Hey guys, I have a friend who is a registered breeder that has just had a litter of German Shepherd pups. 4 males and 3 females in total. The father is a German Import with nice dark pigment and the mother has good pigment as well. I am a big fan of the dark mask that many German Shepherds have, and my question is, how can I determine what the pigment in a 8 week old puppy will be when it is fully grown. These dogs are black and tan pups, and both parents have good colouring so I assume that all puppies will inherit this trait, but is there anything that you can look at in a puppy to estimate the strength and level of pigment? I asked a friend of mine who is very experienced with DDR german shepherds, and he said in working dogs, the most important thing is to look at the nails, if the pup has black nails, it will have a strong overall pigmentation. The only thing I'm certain about is the black spots on the tounge, if a puppy has that, it is an indicator of strong pigment. If any German Shepherd owners/breeders, or any breed for that matter has any knowledge and experience in this, I would greatly appreciate it.
Regards;
Will.