german shepherd puppy with white markings - Page 3

OGBS,that's why Enie Loeb was all about,trying to improve the breed in USA.I remember only few breeders who imported some very top German dogs and use them in own breedings and bred very nice dogs with very good temperament .One of them was Totana Piper Hill which was own by Frank Lopez and Barbara Woelfel.Frank was gifted for this breed he knew where to find and get good dog. He imported some really nice dogs from Germany.They both title many dogs and won all the major shows in USA.Frank passed away long time ago,but Barbara is in late 70s and she is still breeding and showing.I saw her in Dallas last year at the NASS and she is still in excellent desposition,too bad they don't make people like Barbara anymore.What a sweetheart she always was and still is.They had some of the best dogs in USA,but they always treaded everybody with respect.Breedings dogs was a hobby and passion not a way to make money or living of it for them.I see these days that some breeders saying on their website that they consider breeding dogs as a business.I personally would never buy a dog from them.Breeding dogs is a passion,art, not a way to make money.I might be an old fashion guy like Barbara or Frank,but that's my principles and  nothing is going to change it.

OP Welcome to the GSD world. Your pup is very cute and it makes my heart happy to hear how much you love her.

The chances are the white will not fade that much because of the extent of it. While it is NOT related to the white gene it may well be Irish Spotting as some have suggested. I will say this tho in 50+ years of GSD most Irish spotting is small and disappears by week 12. I have seen a number of pups with more extensive white markings and I think it is quite possible it may be coming from a different genetic spot since these markings are larger and more persistent and often involve a large  white chest spot - clearly  remaining in adult hood. I remember one bitch nicknamed sneakers because of all four feet being white - actually she should have been named boots  as the white went up about 3/4's of the leg. I think a different inheritance path is possible for 3 reasons. 1. true Irish spotting does disappear  usually by 12 weeks - and note it goes away not just covered up 2. The larger mismarkings are more persistent and 3. seem to follow certain family lines.

For Sunny and others re the fading color - there is a fading gene - Cobert's Reno of Lakeside carried it tho his full siblings did not seem to to my knowledge. Not unusal to see some of his older bitches looking like those in the photos. Interestingly I only remember bitches hmm.

OP What is important is to love her and have fun with her. I recommend taking her to a puppy class - nothing heavy duty just learning to learn. If you let us know where you are we can help you find a good GSD trainer. Also suggest a job or a sport. Nowa days there is a wealth of opportunity - agility, obedience, rally, schutzhund, tracking and my favorit of all herding.

Please keep us posted on how it goes. Good luck.

Shatterhand - lol at your memories or Frank and Barbara . Mine include them trying to sell me a  8 mo old "show quality" bitch who was missing somewhere between 4 to 6 teeth. Hard to count cause the temperament also wasn't the best but one side was missing at least 3 in a row leaving a rather gaping hole. Guess they figured I wouldn't notice. Needless to say, politely said thanks for your time and left.

OGBS. If you are going to post PLEASE PLEASE only post valid good info. Your statement about the white gene and this pups markings was totally OFF the mark - yes pun intended.

More serious was the statement re Bernd Kallengarten bringing the black gene to America. I previously addressed that particular piece of misinformation here http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/forum.read?mnr=222955-some-breed-history&pagen=2 please check it out.

Duplicate - my apologies

@Tig:  'Fading pigment'  (not sure if that's ONE gene responsible, or

if it is polygenetic)  on THIS side of the Pond goes back to "CH.  Avon

Prince of Alumvale ".  Not sure if his and Reno's ancestry has been

traced to a point where any one earlier German dog is identified as the

source;  bit of research for a wet afternoon ?  LOL

TIG i can tell only from my own experience with Barbara or Frank,and was a good one.How many teeth was this dog missing you were trying to buy from them 4 or 6 you are not even sure,next time when you make up stories be more specific,this way the story will look more true.Beside in 8 months old dog the teeth can still grow.Have a nice day TIG.

White spots ARE considered a fault, but a minor fault. We don´t want to see them, but a good dog still is a good dog, ( small ) white spots or not.
For a working dog the color simply is not important.

shatterhand, just because your experiences were positive does not rule out someone else's having been less than such. As for TIG's approximation of the number of missing teeth, she qualified that she wasn't able to get an accurate count because the prospect's temperment didn't allow for a detailed dental inventory. I have no reason to doubt TIG's character, and she has no reason to 'make up stories'; perhaps the individuals referred to hadn't been able to check the number of teeth the dog had, either, and weren't aware of any being missing.  It's not unusual for people to identify a pup as a show-prospect based on the dog's outward appearance and structure, though in truth one really shouldn't tout a dog as being such unless they've verified the dentition is correct and both testicles are descended securely into the scrotum [if it's a male], given that without those basics it doesn't matter how well the animal fits the standard in other ways.

'Amen' to that post, Hexe !