Basic Color Genetics

To breeders, trying to predict the coat color of the pups is half the fun of planning a litter. To predict coat colors you need to have a basic understanding of genetics. About the first 20 times that I tried to figure out genetics with my book I would end up tossing it aside more confused than before, but then it clicked. Here I will try to explain the basics.

First you need to understand that for each color locus (this is what determines the coat color) there are two alleles(what determines what will show at the locus). There are 8 different loci. I will go into detail later in this document.

Second, understand that the pup gets one allele for each locus from each parent. Since the sire and dam both have two alleles, there is a combination of four possible outcomes. For example:

D=Dominant
R=Recessive

Dam alleles are listed across the top
Sire alleles are down the left side
Possible pup combinations are in the four lower right hand boxes.

	D	R
D	DD	DR
R	DR	RR

This shows two dogs that are showing a dominant gene, but carrying the recessive gene. As a result, 25% of the dogs would have two copies of the dominant gene, 50% would be showing the dominant gene but carrying the recessive gene, and 25% would have two copies of the recessive gene, therefore showing the recessive gene.

Show it to Throw it Guide to Genetics

(Or Dominant Genes)

Must Show to Throw:	Exceptions/Additions:
Merling (M) Must be a Merle dog in order to throw Merle pups.	Unless dog is solid white with no color to show the Merling (cryptic merle) or shown at birth and the spots fade (phantom merle.)
(B) or (D) Black	Must have black nose leather & paw pads.
Ticking (T)	Will not be seen if dog has no white to show the ticking.
Mask (Em)	Always seen on the muzzle. Will not be seen on a solid black, chocolate, or blue.
Solid Dominant Color(A) (No tan trim/saddle/ and not sabled) Blue, Chocolate, Black, Lilac	Can also be Irish marked (White only markings) or Party marked (White with dominant color on spots.)
Solid Dominant Color (S)Any color, but NO white.	Can be sabled or have tan trim.
Smooth Coats (L)	Long coats (l) can be carried and thrown if both sire and dam carry long coat. Long coat to Long coat should produce only long coat dogs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These are recessive genes that if two are bred together, all pups will be that recessive gene.

Non-Merled to Non-Merled	100% non merled pups
Blue to Blue	100% Blue
Chocolate to Chocolate	100% Chocolate
Non-ticked to Non-ticked	100% non ticked, however if the dog has no white trim, he/she may appear not to be ticked, but really has the ticking gene, and would therefore be shown in the pups.
Tan points to Tan points	100% tan points. Fawn dogs can also have the tan points, but since they are fawn/tan they blend in with the rest of the coat color.
Solid white to solid white	100% solid white
Long coat to Long coat	100% long coat

Please keep in mind that these are based on generalities and there is always the exception or genetic mutation that can result from any breeding.

If you need further help understanding this, email me.

Now the fun part! The Color Loci!

First lets figure out the white distributation.
There are 4 different alleles that can affect the white, they are listed here in order of dominance, the most dominant listed first.

	S:A solid dog, no white showing anywhere on the dog. These dogs must have at least one copy of S, so they could have the combination of S/S, S/si, S/sp or S/sw.
	si:This is an irish marked dog, meaning that they have a white collar, white feet, a white tail tip and muzzle. These dogs must have at least one copy of si, so they could have the combination of si/si, si/sp or si/sw.
	sp:This gene results in the parti marking, or the white dogs with spots of brown or black. These dogs must have at least one copy of sp so they can be sp/sp or sp/sw.
	swThis results in a mostly white or all white dog. Since this is the most resessive gene, these dogs can only be sw/sw.

Next let's figure out the color distributation.
There are four alleles that can affect color, they are listed in order of dominance, the most dominant listed first.

	A:Dominant black. This can be any dark solid color(black, brown, blue) dog without tan points. These dogs must have at least one copy of A, so they could be A/A, A/ay, A/at or A/ad.
	ay:This is a sable dog. This is what is responsible for the tan or red color that is most often seen in the breed similar to that a lassie. These dogs must have at least one copy of ay, so they could have the combinations of ay/ay, ay/at or ay/ad.
	at:This results in the tan points, like those of dobermans. These dogs must have at least one copy of at so they can be either at/at or at/ad.
	ad:This results in the Domino pattern. This is where darker hairs are lighter toward the skin. They also usually have the widows peak markings that are seen in Siberian Huskies. Since this is the most recessive gene, they can only be ad/ad.

Next is the most difficult locus to determine, this is the E locus. There are four alleles that can effect this locus, they are listed in order of dominance, the most dominant listed first.

	Em:This allele shows a mask, either black or chocolate on the dog. These dogs must have at least one copy of Em, so they could be Em/Em, Em/E, Em/ebr or Em/e.
	E:This is know as extension and it simply allows for the extension of what was determined at the A locus. These dogs must have at least one copy of E, so they could be E/E, E/ebr, E/e.
	ebr:This results in brindle, or dogs with irregular, vertical dark stripes on a lighter body. These dogs must have at least one copy of ebr, so they could be ebr/ebr or ebr/e.
	e:This results in a restriction, or no black hairs anywhere on the body. Since this is the most recessive gene, they can only be e/e.

The last five are the easiest to figure out. First is the hue of the dog.

	B:This allows the black hair to be black. Dogs can either be B/B or B/b.
	b:This makes all the black appear brown or chocolate. Dogs must be b/b.

Next is the blue gene.

	D:Dark. Allows black to be black. Dogs may be D/D or D/d.
	d:Dilute. Makes all the black pigment appears gray, or blue. Dogs can only be d/d.

Next is the red pigments.

	C:Full color. This allows the red to be red. Dogs can be C/C or C/c.
	c:Chinchilla. This washes out the red to a cream color. These dogs must be c/c.

Here we have the ticked pattern.

	T:Ticked*. This is only shown in the white areas of the dog and is not present at birth. It can be any color other than white and appear anywhere that they dog has white trim. Dalmation's spots are believed to be a form of ticking. Dog can either be T/T or T/t. This IS NOT the same as melre!
	c:None Ticked. These dogs have pure white or pure white trim with no spots. These dogs must be t/t.

Last, we have merle.

	M:Merle Pattern*. This is a weird gene, as a double merle can cause many things to happen, not just differences in coat pattern. A double merle M/M is mostly white with spots of merling. A merle M/m has dark spots over a lighter colored body. More info on this pattern here
	m:Full Color. This allows the dog to have uniform color. These dogs must be m/m.

Click here for a printable chart.

If you are still needing help, email at the link above and I will do my best to help you. This can come in handy when looking at prespective studs.

*Since merle and ticking are two different genes, it is possible to have a merle ticked dog. They would have the merle pattern in the colored areas of the body and the ticked pattern in the white trim of the body. We hope to have one of these by a breeding of Kasey to Polly.