GALLERY 13 - SABLE COLOUR DEVELOPMENT
One of the most intriguing facets of Havanese is that their coat colours can change. Some change a little, some change a lot, and others change not at all. Colour change can start as early as a few days after birth. The Sable Havanese has one of the most changeable coats. Many Sable Havanese change significantly; the adult appearance is very different from that of a puppy. On this gallery, you can watch Sarah from Cubanitas Havanese, as she grows from birth to 18 months and see how dramatically her sable coat changes.
NEWBORN
At birth, Sarah was the colour of cola, almost as dark as her black littermate. Sarah has one little white paw to tell them apart.
5 MONTHS OLD
in just a few weeks, the dark tipping is much less prominent. There are still some toffee shadings in Sarah's coat but much less than before. A lot more change is still to come.
16 MONTHS OLD
In Cuba and Europe, this appealing stage
of colour development is referred to as "Cappuccino". Looking back at her earliest pictures, Sarah looks like a totally different dog.
BACK ... Gallery 12
1 MONTH OLD
Sarah's undercoat is growing in a deep toffee colour. Combined with the dark topcoat it
gives her a somewhat chocolate appearance.
8 MONTHS OLD
Most of Sarah's undercoat has lightened to cream and the black tipping has silvered away except that it remains darker on the head and top of her body.
18 MONTHS OLD
This is perhaps not the most flattering or ladylike pose but perfect to illustrate how much Sarah's coat has lightened underneath. The entire lower half of Sarah's body is now pale cream.
3 MONTHS OLD
When the wind ruffles her fur, you can easily see the much lighter undercoat while the outer hairs remain darkly tipped.
12 MONTHS OLD
While some sables stay at this stage
with a dark overlay on the head and
back, others continue to change and
lighten even further.
ALL GROWN UP
This is a close-up picture so you can see the intriguing variations in the colour in Sarah's topcoat, with just a few caramel and toffee shadings remaining under the black overlay.