So we did a genetic test on a dog at our clinic because the owners were curious to see what their dog was made up of. She is a medium sized brindle colored dog that has the body type of a border collie. She has a feathered coat. They were told she was a golden lab mix.
Her results came back as follows: 25% Golden Retriever, 25% Alaskan Malamute, 25% Finish Spitz, and 25% Yorkshire Terrier. So what I want to know is, where does the brindle come from? Which one of these dogs has a breed in its' ancestral history that might have had that color gene in it?
My only guess is the spitz because Pomeranians are also a spitz and they have brindle in the gene pool.
http://www.americanpomeranianclub.org/colors/brindle.htm
But that may be a simplistic view. I admit I know nothing about colors when it comes to genetics. One wonders a little about the validity of the test. It's just hard to imagine that specific combination running around breeding.
Any other ideas or thoughts? I wish I had a photo to share.
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I've seen a ton of people run the tests on their dogs and I've never thought they were in any way reliable. It'll come up with breeds that are just simply not out there making mutts - things like cotons or Sussex Spaniels or Dutch Shepherds. There's a couple hundred of those in the entire country, and NONE of them are on the street breeding with a random Chow or something.
How fun! I know of some purebred golden retriever puppies that were bred by a guide dog organization that have some brindling and I think the markings of the yorkshire terrier could mutate to be a brindle. I think almost any breed combination can create brindling, even without a true "brindle" color in one breed due to how the genes combine. How fun! I think it'd be fun to compare the DNA results of a lot of mixed breed brindle dogs and see all the crazy combinations that people label as "pit bulls" or "lab/rott" mixes. How fun!
That is interesting.
I am from Finland and I have never ever heard about brindle finnish spitz! I have heard that german shepard mixes can be brindle altough neither of parents is carrier of the brindle gene but I am not sure if that is true.
The brindling could very well come from the Golden. Goldens are e/e, which means they have a mutation that keeps them from having black pigment in their hair. Thus they can 'hide' brindle. Discussion here:
http://retrieverman.wordpress.com/2009/12/02/brindle-in-malinoisgolden-crosses/
Finkies are pretty distinct from the Pom/Continental spitz family, genetically, and brindle MAY have come in from something else used to reduce the size of the smallest spitz that became zwergspitz/modern poms (perhaps Chih)- it does occur in kleinspitz but I haven't been able to find an example of a mittel with it and it just plain doesn't occur in grossespitz.
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