Do German Shepherd puppies change color? Yes, as they grow, these puppies naturally change their coats.
If you own or plan to have a German Shepherd puppy, don’t think its coat color is permanent. Expect a dramatic coat change as it turns into an adult.
It’s what makes them unique from other breeds. Do you ever wonder how these puppies go through color changes?
Different Stages in a German Shepherd Puppy’s Coat Life
You will see noticeable changes in your puppy's fur color on its face, neck, saddle or upper limb, and legs. You can witness these fun replacements of colors until your dog reaches two years old.
They naturally change their overall appearance as they age. Even the color of their eyes changes, too!
Puppy fur colors don’t necessarily involve a precise chemical change. Adult coats simply replace them gradually as they grow.
Here are the different stages in your dog’s coat life:
At Birth
Most German Shepherds are born with overall black color. When you see a newborn puppy, it will be hard to tell what its dominant color will be.
There are also German Shepherd puppies that are born with overall white color, which is an exception. White pups will stay all white until adulthood.
At Age 0 to 2 Weeks
At this age, changes to the puppy coat begin. Some keen dog breeders can tell if the German Shepherd puppy will have an all-black coat or change its color.
Aside from coat color, you can also tell at this point if your dog will have short, medium, or long coats.
At 3 to 8 Weeks
This is the time when you can see the significant change in a German Shepherd’s coat. They may turn all black, or their color may develop a darker or lighter color.
At 4 to 6 Months
When German Shepherd puppies turn four to six months old, they start to shed off their puppy furs. As a result, their coats gradually become thicker and denser as well.
At 7 to 18 Months
This is the rapid growing and shedding stage of your dog’s coat. By this time, you can see your puppy develop into an adult dog.
However, you must expect that your dog’s coat will still change at 18 months of age. There will be small or drastic changes, and at this stage, you can usually tell what the dominant color of your dog will be.
At 19 to 24 Months
Your German Shepherd’s permanent color is revealed beginning at 19 weeks until your dog reaches two years old. This is one of the most exciting stages.
You can certainly tell if it has turned out to be black, black and tan, gray, or sable.
10 Most Popular Colors of German Shepherds
The early breeds of German Shepherds are black and tan. You can often see them in the show ring. However, the original color of German Shepherds is sable because they were bred as working dogs. Nowadays, there are a lot of colors that German Shepherds can have.
1. Black and Tan
When you think of a German Shepherd, the first picture that comes into your mind is black and tan. That’s because it’s the most common color combination.
The black appears mostly on the upper limb and their faces, while the dominant color for the chest, neck, and underbellies is tan.
2. Black and Red
For this one, the black color mostly appears on the saddle or upper limb and face. The chest and underbellies, however, will have a dark red appearance.
3. Black
The dog has a pure black coat, and it is very rare. The American Kennel Club considers Black German Shepherds as purebred.
You cannot see any visible color on them aside from black. Their origins are either both black parents or black and tan.
4. Bi-color
Bi-color dogs are those that have a dominant black coat color with a sign of another color. Their face, legs, and feet may have minimal color variation.
5. White
White German Shepherds are attractive and normally have fluffy coats when they’re puppies. Their white fur isn’t due to a defect in genes. They are bred intentionally.
6. Gray
German Shepherds with gray color have a distinctive appearance. A dog’s coat appears gray due to a mixture of dark pigment genes. They’re the color of choice for most dog lovers.
7. Liver
Yes, there’s such thing as liver color among German Shepherds.
It’s a rare color. You will see the whole body of the dog with the dominant liver color. You can see most of them in dog shows.
8. Panda
Who’d think that German Shepherds have a panda color? Its coat is literally like that of a panda! This is a purebred dog and not a combination of parents with different color breeds.
The rare gene altercations are responsible for its cute color. The coat appears to have more black and tan colors and a few white spots.
9. Sable
Sable is one of the most popular colors of German Shepherds. You can mostly see this coat color with the working lines of German Shepherds.
All sables don’t look exactly like the others. You will see that their color isn’t that solid at all because every single hair of them has a black tip, while the rest of the hair can be gray or tan.
10. Red Sable
Red sables are rare breeds. They are sold expensive because of their unique color.
The red and brown color spreads through the dog’s body. It resembles a rich brownish-red coat. Its fur has black tips.
When Does a German Shepherd Adopt a Permanent Color?
At 24 months, German Shepherds generally tend to stop changing their colors. If you notice an excessive change in color at this point, consult your veterinarian for immediate assessment. There might be some underlying conditions that you need to address.
All canine friends are great companions. When you own a German Shepherd, you will be amazed at how they change their colors into adulthood.
Each German Shepherd has its unique coat color. The genes have the biggest impact on their color. The most important thing to note is that you own a healthy and happy German Shepherd regardless of its color.
Paul has been creating content for the dog niche for many years. The information he shares comes his first hand experience growing up in dog lovers household and then owning multiple dog breeds of his own as an adult. Paul enjoys doing the hard research to collect, analyze and present our dogtemperament.com readers with the best answers to their questions.