Labradoodle Sable Color

 

The Sable Labradoodle

Sable is when each single hair is banded by color , each hair has two colors. One color is typically at the end of the strand and is typically black or brown and the other color is at the root end and can be red, tan, or apricot.

Since the top inch of hair or so is the darker color, at birth a sable labradoodle will appear black or chocolate. It is not until the hair grows to be about an inch long that you can see the change in color along the strand. There are times I can see a slight variation in color at birth, but most of the time it is not until the puppy is about 6 weeks old.

The definition of a sable pattern refers to the hairs being tipped with black or chocolate.   Some dogs like the German Shepard shed hair so these sable dogs always have new hair growth and that new growth has the black tip.  The Labradoodle does not shed (as much as a dog does not shed) and therefore when you groom the dog you are cutting the darker tips off.  The darker tips will only reappear on a hair that is new growth (so a hair that has been pulled out and is actually re growing from the beginning).  A groomed Sable Labradoodle looks red or tan. To get the dog to always show the outer color as much as possible you can brush the dog often. This will pull out hair at the roots and each new hair will grow in with a dark tip.

The difficulty for us is determining exactly what color the dog will turnout at birth. We make a guess at birth based on the known genetics of the parents. Any dog we breed who is related to Charlie (Thelma, Luna, River, Jojo) or bred to Sully can be sable and the answer is always a wonderful surprise.

To describe the genetics:

Genetically, the Sable Labradoodle can have a single Sable (ay) allele or have two Sable alleles (ay,ay) ether way the dog will be sable.  Some sables have other genes that mask the sable resulting in a solid color.

Other genetics can also accompany the Sable genetics. A Sable Labradoodle can come with a black mask and tail (usually does) or not and other genetics like Parti (half white) can also be visable.  There are many variations.

The picture above is a Sable Parti with a Black Mask from Thelma and Sully.

Below are two photos of the same Sable labradoodle with a Black mask (same dog at 6 weeks and 6 months)

The mask is yet another allele, Em, and shows up as a black muzzle and black portion of the tail.  Although the dog is a sable these black hairs remain black.  Although the mask (Em) is a different allele than the sable(Ay) it tends to stick with the sable ay allele so rarely does a white dog have a black mask, at least in this breed. 

If you are interested in Labradoodle genetics we like this link Color Genetics in Dogs

Below pictured is the same sable labradoodle.