Color Genetics Articles
Educational guides written to make canine coat color genetics accessible to every breeder.
Color Genetics 101: The Basics Every Breeder Should Know
Start here to understand dominant vs recessive genes, genotype vs phenotype, and the foundation of color inheritance.
Read article →The A, B, C, D, E Loci: A Practical Guide
A deep dive into each color locus, what they control, and how they interact to create the colors you see.
Read article →Predicting Puppy Colors: How to Use Punnett Squares
Learn to create and read Punnett squares to predict color outcomes in your breeding program.
Read article →When Colors Surprise You: Hidden Genetics at Work
Why that unexpected puppy color appeared and how recessive genes can hide for generations.
Read article →Color DNA Tests: Which Ones to Run and Why
A practical guide to color testing panels, interpreting results, and which tests matter for your breed.
Read article →Brindle, Sable, and Tan Points: Understanding Pattern Inheritance
How the A and K loci work together to create sable, brindle, tan point, and solid coat patterns in dogs.
Read article →The S Locus and White Markings: How Spotting Patterns Are Inherited
From a small chest spot to a mostly white dog, understand how the S locus and modifiers control white patterning.
Read article →Color Dilution Alopecia: When Coat Color Affects Health
Understanding the link between dilute coat colors and skin problems, and what responsible breeders need to know.
Read article →The Merle Gene: Understanding the M Locus and Its Risks
How the merle pattern works, why cryptic merle matters, and what every breeder must know about double merle health risks.
Read article →Breed-Specific Color Genetics: Why Your Breed Has the Colors It Does
How selective breeding fixed different allele combinations across breeds, and what that means for your litters.
Read article →The K Locus Explained: Dominant Black, Brindle, and Why It Overrides the A Locus
How one gene acts as a master switch for coat patterns, controlling dominant black, brindle, and A locus expression.
Read article →The E Locus: How Red and Yellow Coats Are Controlled
Why some dogs are cream, yellow, or red regardless of other color genes — and how the extension locus blocks eumelanin to create this effect.
Read article →Liver, Chocolate, and Brown: The B Locus Explained
How a single locus converts black pigment to brown across dozens of breeds, with multiple mutations producing the same visible result.
Read article →Blue, Grey, and Dilute Colors: Understanding the D Locus
How the dilution locus softens black to blue and chocolate to lilac, and why dilute dogs need special health consideration.
Read article →Ticking, Roaning, and Flecking: How Small Spots and Mottled Patterns Are Inherited
The genetics behind small colored spots in white areas, why roan looks different from ticking, and how these patterns pass through generations.
Read article →The Harlequin Gene in Great Danes: A Unique Modifier With Lethal Homozygosity
How the harlequin gene interacts with merle to create one of dogdom's most striking coats — and why homozygous harlequin is never born alive.
Read article →Comparing Canine Color DNA Testing Laboratories: What to Know Before You Order
Key differences between color testing providers, what each panel actually tests, and how to choose the right laboratory for your breeding program.
Read article →The Math Behind Color Inheritance: Probability, Statistics, and What the Numbers Mean
Understanding probability calculations behind color predictions — and why even correct genetics sometimes produces surprising litter results.
Read article →Parti-Color Genetics: How Two-Color Patterned Dogs Inherit Their Coats
The genetics of parti-colors in Cocker Spaniels, Poodles, and other breeds — including why the pattern was bred out and how it can reappear.
Read article →The Intensity Locus and Phaeomelanin: Why Some Yellow Dogs Are Cream and Others Are Deep Red
How modifier genes control the depth and richness of yellow, cream, and red coat colors — one of the most complex areas of current genetics research.
Read article →Epistasis and Multi-Locus Interactions: When One Gene Overrides Another
How genes at different loci interact, override, and modify each other — the key to understanding why coat color cannot be predicted by any single gene.
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