White spot on chest in German Sheperds? I`m confused... - Page 4

I might have a better grasp of Pods comment if I had ever seen any white GSD pups in their nest,
but I don't think I've myself ever set eyes on one younger than 8  or 10 weeks.

The "developmental noise" thing is quite fascinating.

I mean I don;t know about every white breed==I am talking GSDs here. I saw where neither parent was sable--dad was white, mom was blk and tan, but yet there were sab le pups and the breeder said the male carried a masking gene for sables. OK.............
 

Many "white" dogs are really another color with very, very heavy white spotting--such as white terriers, white boxers, etc. Link for more genetic info on white spotting: http://homepage.usask.ca/~schmutz/dogspots.html

The white in GSDs is on another locus from the agouti (sable/saddle/solid), and it suppresses the production of black and brown in the hair. So a dog can be a sable dog who happens to be white because there is little/no pigment on the hairs, making the dog look white. So, every white GSD is going to have the genes for either sable, saddle/tanpoint, or solid, and their puppies with a non-white parent will inherit a gene for this pattern from the white parent, even though you don't necessarily know what agouti pattern gene the white dog carries. http://homepage.usask.ca/~schmutz/white.html

Christine
 

Yep, agree with Christine's comments above.  The distribution of dark and light pigment is controlled mainly by the interaction of three loci - Agouti, Extension and K, and recessive ee when present, takes precedence by masking all eumelanin (dark - black, brown) pigment, leaving pale phaeomelanin (light - cream/yellow/tan).

Hundmutter, white in the GSD is much like recessive ee in many other breeds - Samoyeds, Poodles, Westies, Bichons etc.  THey stay more or less the colour they're born, with perhaps a little darkening in places.  The coat of a newborn pup is so pristine that it's much easier to see white markings against the pale cream.  As the pup grows, environmental effects seem to blend the two shades into one.

Yes Pod thank you;  I can 'see' what you are getting at - just observing that it would have been easier for
me to 'see' that, if I'd ever seen it literally (if you see what I mean ).  Never had an opportunity to meet
white pups early enough,  but I can imagine what you've described. 

Christine thanks for the info and those links. I don't have time this morning to check them out because I want to be able to take my time and really read them. But when I get home from school I am going to read them. I asked my mentor once and she told me there was no such thing. But I want to be ready for our road trip Thursday and that means preparing onself with new info to share!!!! And by the way I have heard the term masking gene kicked around several times and just never understood. Again thanks and everybody have a great day.

BTW Pod good to see you posting again. You bring a lot of good info to the table.

Can anyone reference me to Gene Mapping (dogs) information more recent than the 2006/7 articles
linked by Blackthorne, please ?