German Shorthaired Pointer Color Chart by Nosam Kennels
(This chart was stolen off my old website without Credit many many times. If you use it please give us credit)
GSP Color Info
Liver roan is the most popular color we and we get asked for it about 90% of the time. However we do not focus on color as a priority but health, temperament and hunting ability. A good dog cannot come in a bad color! The coat pattern of GSPs can be quite varied ranging from solid to one with markings. The coat color of the purebred GSP will be liver and white or black and white but not a combination of liver, black and white. Some shade of liver may be very dark but the color of the dog's nose will indicate whether it is a liver dog i.e. brown nose for a brown dog or black nose for a black dog. A dog with any area of red, orange, lemon or tan, or a dog solid white will be disqualified.
Color Genetics
Black is dominant over Liver
Roan is dominant over White Solid is dominant over Patched
Two livers cannot produce black
Two blacks can produce liver if one or both parents carry the liver gene
Black GSPS - What's the deal
Black GSPs were accepted as standard by the GSPCA in 2022. Prior to this they were non-standard and were not able to compete in Conformation events in AKC. However, Black GSPs have been largely accepted by every other club even the mother land of Germany. The black DQ was voted to be removed in 2022 by members of the GSPCA. Nosam was proud to have been a voting member and help make history.
However, black GSPs are not rare and breeders should not be advertising them as rare or charging more for the color. Anyone charging more for a dog based on color is NOT reputable.
Buying a puppy Based On Color
Many people focus on looks when choosing a dog. This is the last thing you should consider. First choose a breed that fits your lifestyle then focus on finding a puppy that fits your needs.
Ask yourself why you chose this breed?
What are you looking for in a puppy? If you focus solely on color and patterns you may be waiting a long time to find the perfect puppy and passing up puppies that would be a great fit just because they are not the ideal color. Choosing the right breeder should be your first concern.
Did You Know?
With the exception of solid Liver or Solid Black dogs, GSP puppies are born white with whatever patches they will have and their roaning or ticking comes in as they age. Puppies will darken up to 6 months of age. Below are some examples of how they change from birth to about 16 weeks. So we will not know how much ticking a puppy will have at birth but we can usually get a pretty good idea before they are ready to leave!
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