Possible Puppy Colors…

Genn’s coat color genetics are E/E KB/ky at/at S/S

Holly’s coat color genetics are E/E ky/ky aw/at S/sp

It is important to note that, although ‘at’ stands for Black & Tan and usually indicates that a dog will be colored like a Doberman Pinscher or Rottweiler, for example, there appears to be some kind of undiscovered wild-type gene that is pretty much identical in expression to Agouti Wild ‘aw’ (commonly called “wolf grey”). The computer doesn’t know what else to label it as, so this wild-type mystery gene gets lumped in with ‘at.’

Based on the parents’ genetics, the following puppy coat color combinations are possible:

• E Locus - Known as the “extension” genes, these genes determine which areas of the dog’s coat can produce black pigment. Normal Extension ‘E’ means there is no effect at all on the distribution and production of black and red pigment in the dog’s coat. Normal Extension is dominant and needs only one copy to affect the dog’s production of black and red pigment in the coat. There are quite a few other genes found on the E Locus, but they aren’t relevant to this litter.

  • 100% chance for ‘E/E’ Normal Extension in every puppy. This means that their coat has a normal ability to produce black pigment everywhere, and the K Locus and A Locus genes will be the determining factors in what color(s) and pattern the dog’s coat colors ultimately express as.

• K Locus - These genes determine whether the dog’s coat color is Black or Non-Black. Dominant Black ‘KB’ is dominant to Non-black ‘ky’ and only needs one copy to physically express.

  • 50% chance for ‘KB/ky’ black phase coat color, which covers up the expression of the A Locus genes

  • 50% chance for ‘ky/ky’ non-black coat color, which allows the expression of the A Locus genes

• A Locus - These genes dictate the pattern that the black and red pigment of the dog’s fur will follow on the body, and whether or not the strands of fur are banded with alternating red and black pigment. In order of dominance, the A Locus genes are: Sable ‘Ay’ > Agouti Wild ‘aw’ > Black & Tan ‘at’ > Recessive Black ‘a.’

  • 75% chance for at/at on the A Locus, which should express as wolf grey.

  • 25% chance for aw/at on the A Locus, which would express as wolf grey.

• S Locus - There are quite a few genes that control whether or not a dog will have white markings, but only a small number of these genes have actually been identified for genetic testing. White Spotting markings such as mittens/socks/stockings, white-tipped tails, and large chest stars/blazes are thought to be primarily caused by the ‘sp’ white spotting gene, which is an incompletely dominant gene. This means that, if a dog only has one copy of ‘sp’ it is likely going to express in a minimal to moderate amount of white markings on the dog. If a dog has two copies of ‘sp’ it will *almost always be piebald.

  • 50% chance for ‘S/S’ on the S Locus, which means that white spotting markings such as socks, stockings, white tipped tails, and large chest blazes, are highly unlikely to occur.

  • 50% chance for ‘S/sp’ on the S Locus, which means that white spotting markings such as socks, stockings, white-tipped tails, and large chest stars or blazes are possible (but not guaranteed to occur).

*Some primitive breeds, including many wolfdogs, seem to have something genetically “turning off” the physical expression of their ‘sp’ white spotting gene. There are many wolfdogs and other primitive breeds who are S/sp or even sp/sp, but have barely any white markings, or none at all. Holly’s dam, Reckless, is a great example of this anomaly. Reckless is ‘sp/sp,' which means she -should- be piebald. However, Reckless only has the tiniest white tips on some of her toes and that’s it! We have no idea why this happens, and it’s not easy to predict how or when this will occur, because there are many other wolfdogs who are indeed piebald or have large white markings, such as long white stockings, white-tipped tails, and big white chest blazes. Holly only has tiny white tips on her front and back toes.

To make things even more confusing with White Spotting, there are also minor white markings that can occur on the extremities of the dog (toes, chest, tail tip) called Residual White. When a puppy fetus is developing, the pigment for the coat starts along the spine and spreads outwards to the “edges” of the puppy’s body. Sometimes, the pigment doesn’t quite make it all the way to the ends, causing a lack of pigment, or white markings, to occur, even if the dog is ‘S/S’ and wouldn’t normally be expected to have any white markings at all. Residual White markings are extremely commonly seen in wolfdogs and even pure wolves, where white tipped toes and small to medium stars on the chest are often seen, even on 95%+ very high content wolfdogs.

• Phasing: This is a trait that has been passed down directly from pure wolves, as it does not occur in dogs. Many wolfdogs and pure wolves slowly turn to white with each passing year. Every spring, when they shed their winter coat and start to grow in a brand-new coat for the year, more and more pigmented hairs are replaced with white ones. Some wolfdogs and pure wolves phase VERY quickly, turning almost pure white within just a few years. Others take a long time to phase and may never turn fully white, instead ending up with more of a salt and pepper appearance. Phasing can affect ANY coat color of wolf or wolfdog, although it is most commonly noticed on black wolves and wolfdogs…hence the term “black phase.” There is no genetic test available to identify what gene causes phasing in wolves and wolfdogs to occur, but we do know that it is NOT the same as the Greying gene that has been identified in dogs, which can only affect long (aka “woolly”), curly, and wire-haired coats, NOT short coats. Phasing appears to be an incompletely dominant trait that needs at least one copy of the gene for a wolf or wolfdog to phase to white over time. Having two copies of the gene seems to result in a faster rate of phasing. Additionally, wolves and wolfdogs who have at least one copy of Sable ‘Ay/_’ seem to phase MUCH faster than wolves and wolfdogs who are aw/_ or at/_. Since there is no genetic test available for phasing, we can only offer our prediction:

  • Holly is not phasing, which is to be expected, since neither of her parents are, either. However, based on the fact that Genn’s parents and grandparents are phasing/phased significantly, and Genn himself is phasing, we can assume that Genn likely has two copies of the Phasing gene. We predict that all of Genn’s offspring will phase, although they will likely phase at a much slower rate than he is, and it may not be noticeable on his agouti “wolf grey” offspring until they are quite advanced in the phasing process at an older age.

Please Be Aware…

We are just as anxious as our buyers to find out how many boys and girls will be born, and what coat colors and markings they’ll have! Ultimately, we cannot guarantee what sexes, coat colors, or markings will be born.

We assign puppies to their homes based on each puppy’s individual personality and how we expect them to fit in with each of our buyers. Every family is different, and so is every puppy! While making our assignments, we do our very best to also adhere to the preferences for sex and coat color expressed by each buyer compared to the puppies that are born, but we cannot guarantee that a puppy with the exact sex and/or coat color each buyer prefers will be available or match well with them. Buyers who are flexible on their puppy’s sex and coat color are highly appreciated!

If a buyer indicates on their application that they are NOT flexible on sex and/or coat color and it turns out there isn’t a puppy with the right personality that also matches their sex/color preferences, the buyer will NOT receive a refund of their Deposit if they choose to back out of the final purchase of a puppy from the litter they signed up for. However, they are welcome to apply their deposit to an alternative litter from us, instead.

If you would like to learn more about dog coat color genetics, click the button below to link to the Dog Coat Colour Genetics website, where they have every known locus and gene explained in easy to understand descriptions, accompanied by multiple visual examples.