Blonde German Shepherd Puppies Guide (GSD)
The blonde German Shepherd is known to have a very unusual coat color when it comes to comparing it with other breeds of dogs. The color of the coat is so different that it is very unusual to find a Blonde German Shepherd.
The puppy has a very light color when they are born. It is such a light color that it has a very light color which does not look much like blonde. An inexperienced breeder would think that the dog has been coated blonde.
However, when the puppy changes into an adult the coat of the color dramatically changes. This is the reason why a German Shepherd Dog who is Blonde is such a rare sight.
Can an adult German Shepherd inherit a blonde coat? In this article you will come to know about the dog coat color genetics.
Blonde German Shepherd
If you hear the term blond German Shepherd for the Shepherd dog. This does not mean that the dog is from a different breed. It simply means that the dog has a coat which is blonde in color.
As the AKC has said that the blonde coat German Shepherds are also pure-bred Dogs (German Shepherd). However, this color is not on the accepted list of dogs at AKC.
In this article you will come to know about the Blonde German Shepherd in this list.
Now, if you have a Blonde German Shepherd at home you might find that the coat is a bit lighter in some areas and darker in some other places. You will see many colors of the shades of blonde. This is very true when it comes to blonde German Shepherd.
However, at one point in time when the blond German Shepherd becomes an adult it may change over to become a gray or alive color German Shepherd. This is what you will come to know in the below section of the article.
How Could A German Shepherd Dog Inherit A Coat Which Is Blonde?
As you are already aware that the blonde coat color is not accepted technically when it comes to Shepherd adult dogs. So how can the German Shepherd even be blonde?
The question takes us to a world of the canine gees and the dog color genetics. As VCA Animal Hospitals has stated that the dog coat color genetics starts in a very simple manner.
There are only two pigments that contribute to create a coat color for the dog. The name of the pigments is eumelanin and pheomelanin.
Eumelanin gives the black basic pigment. Pheomelanin is the basic pigment red. Isn’t it easy to understand?
Well, this is where the things start to become difficult and complicated. There are many Genes that can influence or add an effect on eumelanin and pheomelanin so that it can produce many shades of color and color patterns.
Eumelanin in German Shepherd Dog Coats
Let’s take the basic color as black as an example. Eumelanin which is present in the pure form is going to be the darkest black color. However, it changes if the gene changes as well. It shows differently in different breeds:
- Liver German Shepherd Coat: This color which is black might change into liver or a pale brown color. One other could be a bit blonde. In fact, the liver is one of the colors which is now recognized by the AKC and also the coat color is also registered by them.
- Sable German Shepherd Coat: Now let’s assume that you have a basic black color for the above German Shepherd who has a pattern that includes dark or has a tip which is black at the end of the hair. This also has an AKC recognized coat & pattern for purebred Sable German Shepherd dogs. On the Pedigree database forum, you will find some amazing snaps of German Shepherd puppies who have a blonde coat and they have grown up and have a sable coat color pattern.
- Agouti German Shepherd Coat: As many breeder’s state that some German Shephard do look like an agouti coat color pattern for of German shepherd dog due to its coat color. They are also referred to as wolf color as they start to look the same. The coat is of the basic color which has dark hair tips and light color which is very much similar to the body of the wolf. The coloration which is available from the variation of the agouti is golden. However, the color golden occurs because the puppy was originally sable which has very light grey and the coat gradually lightens to the extent that it becomes blonde.
Pheomelanin in German Shepherd Dog Coats
If the color is basic red, then the color spectrum can be lightened to get a basic blonde coat color.
As the genetics of the dog coat color states that pheomelanin and range from very light gold or tan or a deep burn red color.
Red is known to be an AKC registered and recognized color which comes under the black and red bicolor coat pattern of German Shepherd. However, red is not the color which is on the acceptance list.
This is when you might be thinking about how it is even possible that a blonde German Shepherd adult may exist.
