GSD stuff

Jennifer, I'd send in correction papers on your dog's registration, because that is NOT a sable.

Your dog is a black and tan, and looks like she's going to end up with a saddle.  The white spot on her chest is absolutely fine, and it occurs in a great many GSDs.  Even my Strauss has one (hard to see though).

This is a sable
And this is a sable

She's not a sable? That's what the breeder told me she was. She really doesn't look like my past shepherds, which were your standard black and tan color. How long do I have to turn in change papers?
That's what I get for trusting a backyard breeder eh?
 
Edit: Actually, that's what I get for not doing more research on color! LOL, if I'd actually done more homework on color then I would have known about the white spots. I promise I really am a good mommy, lol, even if it sounds like I don't know anything, I'm devoted to making her happy.

Do you have any other pictures of her Jennifer?  Judging by the picture you showed, I'd very definitely say that she's not sable, but black and tan.
 
If there's one of her in a different light, it'd be good to see, but I'm 99.9999999% sure she's black and tan
 

My old blanket back black and tan male, Zander
 

My 9 year old black and tan male with saddle
 

My 3 year old black and tan male with saddle (Faded)

Black and Tan, possibly Black and Red......depending how dark the lighter color is.
 
The younger GSD in my pics is listed as Black and Red.

Mine is a sable, but a lighter sable (rats! I like 'em the darker the better, especially the really dark sables or blanket blacks).

Great links Xeph !
I must also chime in that it is very difficult to judge a dog color before the final juvenile molt. Color genetics are complex, there are lots of recessive gene battling around in there, the dillute gene is also
a problem because its action is so progressive. A dog may look fine when adolescent and then by a few years old he lost his mask or the sadle becomes so pale it looks at a glance like a sable.
If you get your dog from a good breeder who concentrates on structure and temperament, color might not and usually is less consistent in the genome, if somewhat consistent in appeartance, i.e. there lots of recessive genes still hagning about in there, so litter color is more a toss, even coat type (long, short, etc) In reverse  a breder breeding for color, like one concentrating on blacks, might have to be less stringent on structure or temperament. Can't have it both. A breeder breeding for whites (God forbid, but they have their fans) is even more playing russian roulette since the white is even more  rare (recessive) so the gene pool is smaller, more inbreeding, more possibilities of other genetic faults...
Other color 'faults' have been associated with more genetic problems (the black dilute or blue is also in some breeds, but less in the GSD)
Some experts say that liver dilution (brown nose, brown pads and lips) has actually less problems than once though, it was once associated with deadly genetic defects.
Pure white is associated with deafness in some breeds (white all over, not the same as albino because nose and pads remain black)
but the main reason the founder of the breed marked it as undesirable was because white is a bad color for working herders
and obviously for guide dogs and police work (less visible).
At least that is how I understand it up to know
Please Xeph, correct me if I got that wrong !!
 
For example in the litter Hans came from there was one longer haired type, one very dark, Hans who was dark but brown or faucve points on cheeks and above eyes, darker tan than usually seen. Xaver's dad has very plush coat, witohut being a longcoat, but not his mother. So Hans color might and probably pale as he matures, keeping the sadle pattern, it is very hard to know in advance if the rich color of his ancestors on the Father side will sow up later....

and obviously for guide dogs and police work (less visible).

Not true on the part of the guide/service dog (unless you live somewhere where winter involves snow, otherwise color is immaterial).  The problem with whites in police work is that they're TOO visible.  While officers try and light up a place the best they can going after a perp, the truth of the matter is, sometimes all you've got is a flashlight.
 
Even in dim lighting, a perp is going to see a big white dog coming at them before they see a sable, black, or black and tan, and in this case, the dog's color is protecting it.  If it gets an extra couple seconds in to take the bite because the bad guy can't see him better, it's an advantage.
 
And really, NOBODY truly knows WHY Max said no whites.  In his book, he writes that "Color is immaterial to structure of working dog" (summarized, not verbatim), and overall utilitarian structure is more important than color.  However, he wrote later about whites and in a way denounced them as being useful.  This is back when horrible diseases were associated with whites.
 
The fact of the matter though, is whites are a DQ.  What people don't realize is that whites have only been a DQ in AKC for 10 years!  Not very long!
 
The type of coat (longhair, plush, close) has nothing to do with color itself.  I've seen dogs that had remarkable coat texture and thickness, and their color was crap.  A dog can also have great pigment, but crappy color.  My own dog is one of them.
 
His pigment is "Decent" (his pads aren't all black and should be, and his eyes could be darker), but his color....pretty, but poor.  If I get him in the right light he lokos remarkable, but his saddle is fading out (It's not going to go completely, if it were, his mask would pale a bit too) and some people mistake him for a sable.  He's not sable...he's a poorly colored B&T xD