are you determining temperament, conformation, workability, trainability?
What are the female’s strengths and weaknesses?
What are the male’s strengths and weaknesses?
What are the male’s bloodlines?
What are the female’s bloodlines?
As one professional breeder put it:
October 14th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Hi Martin,
This may be the wrong section for this, but I was wondering; I’ve seen some GSD with one floppy ear. Is this a genetic trait or a physical issue?
October 14th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
I’m not sure if it’s genetic or not, but it can be corrected. One of our pups had floppy ears after all of her litter mates’ ears had come up. Eventually the right ear came up by itself, but we had to brace the left ear with a piece of foam rubber pipe insulation and spray adhesive. We replaced it whenever it fell out (about once every three days) for about three weeks. After the third week, the supporting tissue had strengthened to the point where the era stood up by itself.
November 5th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
my 10 week old GSD has one floppy ear will this change?i hope so ,but it really dosent matter,i am in love with him already
November 5th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Hello Joy,
Your pup is still very young. Ears will come up around 4 months (or sooner, depending on their genetics) – but be prepared for them to “sometimes” fall during teething.
So you have at least until 5 1/2 months old to worry
November 5th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
@Dave Port,
Thanks for your suggestion! That is a great way to tape the ears of our “problem” GSDs
I’d just like to add that genetics does play a roll. Not that its 100% – but does come into play.
And btw Dave, you have GREAT looking dogs on your site Haus Leisa German Shepherds!
December 26th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
I was wondering if I could send you a picture of my GSD and tell me if you think she is a pure bred. I bought her from a guy who strictly breeds GSDs and I wanted to be for sure and to see if you think she is a saddle back, she is only a little over 9 months and I know color development is finished at 2 years of age.
December 26th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
One more thing, I do not have any side views of her standing, she doesn’t want to stand still for those yet.
December 27th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
My husband and I found what looks to be a shepherd mix puppy, but other friends are telling us she “could” be a purebred, and looks ALL shepherd, except her tail….it’s not bushy at all.
Is there a way to tell, without DNA testing her? She was dumped on the side of the road, so seeing parents, looking for registration, etc, is out of the question, since we will never know who dumped her, or where she came from for sure….she had been out along a country road atleast one entire day….
December 27th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
ps…she was vetted yesterday and he thinks she is about 8-10 weeks old, and thankfully, other than hookworms, is very healthy
December 27th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
[IMG]http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k95/carolinec74/roxie1.jpg[/IMG]
Here is Roxie a few days ago
December 27th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k95/carolinec74/roxie1.jpg
hopefully this link will work
December 27th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
@Danielle – Yes you can send it right away. Let me ask about the sire/dam. What were their colors/conformation?
December 27th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
December 27th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
@Caroline, she looks very pretty, no matter if she’s purebred GSD or not
I’d say she’s a mix however
December 27th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
Thanks Martin,….
We think she is a mix, not sure with what, but it doesn’t matter really…just curiousity mostly. My MIL thinks she’s a full shepherd, because she looks alot like one she owned… Curious mostly…but thanks for the reply.
September 29th, 2009 at 5:07 am
i too owe a german shepehrd named bruno he is also a pure breed but he is 32 inches tall. I have had many german shepherds in my life but this is the tallest one i have ever seen among german shepherds,but he has perfect body, he is a pure breed from champion bloodline but i dont know why he is so huge.
September 29th, 2009 at 5:08 am
i too owe a german shepehrd named bruno he is also a pure breed but he is 32 inches tall. I have had many german shepherds in my life but this is the tallest one i have ever seen among german shepherds,but he has perfect body, he is a pure breed from champion bloodline but i dont know why he is so huge?
September 29th, 2009 at 6:29 am
Hello Kirti,
It depends on a dog’s pedigree. Meaning, there are pure bred dogs of ANY breed that are selectively breeded to obtain a certain characteristic – Large Dogs being one of them. While 32 inches is out of the “AKC Standard” confirmation, it’s definitely possible.
