# Sable coat colour changes



## Eveningpiper (Sep 23, 2015)

Here are some pictures of our Ruby's coat colour changes in just 3 months. She is a Red Sable and you can see that the mahogany red fur that she had at birth is growing out to just the tips and now she is a bit mousy brown. But the undercoat is coming in golden red. Stay tuned. 

I can't seem to post multiple pictures in one post so I will post a series of photos. Let me know if there is a tip for posting multiple photos in one post.


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## Eveningpiper (Sep 23, 2015)

Coat colour at 3 months


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## Eveningpiper (Sep 23, 2015)

Signs of golden red in undercoat that is starting to come in.


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## Karen Collins (Mar 21, 2013)

Coat color change is fascinating. Thanks for the pics. 

You can drag and drop multiple pics in the same thread. Just keep adding pics to the same drag and drop box.


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

Pretty girl! Love the different colors in her coat.


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Truffles was a dark chocolate as a puppy. Her color now looks like your second picture. We still can't figure out exactly what it is. It's a different color. We think it's chocolate and white.


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

Thank you for sharing the pictures! I love seeing the changes.


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## Cbelknap (Sep 17, 2014)

Love your photos! How adorable!

Our Molly is also a red sable. She has lightened quite a bit over the past year. Here are a few photos which were taken at 3 months, 6 months and at one year.


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## Dee Dee (Jul 24, 2015)

These guys are soo cute!! I almost got Sophie's sable brother because she wasn't available but then she became available...the breeder said he'd end up pure white. Such interesting color changes in this breed.


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## boomana (Jul 9, 2015)

Love the pics! Molly got gorgeous throughout her changes. My dark chocolate girl is changing as well, but it's weird. Her head one month ago was almost orange red, but the roots growing out are now a very dark brown. Her body is a very dark brown, but the roots are a mousey brown, with a few real white hairs coming in on her tail. I have no idea what color she'll end up. It's fascinating.


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Molly is such a pretty girl! Amazing how they change.


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## Laurmann2000 (Sep 12, 2015)

It's really amazing how their color changes. That third picture of Ruby is fascinating in how her hair near the skin looks so red. It sure will be interesting to see what color she ends up being. She looks so cute and fluffy in that last picture. And Molly is beautiful. I really like her dark muzzle and ear tips. Wonder if she'll stay like that. From what I've been reading it seems they can change color almost through their lives.


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

Molly is really beautiful!


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## Eveningpiper (Sep 23, 2015)

Eveningpiper said:


> Here are some pictures of our Ruby's coat colour changes in just 3 months. She is a Red Sable and you can see that the mahogany red fur that she had at birth is growing out to just the tips and now she is a bit mousy brown. But the undercoat is coming in golden red. Stay tuned.


I asked the Groomer to cut her a little shorter this month so that the full glory of that red undercoat could be revealed. I love it!


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

She is a beauty!


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Such a pretty girl!


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## Chris TO (Jan 1, 2016)

It will be very interesting to see what Maggie looks like in a few months ..... She is listed a red sable with white but the roots are pretty much solid red. Our breeder says if we want to retain the black on her ears we shouldn't cut her hair as it likely wont come back.


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## Chris TO (Jan 1, 2016)

Eveningpiper said:


> Here are some pictures of our Ruby's coat colour changes in just 3 months. She is a Red Sable and you can see that the mahogany red fur that she had at birth is growing out to just the tips and now she is a bit mousy brown. But the undercoat is coming in golden red. Stay tuned.
> 
> I can't seem to post multiple pictures in one post so I will post a series of photos. Let me know if there is a tip for posting multiple photos in one post.


Eveningpiper, Its amazing how similar our pups looked when they were very young !

Beth uses the same carpet for all her puppy pictures


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Some (many) red sables don't hold their color as they mature. But a lot of Beth's do. 

"Sable" is the gene that causes the black tips on the hair. The amont of dark that stays through the dog's life is very variable, and can come and go theough the dog's life. 

A "clear" red would not have any black tips, even at birth.


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## Raffi'sMom (Jan 25, 2016)

Ruby and Molly are both beautiful. I find these changes so interesting. Until I found this forum I had no idea they could change so much.


