Blue silver sables typically have blue tips. Most silver sable German Shepherd hairs have a cream to almost white base with black or blue tips. When this happens the alternating cream and black/blue hairs give the dog an overall silver-to-grey appearance. The genes on the intensity locus are known as the intensity genes and two copies should be present to reduce the red pigment intensity to cream. However, the intensity locus can affect the pheomelanin pigment to lighter shades ranging from cream to almost white. The individual banded hairs alternate between eumelanin and pheomelanin pigments. Sable dogs have banded hairs, especially concentrated on their dorsal surface (the dog’s back/saddle). Eumelanin is the other pigment and is black by default that can be altered to appear blue, liver, or isabella. Pheomelanin is one of two pigments responsible for all possible coat colors and is red or yellow by default. These are shaded sable or sable GSDs with light pheomelanin coat pigment. Are Silver German Shepherds rare?Īs seen above, silver is not silver but a visual illusion. This is due to the intense dilution of the black eumelanin pigment to pale blue shades that appears grey.

However, blue-grey German Shepherds can also appear grey but not silver. The individual hairs are not silver or grey but the banded sable hairs give it an almost similar appearance.

Intensity genes only affect the red to yellow pheomelanin pigment but do not affect the black eumelanin pigment.ĭue to alternating bands of cream to almost white and black or blue pigment, these sable GSDs appear to have a grey-to-silver hue. The intensity locus is postulated to cause the reduced pigment intensity. Instead, this coloration is caused by the reduction of the red/yellow pheomelanin pigment intensity to lighter shades. Silver German Shepherds are not grey-silver like the Poodle caused of the progressive greying of black eumelanin by the greying gene. Pitbull Rottweiler German Shepherd Mix: A Powerful Trio

Silver sable german shepherd