Can Someone Explain Colour Genetics Please?


  • In small words, preferably so I can understand :D

    I was having a discussion with someone, hypothetically at the moment ( ;) ) about what i would get if I bred Maya to the various different colour dogs. Now, Maya is tri from a tri & r/w mating. Presumably if bred to a r/w she would produce r/w and tri in the litter? And im told if bred to a tri she'd only produce tri? What would happen if I bred her to a b/w or a brindle? :confused:

    Im guessing its just more than the dogs coat colour, you have to look at the colours they carry from previous generations. But as simply as possible what would I expect in a litter from Maya to a r/w, tri, b/w and brindle?

    I was getting incredibly confused when discussing it so thought i'd ask the experts :D


  • It's not set in stone that a tri/R/W mating will produce both colours. I used a tri on Nakura and got all Red.
    The Tri gene is recessive so may not show at all in any pups. Nakura's mother was a tri but it would appear that Nakura picked up no tri gene from her. Although, my two boys from the litter both carry the tri gene (Black markings on the inside of the tail)
    A tri/brindle mating runs the risk of prducing Trindles which, although nice, I don't think they can be shown in this country.
    Not sure about Black/tri.
    I'm no expert so please don't quote me on any of this. I'm sure someone will tell you otherwise.


  • As a tri color Maya only can pass on tri genes because it is a recessive color. It takes two copies of the tri gene to be a tri so the color of the offspring will depend on what genes the sire has.

    Tri x Tri = All Tri

    Tri x Red = Reds and possibly Tri if the red dog carries a copy of the tri gene

    Tri x Black = Blacks, Reds, and Tris all possible depending on the genes the black dog carries. If the black dog has a brindle parent then you could have blacks, brindles, and trindles if the dog carries brindle.

    Tri x Brindle = Reds, Brindles, and possibly Tris and Trindles if the brindle carries the tri gene.


  • Here is the punnet squares for a Red x Tri breeding. One is a Tri Factored Red to a Tri the other is a Pure For Red to a Tri.

    attachment_p_115148_0_red-tri-punnets.jpg


  • Here are the punnet squares for a black (without brindle) x tri.

    attachment_p_115150_0_black-punnet2.jpg
    attachment_p_115150_1_black-punnet-1.jpg
    attachment_p_115150_2_black-punnet-3.jpg


  • Thank you for those! They are very helpful!

    Can anyone tell me how i go about finding out what my female is genetics wise for what she has?

    Tri factors, etc.

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