What is sable. I am new to the breed and have over the past two years or so been following this forum. I have heard the term mentioned, but am unclear as to what exactly it means. Any information is appreciated.

A hair (usually a guard hair) that is "tipped" another color.

It can mean different things in different breeds. The previous poster is right though. You see it mentioned in collies but the brown collies and shelties are all called sables even when only a few of them have black tipped hairs. It isn't a color in Labradors, but could be used when talking about the shading in yellows. I believe the term chincilla is used in this instance though.

Sable usually refers to a phenotype at the A locus. The ay (y should be a superscript) allele causes the black tipped brown hairs described by other posters. This allele is not supposed to occur in Labs, which all have the dominant Y gene for black color. However, I have read on another list serve that very rarely two supposedly yellow Labs produce a black puppy and that the yellow color in Labs might be caused by the sable gene in rare instances. One parent would be AAee, the usual yellow genotype, and the other ay ay EE. The puppies would be A ay Ee adn would be black, having the dominant allele at both loci. I will be convinced that this gene occurs in Labs when I see a black pup from two DNA tested yellow parents.

Peggy - you made my head hurt! (at first)
But after I read it a couple of times - I think I get it!
Thanks - Bibsmom

Go to big sky's sable @ www.bigsky labradors.com you will see sable there, she's a nice girl.

http://www.brownhillshepherds.com/LUCAS.htm

Here is a random German Shepherd site that I found. Sable is a recognized/normal color in that breed.

To begin the web address you posted is wrong. It is http://www.bigskylabs.com/ but why are you sending people there to see a bitch by that name? She is not the color that was mentioned.

Big Sky Labradors, you have a pretty chocolate girl {Not Sable coloured!}



That's one silly thing to do.

Basically they are two different genes, and if the dominant allele (form of the gene- yellow and black are caused by alleles at the same locus, as are chocolate and black) is present at both loci you get black. If either locus has two recessive alleles you get the brown or yellow color. It is behaving just like chocolate and yellow except that the colors produced by the recessive are more similar.

Hello Steven & Shari,

I would also have to agree, your SABLE is stunning and perhaps one of the nicest chocolate girls around.

Congratulations.

Woohoo! I'm Sable's biggest fan!!


Geeeeeeet yer I SABLE T-shirts here!!!

I got an email this morning making reference to our SABLE on the forum, so we quickly came in for a look.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for the nice words about our beloved Sable. She is such a spoiled rotten thing (sorry , Shari), but she is remarkable and brings us joy every single day.

Thanks again.

Emily, I will buy one of your shirts.