Let’s see if you can find that out.
German Shepherds Puppies Often Change Coat Colors
The biggest secret that many people who own a new dog won’t know. The thing is that when a puppy is born the coat color is a bit different than what the color might appear when they grow old. In most cases the German Shepherd coat color change during the phase from puppy to childhood can be very dramatic.
Many breeders have highlighted in their pictures that the color change can also be very slight sometimes. It mainly depends on the genes of the puppy. When you start to decode the mystery, you start to understand that puppies don’t keep their original coat. The transition from puppy coat to adult coat takes at least six months.
There are many rescue organizations who have done a lot of research and have said that there are many factors which influence the color of the puppy coat. In addition to the genetics of the canine, the main reasons which affect the driving factor of an adult German Shepherd’s coat color are medication, diet, health of the dog, access to sunlight and condition of the skin.
What Happens To The Coat When A German Shepherd Puppy Grows Up?
When a puppy grows up, the puppy coat changes to the adult dog coat, the thing that occurs is that the puppy coat starts to shed. This process is somewhat similar like the falling of the baby teeth and growing of the adult teeth after the loss of the old ones. The single layer puppy coat may shed in different stages.
The inner coat layer has a solid color. It is slightly visible because it is covered by the darker and longer coat layer. The undercoat of the dog has the purpose of keeping it warm. The outer layer of the coat has a lot of uses. It protects the dog from wet, pests, abrasions, cold and injuries.
The outer layer is made of solid color, which has a two-color pattern and sometimes a multi -color pattern which is seen as sable.
Many breeders often say that they can guess the coat color of the GSD puppy when they grow up. However, canine genes can be complicated. Sometimes the most experienced breeders can guess the color wrong because of the genes.
How Does A Blonde German Shepherd Coat Even Happen?
There are many reasons that can end up changing the coat to a blonde German Shepherd or at least change it to a blonde-look.
As you are aware that the pheomelanin color pigment can make the look of the dog different. Genes of the canines react differently and can cause different effects.
Pheomelanin lightens to the point that it seems like a light blonde and can be misunderstood as white color.
A Blonde GSD Coat May Actually Be White
White coats are produced when the color pigment is absent. However, some type of coat might appear to be white. White is another unusual and rare color found in German Shephard. It is also a color which is recognized as the GSD breeding standard.
A Blonde GSD May Actually Be Rare but Possible
At one point most of the dogs which are now known as pure breed were once a hybrid or mixed breed dog.
Purebred dogs are created by crossbreeding strategically. As the German Shepherd Dog Club of America states that there was a cavalry officer named Captain Max von Stephanitz used a dog of an unknown origin which might have a gene of wolf-Dog to create a new breed of dog.
The captain crossed new emerging breeds with other German herding dogs. Due to this crossbreeding of the dog, they might have a blonde coat. There is still very less understanding of the genome, as there are any questions which are still unanswered in the Captain’s research. It is possible that there might be a blonde dog in the research.
A Blonde German Shepherd Is a Hybrid or a Mixed-Race Dog
Hybrid dog breeding is becoming very popular nowadays as many dogs try to create new ones. A day will come when these breeds of dogs will become registered pure breeds in due course of time.
However, before this happens you should know about the breeder’s pedigree before you bring home a lovely friend and make a lifelong commitment.
The main reason for doing this to make sure that the breeders are following moral policies while breeding a dog. Some breeders use dogs as a puppy making mill to make money out of them. They just want to make profit out of this business and do not do any health checks or provide food nutrition and food to the parent dogs, the dogs which are born might not be pure breeds as well.
While the topic of health is still going on. You need to know there are some hereditary issues in GSD’s. Hence you should buy a dog from a reputable breeder source who can help you in getting the genetic information of the dog and also produce puppies which are healthy and do not have any testable genetic diseases.
The other reason might be that if the breeder is not able to track the GSD’s lineage then the dog can’t be a pure breed.