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## Lisa T. (Feb 5, 2015)

Ruby and Molly are beautiful.


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## Dee Dee (Jul 24, 2015)

They are gorgeous! I would have loved a sable but knew a lot of them turn white which I also love but didn't want the exposure issues of white for photos. But they are beautiful no matter what.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Dee Dee said:


> They are gorgeous! I would have loved a sable but knew a lot of them turn white which I also love but didn't want the exposure issues of white for photos. But they are beautiful no matter what.


I love sables too, and would love one (someday lol!)... there are families that are known to hold their color. Pixel's mother and aunt are both beautiful dark sables, and her brother is also.


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## Cbelknap (Sep 17, 2014)

Thank you for all the sweet compliments about Molly. We do love her color and hope it stays.

All this talk about sables made me start thinking about Max. I never thought about him being a "sable"... but the black tips on his ears and his black muzzle have really faded over the past year. The breeder chose "fawn" as his color on the AKC paperwork. What do you think? What color is this little guy? He sure looks different today compared to the day we brought him home. 

Could I have two sable dogs ... a fawn sable and a red sable? 

Here are photos at 3 months, 6 months and 1 year old.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Cbelknap said:


> Thank you for all the sweet compliments about Molly. We do love her color and hope it stays.
> 
> All this talk about sables made me start thinking about Max. I never thought about him being a "sable"... but the black tips on his ears and his black muzzle have really faded over the past year. The breeder chose "fawn" as his color on the AKC paperwork. What do you think? What color is this little guy? He sure looks different today compared to the day we brought him home.
> 
> ...


Genetically, I'm sure he's a sable.


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

I think Max is a sable - and really cute!


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## Dee Dee (Jul 24, 2015)

They are all SO so cute! 
I actually had my name on a sable boy since Sophie wasn't available. This is a line that doesn't hold the color so I just kept fretting about it plus I had really wanted a girl. Thankfully Sophie suddenly became available again (meant to be!!) but here is little Elmo. I'm sure he's quite light now, about the color around his eyes.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Dee Dee said:


> They are all SO so cute!
> I actually had my name on a sable boy since Sophie wasn't available. This is a line that doesn't hold the color so I just kept fretting about it plus I had really wanted a girl. Thankfully Sophie suddenly became available again (meant to be!!) but here is little Elmo. I'm sure he's quite light now, about the color around his eyes.


There really is nothing cuter than a sable puppy... It's no wonder they are so popular!


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## Karen Collins (Mar 21, 2013)

krandall said:


> There really is nothing cuter than a sable puppy... It's no wonder they are so popular!


I agree Karen! Blossom has dark eye pigment and black tipped eye lashes on a light face so that she looks like she's wearing eyeliner and mascara! Of course, I didn't choose her. Her breeder picked her out as the show/breed pick of the litter and she just happens to be a pretty little thing.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Karen Collins said:


> I agree Karen! Blossom has dark eye pigment and black tipped eye lashes on a light face so that she looks like she's wearing eyeliner and mascara! Of course, I didn't choose her. Her breeder picked her out as the show/breed pick of the litter and she just happens to be a pretty little thing.


Yes, I love the reds, and I'd love a sable that kept some color. I didn't REALLY want an all-black (or MOSTLY black!) puppy. But there WAS a sable (a boy) in Pixel's litter, and we (Pam and I) picked Pixel for me anyway!  And we just adore her. She's got the world's sweetest little face under all that black hair!


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## Lisa T. (Feb 5, 2015)

Max looks like a sable to me. I just love sables. I'm hoping to get one someday. I originally was going to go with a female sable, but Rudy came available and he was a perfect match for our family. ❤❤❤


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

I have no idea what Willow is. I have a copy of the puppy evaluation and she is referred to as a brindle parti. Then I have her pedigree papers that refer to her as white with silver tips. I have a link to her puppy picture and if you are able to open it I would love to hear what you think she is. https://www.facebook.com/RollingHea...0.1454174144./392348854237313/?type=3&theater

She doesn't look at all like her picture at two weeks. She now is mostly white with black in her ears and some on her back plus she has kind of an apricot at the base of her hears and down her back.