Now, weighing a larger GSD against any possible health issues is another story.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
reading your site i noticed that you have on there that you cannot register a white GSD with AKC, whereas i know for a fact you can. The sire of our male sable was a pure white and his whole background on his father’s side was white. A white GSD cannot be shown through AKC, but can be registered. The quote that you cited about white being disqualified was for show purpose only. My husband and I are breeders and have had some beautiful champange puppies out of our last litter and they are registered.
November 8th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Judy, you are 100%. White German Shepherds can be registered, but not shown:
Which comes to mind an “open-ended thought”: One of the main registering bodies for pure breed dogs – the AKC – calls a white colored GSD a “fault” in our breed.
November 13th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
I just got done reading everyones posts and wanted to ad that PURE BRED german shepherd puppies CAN have white markings on their muzzles, forehead, chin, chest, feet & tip of the tail! It is caused from BOTH PURE BRED parents having whats called the “Irish White Spotting Gene” The parents dont have to have the markings for their offspring to get them, it is VERY rare and the white markings on the muzzle, forehead & tip of the tail fade and disappear by the time they are full grown. I have a black sable male and a black & cream female that have produced just a couple of these unique babies, I live in Ontario, Canada and I have also came across American Kennel Club registered german shepherd puppies with the same unique markings
For the woman who was told her GSD is a GS/Collie mix: I also believe your baby is a Pure Bred! 
November 15th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Hi, i have a litter of german shepherd puppies out of our female and sired by our male,both AKC registered. They have had several litters before and usually have varied shades of sables and then the traditional black and tans. I have noticed on a couple of puppies in the past, as well as now, that a few of their puppies will have white toes, usually they fade away into tan by the time they are a few weeks to a couple of months old. Is this normal??? the mother is a sable saddle back (she’s typical saddle back but instead of being black and tan, she’s sable where the black normally is, and light tan) the male is traditional dark rin tin tin saddle back.
thanks!
November 15th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
Hey Lisa! My answer to your question is *YES* very normal, it is caused by the common white gene, sounds like the Mother would have it., Are you sure she’s not a faded saddle back?, I have never heard of a sable saddle back, usually sables are sable all over except for their legs sometimes. How did she look as a puppy? more sable or more black & tan?
November 15th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
artin! How can I post pictures on here?, or can I?
November 15th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
missed the *M* on my last post, sorry *Martin*!
December 9th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
@I love my GSD’s – One of the many tools I’ll be adding to our site is an area for “peep-submissions of their dogs“. Stay tuned for that. In the meantime, send them via email to: pictures (at) germanshepherd-breed (dot) org
January 6th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Hi, here’s a pic of my 1 yr old GSD. Someone said he looks like a GSD husky cross with the distinct banding on his chest. He’s a rescue so don’t know his history. Looking at the GSD lines he resembles a bi-colour with a bit of silver sable in him – his black ‘blanket bit’ has silver undercoat coming through (noticeable when the wind blows his coat up). Belly is white / grey. Tail is long like a GSD. He’s tall (36″) and long-legged, not muscular. Characteristics are like the breed, except he doesn’t really bark but makes a ‘yawning’ noise! Any ideas?
January 6th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
Feral; He looks like a true GS to me, just with uncommon colours! Looking forward to hear from Martin too
I just had to add a pic of 2 of my babie’s now that picture’s can be posted
January 6th, 2010 at 1:17 pm
All of my babie’s!
January 6th, 2010 at 1:25 pm
OOPS, picture didn’t go through, I’ll try again?
January 6th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
ILMGSD’s, your babies look gorgeous, how old are they?
Here’s another pic of my boy.
January 6th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
Thanks Feral!
Corona (on left) was born August 11, 2006 & Kokanee (on right) was born September 30, 2005. we also have another male and female, Velten (male) is a “Corona & Kokanee Baby” and Stella (female) is our newest addition. I tried uploading a pic earlier of all four of them together but it didnt work, I will try again this time.
Your pup is also gorgeous! he has all the GSD feature’s and from what I can see I dont see any Husky. His white belly is most likely from 1 (or more) white ancestors which could also cause faded colouration. Do you know how much he weighs?
