Sable German Shepherd Puppies & Dogs

Throughout the last decade, Hayes Haus has bred many sable German Shepherd puppies who've been sold to loving homes across not only Massachusetts and other New England states, but across America too.

Reserve Your Sable Puppy

If you'd like to join the wait list for sable puppies, just click below and complete our puppy wait list form.

When we have sable pups ready to go home, you'll get an email from our team!

Does coat color affect GSD puppy costs?

Your puppy's color won't affect any part of the dog's price here at Hayes Haus, but many breeders do charge different prices for different coat colors. Be careful of these breeders, as they may be breeding their dogs solely for looks and appearance, rather than focusing on the dog's temperament. It's especially dangerous when suspect breeders are purposely producing blue sable puppies and similar colors with gene mutations.

Reference our German Shepherd temperament article for more information on why breeding for temperament over looks is critical if you want to consistently breed good family dogs.

Are rare sable German Shepherd colors more expensive?

As stated above, whether your puppy is sable, black, red, white, or blue shouldn't matter when it comes to price. But with this being said, many sable German Shepherd breeders do charge more for their rare puppy colors. The most common offender in the German Shepherd world is the 'White' German Shepherd breeders. Some of these breeders charge families $10,000+ just for the opportunity to own a such 'rare' breed, when in reality, this is not a color that the breed standard suggests progressing. Health issues with White GSDs are well-documented. 

But as we mentioned above, there is nothing special about these uncommon coat colors. Keep reading below and we'll explain why...

The color of your puppy goes beyond the coat color of their mother and father. It's not that random! In fact, the science behind the various German Shepherd Dog colors is extensive and a must-know for anyone deeply researching the breed. The sable gene has the most dramatic effect on what color your puppy will become. To learn why, read below...

According to Max von Stephanitz, the German Shepherd Dog's "pleasing appearance is desirable, but it can not put the dog's working ability into question." The word of Stephanitz, the original creator of the German Shepherd Dog, is important to us here at Hayes Haus. It's clear that he didn't want the breed's appearance to come in the way of their working capabilities.

American Kennel Club Standard

According to the American Kennel Clubs's breed standards for the German Shepherd, "The German Shepherd Dog varies in color, and most colors are permissible. Strong rich colors are preferred. Pale, washed-out colors and blues or livers are serious faults. A white dog must be disqualified." 

I must note here that the AKC's classification of German Shepherds can be argued because they're an organization that values appearance over looks, many times to the detriment of the breed's health.

Does the AKC prefer dark sable German Shepherd Dogs?

It's actually a bit surprising that they don't have stricter standards when it comes to German Shepherd colors. They don't note any specific restrictions when it comes to AKC-certified Sable German Shepherds, but the idea of washed-out colors being serious faults suggests they prefer darker sable German Shepherds opposed to lighter sable.

Verein für deutsche Schäferhunde (German SV Standard)

Founded in the late 1800's, the German SV is Germany's governing body for German Shepherd breed standards. 

According to the SV, the German Shepherd Dog should be categorized by the shade of their coat rather than the pigment 'color.'  They don't agree with the more American characterization of silver Shepherds, black Shepherds, blue Shepherds, etc... 

Dark, Medium, and Light Sable Coat Classifications

Germany's SV breaks down the Sable German Shepherd breed standard for color into these three classifications:

Silver Sable

Silver sable puppies have a sable coat with washed-out pigmentation. It should be noted that many breeders refer to their light sable puppies as silver sable German Shepherds...

They're characterized by a gray look, which makes sense because the word sable is German for silver.

As mentioned above, silver sable is generally interchangeable with light sable and you'll often hear dog experts referring to silver sable dogs simply as light sable.

Black Sable

The difference between black sable and silver sable is that black sable puppies have a darker coat. They're synonymous with dark sable Shepherds. When these puppies become adults, they can be confused for Black & Tan dogs from a distance but from up close, you can see a clear difference in the coat.

These dark black sable German Shepherds often come about when a black German Shepherd is bred with a sable dog that has a black sable gene (AA & AW bred with AW & AW). 

Red sable German Shepherds are not officially recognized by any governing body, including the American Kennel Club. But that doesn't mean they're a mutation-- just a nickname-- which was given because of their resemblance to Black & Red colored Shepherds.

There are many resources for finding red sable German Shepherd puppy breeders online, but because we don't breed for any specific colors, we can't guarantee any of our puppies will be red sable in the future. When looking for sable German Shepherd puppies for sale, it's easier to stick to the dark and light classifications if coat color is important to you.

Blue sable German Shepherds are a bit different than red sables in that the gene giving the dogs their blue tint is a mutation (known as an allele). According to the AKC's version of the German Shepherd breed standard, this is a major fault and not supported. .

I agree with the AKC on this because it hurts the dog breeding world if German Shepherd breeders are breeding specifically for this blue sable mutation. Why? Because if you purposely breed against mother nature over long periods of time, issues are certain to pop up. And though blue sable puppies do look cute, it's best not to risk unnecessary problems. You won't find blue sable German Shepherd puppies for sale at Hayes Haus.