Agouti is a pattern with banded hair on the dorsal area and lighter markings on the dog’s ventrum. This phenotype is found in many wild animals and is also called wolf gray or wolf sable. What is Agouti? Agouti causes hair banding in all dorsal regions of the body. Agouti face markings include a nose … Read more
A shaded yellow or shaded sable dog has a cream, yellow, or red base color with lots of dark-tipped hairs in its dorsal coat. Sabling is concentrated mostly on the dog’s back and often causes a widow’s peak on the forehead and a dark tail spot. What is Shaded Yellow? Shaded yellow or shaded sable … Read more
Dominant yellow or clear sable (many breeds call it fawn) describes a phenotype with a predominantly red coat and very minimal dark-tipped sabling. These dogs look solid cream or red as adults. What is Dominant Yellow? Dogs with a dominant yellow base pattern have a solid cream, yellow, or red coat. These dog has very … Read more
The A locus interacts controls when and where phaeomelanin or eumelanin is expressed. Different allelic combinations may cause a clear sable, shaded sable, agouti, agouti saddle, saddle pattern, creeping tan, tan points, or recessive black pattern. However, A locus expression also depends on the K locus and E locus. Pattern Legacy Testing New Testing Terms … Read more
The E locus controls how much eumelanin will be expressed. Different alleles can cause melanistic masks, domino, grizzle, and cocker sable phenotypes, or a recessive red coat. E Locus Overview The extension can shift the ratio of black to yellow pigment in any pattern. Alleles at the E locus are thought to show mild incomplete … Read more
Recessive red (e/e) causes a dog to only produce phaeomelanin in all pigmented areas. Many dog breeds with a solid white, yellow, or red coat are in fact e/e-red. What is Recessive Red? Usually, pigment cells can produce both types of pigment, eumelanin and phaeomelanin. But by default, pigment cells produce only phaeomelanin. They need … Read more
The eH allele at the E locus causes an interesting phenotype in Cocker Spaniels. It can cause a black domino phenotype that mimics ‘sable’. Or it can turn a black and tan pattern to ‘dirty red’. What is Cocker Sable? The eH variant at the E locus modifies any base coat color pattern by partially … Read more
The eG allele at the E locus is mainly found in sighthound breeds. It modifies any other pattern by reducing eumelanin and increasing phaeomelanin. What is Grizzle? Domino changes any base pattern by decreasing eumelanin expression. In Afghan Hounds, the tan point domino pattern was named after show dog “Tanjores Domino” in the 1950s. Other … Read more
The eA allele at the E locus is responsible for various “domino” phenotypes. It modifies other patterns to show reduced eumelanin and increased phaeomelanin expression. Different domino phenotypes go by different names in different breeds, but eA is most common in sled dogs. What is Northern Domino? Domino reduces eumelanin expression and increases phaeomelanin expression. … Read more
Seal causes a more or less pronounced golden, red, or brownish sheen on a dark coat. This is often accompanied by a darker dorsal stripe and darker coloration on the lower legs, tail, and face. Ghost patterns seem to be caused by incomplete dominant black that can’t fully mask a dog’s A locus pattern. But … Read more