We get questions about this and that regarding genetics all the time and I (Brittany) felt it might be a good to make a little post about it!
To start, aussies certainly don't come in all colors, and their genepool means a purebred aussie won't be exposed to just anything any dog can inherit. I'll be sticking to a pretty limited scope of dog genetics here and refrain from a lot of details that could easily make this a much more massive post.
To start, aussies certainly don't come in all colors, and their genepool means a purebred aussie won't be exposed to just anything any dog can inherit. I'll be sticking to a pretty limited scope of dog genetics here and refrain from a lot of details that could easily make this a much more massive post.
Some quick terms:
Dominant Genes: a puppy will only need one copy of this, given by one of the parents, for it to appear in the puppy.
Recessive Gene: a puppy would need two copies of this; one from each parent, for it to appear in the puppy. If a dog as one copy, they're a 'carrier'.
Locus: In the simplest of terms; a folder, of many folders, on a chromosone in which numerous genes may be categorized into. Your dog only has space for two genes in this folder.
Dominant Genes: a puppy will only need one copy of this, given by one of the parents, for it to appear in the puppy.
Recessive Gene: a puppy would need two copies of this; one from each parent, for it to appear in the puppy. If a dog as one copy, they're a 'carrier'.
Locus: In the simplest of terms; a folder, of many folders, on a chromosone in which numerous genes may be categorized into. Your dog only has space for two genes in this folder.
And now Onto Coat colors!
Technically, all accepted colors of Australian Shepherds (+ mini aussies, toy aussies, mini american shepherds) are genetically black. Yes, even the blue merles and reds and red merles!
Black and Red are the two most basic colors a dog can be genetically speaking, but the "red" in aussies, in genetics, is actually called "Liver". Red aussies are Liver-colored aussies (other liver colored dogs are chocolate labradors, red & rust dobermans, and liver-spotted dalmatians). The liver gene causes the nose to turn red too!
The Liver gene that makes aussies red is a recessive gene. Our red merle sire, Valor, carries two copies, and dams like our Shatzi is a carrier of liver colors (sometimes called "red factored" in aussieshep world). Every pup of Valor's will get one copy of Liver from him, and may or may not get the copy of liver from the carrier dams, making both blacks and and reds possible. This also means red merle sire Asher and red tri dam Ticket will always and only ever produce reds together since they both have two copies of the recessive Liver color.
The Tan marking is another recessive gene and one that all of our aussies carry two copies of, so all of our puppies are guaranteed those tan markings. The "tan" marking is the genetic red opposed to liver, tan is in the same locus as the sable color. All of our aussies have two copies of the tan gene, which means they do not have other recessive genetic-red genes in the same locus. Our aussies, and similar aussies, are never going to produce sable or agouti colored dogs. Sable being that classic Lassie color, which is a fault in aussies (with good reason! As we'll get into on the topic of merles).
There's a lot of dog breeds with the tan marking gene, such as Rottweilers and Dobermans! However German Shepherds are genetically SABLE.
Merle is a dominant gene, but when breeding, it's best if only one of the parents is a merle. This is because when a dog has two copies of the merle gene, they become "double merles" which have an excessive amount of white and are at a high risk of deafness and blindness. Some won't even develop their eyes fully!
Merle, genetically speaking, is diluting a big chunk of the coat to a paler color. The spotted markings merle is known for are the actual underlying color the dog would be if not merle; black or liver. Black dilutes into that beautiful blue color, making blue merles.
Merles pattern is fairly random, although the merle parent does seem to increase the likelihood of the same patterning they have. Allowing for some breeders to focus on breeding say, mostly diluted coats with small speckles or coats with only a bit of dilution visible.
Some merles can have spots so large and enveloping of the coat, that it can be difficult to tell they're merles at all! These are called Cryptic Merles (or Phantom Merles), and some might only be identified by a tiny bit of freckling on an ear or under the eyes!
Additionally, the merle coloration only affects the genetically black parts of the coat color; the black in the black tri, or the liver in the red tri. so you won't see spotting on the tan or white parks of the body. This is the biggest reason to avoid sable aussies (often called Lemon aussies) as it would be very difficult to identify if they were merle or since the black on their coat may be miniscule or non-existent. The breeding lemon aussies could result in double merles without realizing.
A lot of people are interested in merle-colored dogs, so I'd like to pause for a moment to list a few! It's important to research dogs for their personalities and energy levels! If you're set on merles but find the aussie personality isn't right for you, check out a few of these dogs:
Pomeranian, Chihuahua, Cardigan Welsh Corgi, Mudi, Sheltie, Beauceron, Catahoula Leopard Dog, (and many more!)