January 6th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
O.K. lets try this pic, if it works, this is Velten
January 7th, 2010 at 6:29 am
Wow, 4 GSDs you’ll be busy hoovering then! What lovely names – I like it when owners give them decent names instead of ‘little dog’ names like Pip – no offence to any Pip owners! Remus is 31 kg so a lightweight for his size. Was very underweight when we got him 8 weeks ago so feeding him 3 times a day. Vet reckons he’ll be 35-38 kg when mature. Hope he doesn’t get any taller as we’ll need a bigger crate!
February 12th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
Faral, your male GSD and Dawn’s female named Gretchen are both pure German Shepherds. The Husky/wolf like mask is called a Reverse Mask. I own a Silver Sable Reverse Masked Shepherd and a Female that isn’t a true Reverse mask but does have a red stripe down her muzzle but it is hard to see over the tan muzzle in photos. A breeder told me that genetically the GSD just doesn’t have the alleles to create a full mask.
Just thought you’d like to know.
This look was really popular in America in the 50′s and 60′s but isn’t so popular now-a-days. Making them really hard to find. Believe me I searched for three years to find my Male and I am in the process of searching for either a Reverse Masked Stud or another dog/puppy for my household. They are not popular so they are very hard to find. The breeders that have reversed masked pups usually don’t want to breed for it because they don’t really like that look. I on the other hand find it breathtaking.
February 12th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
“A breeder told me that genetically the GSD just doesn’t have the alleles to create a full mask.”
I should have read before I posted
I meant to say that the Reverse Masked GSD doesn’t have the alleles to create a full mask that’s why they only have the stripe down the nose and sometimes the patches under the eyes.
Hope that clarifies that!
February 23rd, 2010 at 8:57 am
Thanks for that info Kat. Remus is 34 kg now, putting on weight slowly. Interesting about the reverse mask – a lot of people ask me what breed he is because of his markings. Naturally I think he’s stunning!
March 1st, 2010 at 5:35 pm
hi,does anyone know how to acheive a grey coloured g/s?i have seen a few on the net but cant find no info on them?are they rare?thanks lisa x
March 1st, 2010 at 5:58 pm
Hey Lisa! Our shepherds have produced a few “grey sable’s”, you can see a picture of them a few posts above., here is a picture of one of thier pups at 6 months old., does he have the colouration you are asking about?
March 1st, 2010 at 6:09 pm
Well that picture didn’t work!? I am going to try a different pic, this is a female from our shepherds, she was about 4.5 months old here, if this one doesn’t upload I give up., If you want you could email me; super33@live.ca and I can send you pic’s that way!
March 1st, 2010 at 6:17 pm
For Martin & Feral; If this pic uploads? ~ these are my 4 babies <3
Kokanne, Corona, Stella & Velten
March 2nd, 2010 at 12:39 pm
hi i love my g/s….i already have a white male….if mating him what colour would he mate with?thanks lisa x
March 3rd, 2010 at 3:24 am
i love my g/s….i say grey…i should say blue..i heard some white g/s carry the blue gene is that correct?lisa x
March 27th, 2010 at 11:54 pm
Novice GSD owner… Purchasing my very first GSD baby! I’ve never owned one before, SOOOOOOOO… This is probably going to sound like a crazy question, but I am in the middle of purchasing a purebred GSD from a woman, but am confused about the puppies… They are all black. Are all GSD puppies born black? Both parents are on site and they are magnificent animals, so THAT part isn’t in question. The dad is a golden/yellow and black, and the mom is a sand-color and black/silver color. Only one of the puppies has any tan on her and it almost perfectly follows the usual saddle coloring. The pups are only 4 weeks old, so how long would it take before they start looking like GSDs and not big cute black puppies?
April 14th, 2010 at 7:48 pm
A breeder offered me a golden gsd female, she descends from a grand/grand/grand- father that was a former gsd work world champion, and she comes from the easten europe, former eastern germany and russia.
Sorry for my bad english, i’m from portugal.
Good site Martin, greetings from portugal.
April 14th, 2010 at 7:56 pm
Good to have you here Eddie! Please, comment again, and add a photo of your girl!