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## Dee Dee (Jul 24, 2015)

Oh look at baby Willow! What a doll! 
She really has lost her darker markings hasn't she. I LOVE her dark tipped ears. You are right you wouldn't know she was the same dog by her puppy pics but she has turned into a GORGEOUS young lady. I have had a Great Dane and 2 longhaired doxies and there was no color change at all, Havanese are like little chameleons!


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## Chris TO (Jan 1, 2016)

Looking at these pics I'm even more confused about what Maggie will look like within a few months .... It seems most of the dark puppy colours fade over time. Can the colour of the parents give you some idea what they will look like as adults? Or is that a crap shoot as well?


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## Dee Dee (Jul 24, 2015)

Some lines hold color more than others. Looking at the parents can give a clue but nothing is set in stone. If possible talk to the breeder who should be able to tell you if their line holds color or not. 
Here is a picture of Sophie's uncle. He was born jet black and is 17 months old in this photo. He'll end up the color of his legs are here, all over. Havanese are full of surprises!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Jackie from Concrete said:


> I have no idea what Willow is. I have a copy of the puppy evaluation and she is referred to as a brindle parti. Then I have her pedigree papers that refer to her as white with silver tips. I have a link to her puppy picture and if you are able to open it I would love to hear what you think she is. https://www.facebook.com/RollingHea...0.1454174144./392348854237313/?type=3&theater
> 
> She doesn't look at all like her picture at two weeks. She now is mostly white with black in her ears and some on her back plus she has kind of an apricot at the base of her hears and down her back.


Brindle is very much like sable in that the dogs can either hold a lot of color or fade to almost white. The difference is that in brindle, the puppies actually have striping, like a brindle of a short haired breed like a brindle Great Dane or Whippet. As the hair grows, however, the striping gets hidden and less distinct, even if it doesn't lighten.

What I don't quite understand is where the dark down Willow's back came from, because in her baby photo, that part of her os white. (Except the the one dark spot)


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Chris TO said:


> Looking at these pics I'm even more confused about what Maggie will look like within a few months .... It seems most of the dark puppy colours fade over time. Can the colour of the parents give you some idea what they will look like as adults? Or is that a crap shoot as well?


The trouble is, there are all these modifier genes in Havanese that other breeds don't have. Thatgives us all our different color possibilities, and also the color CHANGES over the life of a dog. Some lines are more predictable than others... As Dee Dee daid,your breeder is probably the best source of "best guess" information, but even that's not set in stone... They can still surprise you!


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## Karen Collins (Mar 21, 2013)

krandall said:


> Brindle is very much like sable in that the dogs can either hold a lot of color or fade to almost white. The difference is that in brindle, the puppies actually have striping, like a brindle of a short haired breed like a brindle Great Dane or Whippet.


I get very confused about sables and brindles. In TTs (who have pretty much the same coloring possibilities as Havs) A sable is usually black tips on a lighter color coat, with no black on the legs and underbelly. And a brindle is all over black stripes or splotches including the legs and underbelly and almost always has a black mask. Both do usually fade to white, silver or cream. But I don't think a sable ever has the black mask. So, I'm in the habit of calling anything with a black mask a brindle. I keep rereading the Havanese Colors and it isn't sinking in. :frusty:


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Jackie from Concrete said:


> I have no idea what Willow is. I have a copy of the puppy evaluation and she is referred to as a brindle parti. Then I have her pedigree papers that refer to her as white with silver tips. I have a link to her puppy picture and if you are able to open it I would love to hear what you think she is. https://www.facebook.com/RollingHea...0.1454174144./392348854237313/?type=3&theater
> 
> She doesn't look at all like her picture at two weeks. She now is mostly white with black in her ears and some on her back plus she has kind of an apricot at the base of her hears and down her back.


Baby Willow changed...So cute! She almost looks like a sable with her darker tips.


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

krandall said:


> What I don't quite understand is where the dark down Willow's back came from, because in her baby photo, that part of her os white. (Except the the one dark spot)


Well, the stripe down her back really isn't dark. In fact it is now lighter than the picture of her that appears under my name. Now the stripe is more of a champagne or apricot color with a few black or silver hairs. It's more pronounced when her hair is longer. Plus her ears are showing more of that same apricot color than they used to.