The white markings in our aussies is called Irish Spotting. It's a recessive gene and may be called by many different names in different breeds. Irish that makes white in aussies is the same gene making white in Boston Terriers and Collies, but is NOT the same gene as the white markings in say, a Shiba Inu.
Irish can be a bit diverse and tricky to predict in unborn puppies. No breeder can really promise there will be a puppy born with a full collar or big or small stockings. If you had your heart set on a certain amount of white, you may find yourself playing the waiting game. The good news, is that the Irish spotting can be very individual. We love seeing the range and it makes identifying puppies a lot easier for aussie breeders!
Black and Red are the two most basic colors a dog can be genetically speaking, but the "red" in aussies, in genetics, is actually called "Liver". Red aussies are Liver-colored aussies (other liver colored dogs are chocolate labradors, red & rust dobermans, and liver-spotted dalmatians). The liver gene causes the nose to turn red too!
The Liver gene that makes aussies red is a recessive gene. Our red merle sire, Valor, carries two copies, and dams like our Shatzi is a carrier of liver colors (sometimes called "red factored" in aussieshep world). Every pup of Valor's will get one copy of Liver from him, and may or may not get the copy of liver from the carrier dams, making both blacks and and reds possible. This also means red merle sire Asher and red tri dam Ticket will always and only ever produce reds together since they both have two copies of the recessive Liver color.
The Tan marking is another recessive gene and one that all of our aussies carry two copies of, so all of our puppies are guaranteed those tan markings. The "tan" marking is the genetic red opposed to liver, tan is in the same locus as the sable color. All of our aussies have two copies of the tan gene, which means they do not have other recessive genetic-red genes in the same locus. Our aussies, and similar aussies, are never going to produce sable or agouti colored dogs. Sable being that classic Lassie color, which is a fault in aussies (with good reason! As we'll get into on the topic of merles).
There's a lot of dog breeds with the tan marking gene, such as Rottweilers and Dobermans! However German Shepherds are genetically SABLE.
Merle is a dominant gene, but when breeding, it's best if only one of the parents is a merle. This is because when a dog has two copies of the merle gene, they become "double merles" which have an excessive amount of white and are at a high risk of deafness and blindness. Some won't even develop their eyes fully!
Merle, genetically speaking, is diluting a big chunk of the coat to a paler color. The spotted markings merle is known for are the actual underlying color the dog would be if not merle; black or liver. Black dilutes into that beautiful blue color, making blue merles.
Merles pattern is fairly random, although the merle parent does seem to increase the likelihood of the same patterning they have. Allowing for some breeders to focus on breeding say, mostly diluted coats with small speckles or coats with only a bit of dilution visible.
Some merles can have spots so large and enveloping of the coat, that it can be difficult to tell they're merles at all! These are called Cryptic Merles (or Phantom Merles), and some might only be identified by a tiny bit of freckling on an ear or under the eyes!
Additionally, the merle coloration only affects the genetically black parts of the coat color; the black in the black tri, or the liver in the red tri. so you won't see spotting on the tan or white parks of the body. This is the biggest reason to avoid sable aussies (often called Lemon aussies) as it would be very difficult to identify if they were merle or since the black on their coat may be miniscule or non-existent. The breeding lemon aussies could result in double merles without realizing.
A lot of people are interested in merle-colored dogs, so I'd like to pause for a moment to list a few! It's important to research dogs for their personalities and energy levels! If you're set on merles but find the aussie personality isn't right for you, check out a few of these dogs:
Pomeranian, Chihuahua, Cardigan Welsh Corgi, Mudi, Sheltie, Beauceron, Catahoula Leopard Dog, (and many more!)
The white markings in our aussies is called Irish Spotting. It's a recessive gene and may be called by many different names in different breeds. Irish that makes white in aussies is the same gene making white in Boston Terriers and Collies, but is NOT the same gene as the white markings in say, a Shiba Inu.
Irish can be a bit diverse and tricky to predict in unborn puppies. No breeder can really promise there will be a puppy born with a full collar or big or small stockings. If you had your heart set on a certain amount of white, you may find yourself playing the waiting game. The good news, is that the Irish spotting can be very individual. We love seeing the range and it makes identifying puppies a lot easier for aussie breeders!
At the risk of rambling, I'll wrap this up...!
I hope this dog nerd rambling helps give a little bit of insight to this or that dog gene for at least one person out there..!
Other recessive genes are blue eyes, as well as many hereditary diseases like PRA or MDR1!
Thank you for your time!!
Other recessive genes are blue eyes, as well as many hereditary diseases like PRA or MDR1!
Thank you for your time!!
Your Local Dog Dork,
-Brittany Who
-Brittany Who