The Sable Poodle

DEFINITION OF SABLE: A coat represented by black-tipped hairs on a background of any solid color, with no particular pattern/location designated for such hairs.


I would change the above definition to say dark tipped hairs. I have seen sables that have been tipped with other colors other than black, such as dark brown or even blue.


This color comes from the wolf. If you were to look at a single hair from a sable you would see that this hair is multi-colored. The tip of the hair would be dark and the base would be a lighter color. Keep in mind that this is only on a PUPPY sable poodle, not on an adult sable poodle that has been cut or shaved at all. Because a poodles hair never stops growing, these dark tips will eventually dissapear due to the trimming or cutting of the hair. Thus eventually leading to a sable poodle looking as a solid color as they age. You may see that some sables keep the dark tipping in their ears. This is usually due to the fact that most people let the fringe on the ear leather just grow and do not cut it. However if the ears have been trimmed or cut in any way the ears will appear as solid as the rest of the dog.
You also have to realize that sable is a fading color. Meaning that the color a sable puppy appears as a puppy is much, much darker than the appearance of the adult sable.