I was just reading the blue eye thread by Arctic.wolf and noticed postings about coat colour. My NI is from the same Dam, Lady Jane and also has the dark undercoat with some banding on the guard hairs. I always thought it unusual. Let me know what you think. Thanks This last photo is one of his long guard hairs which should show the banding. It is dark grey with white. Hope you can see it in the pic.
Our GDS has hair like that on her back it is black at the rood then like a silver colour then black again, she looks like a porcupine Shame haven't got any batteries or could take a pic to see.
Yes, great photos! This banding is typical of the wolf sable colour pattern. The overall colour looks a lot lighter in the dogs we have been discussing, because they are basically white (I'm presuming yours is the same and was born white, with patching) and the coloured hairs start to appear on the white background at a couple of weeks old, and gradually increase as the dog gots older. This is the same 'ticking' gene that gives the Dalmatian his spots. Dalmatians just have modifying genes that group the ticks into spots. Other breeds that have your type of ticking are Australian Cattle Dogs, English Setters and Border Collies, nicely illustrated in Snorri's photos.
Hi DK. Is your GSD normal black & tan or 'sable'? There is often this banding on B&T pattern too, particularly the faded type which is common in GSDs. Elairs. Are there any of those banded guard hairs that are white on the tip. Not asking you to check the whole dog just have a quick look
Hi Pod Yes, Trouble is basically white with some patching. He has a mask which is dark oon one half of his face and lighter on the other, the darker colour shows under the white. His grey undercoat runs from behind his ears, right along his back and down his tail like a broad stripe, but covered by long white guard hairs. Where his coat is patched is where the dark guard hairs are with the white banding and on the white parts of him is where the white guard hairs are with dark band but white tipped. When I get my new camera battery, I will try and get pics of the white tipped hair for you. Elaine
ElaiRs, your NI's coat looks the same as Sapphire, on Sapphire the dark stripe only goes to the base of her tail, then the black spot that is growing out is only on the guard hairs, I've never seen another dog the same colour before. Now I know there are at least 2 of them
Here is a full body shot of Trouble showing the patching and mask. You can see where the mask is hidden under the white on one side. His patches are larger than Sapphire's. He also used to have the mottled look but grew out of that by the time he was 4yrs old. It wasnt as distinct as Sapphire's though but lovely all the same. You can still see it but not clearly when he has his full winter coat. He also had slightly darker patches on his hindquarters which have faded also. Sapphire is very pretty
he is lovely, and he has a nice thick fluffy coat like Sapphire, yesterday a girl asked me if she was a polar bear! I normally get asked if she is a wolf or husky, but never polar bear before