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## Lisa T. (Feb 5, 2015)

Willow is adorable. Do you have s current picture of her?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Jackie from Concrete said:


> Well, the stripe down her back really isn't dark. In fact it is now lighter than the picture of her that appears under my name. Now the stripe is more of a champagne or apricot color with a few black or silver hairs. It's more pronounced when her hair is longer. Plus her ears are showing more of that same apricot color than they used to.


Right, but it's not at all typical for the dog to develop ANY color (other than Belton spots if they carry the Belton gene) in the areas where they were white when they were born. Because white is "absence of pigment", not a pigment that can change. So Willow is extremely unusual in that perspective, no matter what the color down her back is!


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

Lisa T. said:


> Willow is adorable. Do you have s current picture of her?


I tried to "drag and drop" a file with her picture but it tells me it's too big and I don't know how to make it smaller! I've never tried to add a picture to my post as I don't know how! :frown2:


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## Lisa T. (Feb 5, 2015)

I'm not sure how to make the picture smaller.
Click Go advanced, then click the paperclip icon to upload picture from your saved photos. Then click upload.


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## Lisa T. (Feb 5, 2015)

Here is another picture of Rudy.


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

You can do it if I can! First click on Go Advanced on the bottom of the page. Then click the little paper clip above. Click on Choose a File. I find it easy to go to my downloads to find a photo. Click on the photo and then Choose. Close the page which will bring you back to the the HF page. Click on Up Load next to Choose a File. Then go back to your message and click on the little paper clip and the picture will be added to your message. You can add more pictures by going back to Choose a File. After you do it once it is pretty easy. There probably is an easier way, but this works. :biggrin1:


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Lisa T. said:


> Here is another picture of Rudy.


Such a cutie pie!


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## Lisa T. (Feb 5, 2015)

Close window, then scroll down to bottom to preview or submit.

I need to figure out how to rotate the picture.


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Does anyone know how to add a video?


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## Dee Dee (Jul 24, 2015)

Rudy you are a CUTIE Rudy the Cutie! <3


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

Here you go Lisa! My pictures come out upside down when I post from my Ipad. I just copied this and rotated it.


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## Dee Dee (Jul 24, 2015)

Awww he's even cuter sunny side up!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Heather Glen said:


> Does anyone know how to add a video?


There IS a way, but ti's complicated I just upload them to YouTube and put a link here.


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## Lisa T. (Feb 5, 2015)

Thank you. I'm still learning.


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

I am definitely computer challenged! I tried YouTube and failed.


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

I am also a member of the "computer challenged" club. I can only do the bare minimum on these forums. If my picture I post comes out upside down and I can't fix it I just choose another picture and keep trying until I get one to work!


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Molly120213 said:


> I am also a member of the "computer challenged" club. I can only do the bare minimum on these forums. If my picture I post comes out upside down and I can't fix it I just choose another picture and keep trying until I get one to work!


Nice to know I'm not the only one!


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

Ok - after reading your picture posting instructions, here is my attempt at a picture of Willow. The one I'm choosing shows the coloring on her back.









It worked!!!!! :laugh2: Thanks!


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## Lisa T. (Feb 5, 2015)

I love her coloring.


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

Lisa T. said:


> I love her coloring.


Thank you! The coloring on her back can appear lighter or darker, depending on the light. Kind of weird!


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Jackie from Concrete said:


> Ok - after reading your picture posting instructions, here is my attempt at a picture of Willow. The one I'm choosing shows the coloring on her back.
> 
> View attachment 108402
> 
> ...


I knew you could do it! :biggrin1: Pretty apricot color!


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## Dee Dee (Jul 24, 2015)

Oh she is so pretty! I love her coloring also. Is her coat fairly curly? She looks so soft.


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## Jackie from Concrete WA (Mar 23, 2015)

Dee Dee said:


> Oh she is so pretty! I love her coloring also. Is her coat fairly curly? She looks so soft.


She is quite curly and wavy, especially if she gets wet and I don't blow dry her. The groomer can get her to look really poofy with the hair almost straight. Yes, she is very soft. Her hair is really fine and silky. It's a little coarser on her back but still soft.


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