Black German Shepherd Dogs are rare. Since most breeders have no way to predict when a dog’s hair will be black, most people have to either get lucky or remain on the lookout for a black German Shepherd.
A common scenario
A breeder may breed a Black German Shepherd with a Sable German Shepherd. If the sable carries the recessive gene for black hair, there’s a small chance the pup may have black hair as well. That’s because both parents would have the recessive gene for black hair. You can read much more about exactly how this works here on this page which thoroughly explains what a black German Shepherd is.
Most breeders do not breed for color
99.99% of German Shepherd breeders do not breed for color. These are generally breeders which produce quality, German line working line sable dogs. They’ll still pop out a black GSD from time to time.
There are indeed a handful of good breeders using proven Kkl1 dogs who study genetics and produce black German Shepherd puppies. Expect dogs like this to run around $4,000.
Breeders who attempt to have black pups
Most breeders who have no clue what they’re doing hope for a black puppy in hopes they can get a few extra bucks for them. They will, but in the process they produce several sable dogs. Unfortunately, they rush to get rid of these dogs and they end up in the hands of people who do not expect a high drive dog and have to put the dog down or up for adoption.
Adopting a black German Shepherd
One of the best ways to get a black German Shepherd is to adopt one. Just like any other color GSD, black GSDs pop up at rescues often. Here’s one we saw on Twitter July 2018:
Your options for getting a black German Shepherd include:
- Get lucky, and get one from a trusted breeder, which will likely run you $1000-$2000.
- Buy a pre-planned black GSD @ $4000.
- Buy one from some backyard breeder who doesn’t care about health, structure, temperament or titles.
- Adopt a black GSD!