Trying to understand color genetics in my dog - Page 1

Hi,

So always was interested in genetics in dogs (had a lab, a dalmatian and a poodle with genetic conditions, and always tried to undertand this stuff a bit better), my Becky, http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/dog.html?id=2357199-bruxa-quinta-do-salomo, is healthy (thank god) but I was wondering about why is she Black and tan when most dogs in her pedigree are sable?

Dad is sable, mum is bi, she is black and tan, has some brothers that are bi and some that are sable and other like her are b&t...

Why?

I've just ended reading some articles about it, but still don't understand...

thanks ;) (sory for the bad whriting)

The mother is actually a black and tan.

 

I don't really understand the question. Why is she black and tan? Her mother is black and tan. 

Father also looks like he may have had the saddleback gene also. She probably got 2 saddleback genes which is why she is so much lighter than her mom.

Color dominance in GSDs

Sable

black/tan

bi-color

solid black.

 

Each dog gets two genes one from father and one from mother

Here are probabilities when one parent is sable and the other is black/ttan

Please remember first color gene is dominant, 2nd one is recessive (as per above dominance order)

sable parent can have any of these gene combinations

1. sable + sable

2. sable + black/tan

3. sable + bi-color

4. sable + solid black

black/tan parent can have any of these gene combinations

11. black/tan + black tan

12. black tan + bi-color

13. black/tan + solid black

probability no. 1

puppy gets sable + (sable or black/tan or bi-color or solid black), then puppy will be sable, (because sable gene is dominant to the rest color genes).

probability no. 2

puppy gets black tan + ( black tan or bi-color or solid black), then puppy will be black/tan (because black/tan gene is dominant to the rest color genes).

probability no. 3

puppy gets bi-color + ( bi-color or solid black), then puppy will be bi-color, ditto above

probability no.4

puppy gets solid black + solid black, then puppy will be solid black

Just anecdotally...I have never produced more bicolors than blacks in litters that produced both. Genes just don't always work the way the statistics say they "should" in terms of prevalence. 

Correction to my previous post

probability no. 1

puppy gets sable + (black/tan or bi-color or solid black), then puppy will be sable, (because sable gene is dominant to the rest color genes)

So if the mother's really B&T the probability of the dogs born of the same color is 50% because the father being sable, right? I also always thought her mother to have too much yellow to be Bi but in the Portuguese pedigree does not appear the color of predecessors only the dog itself. And here on the site says bicolor.

Jenni78 I was thinking that the mother was bicolor therefrom my confusion.

She is still changing color, have appeared more yellow the above paws (both rear and front) and the belly is getting completely yellow as is showing new yellow hair in the tail.

Here´s the video of your female´s sire Dante when he was a 6 week old pup - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1zrm6zKK_0&feature=youtu.be , he is the pup with ears more floppy than the rest 2 pups, the one who let the tug out in the end. I wonder why he got so light as he got older. His sire Eick carried gene for black and tan and for solid black, Dante´s dam Chyla carries gene for sable and for solid black. Here´s a video of Chyla doing her lifetime breedsurvey test - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-FBvr7RT8U , and here´s a video of Dante´s litter brother Devlin - the other male pup in the video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDcc5wsyRro , he is about 12 months old in the video.

BTW, black and tan and bicolor are considered to be the same colors in my country /Slovakia/. 

Thanks Cage, Loved the videos! Bekcy does exactly like her uncle searching! must upload her clip. She loves it! also loves to do protection work...