BorderSheepdog is often thought of as a black and white dog, but that's not the case. Border Collies can have a variety of coat colors, some with blue spots and some with three colors. Black and white coat color is the most representative, but a black and white border collie may carry a recessive color gene. It's important to keep in mind that breeders setting a dog's coat color are not entertainment when some colors are unusual or even scarce. Personality, health, breed characteristics are all traits that breeders should pay attention to. Occasionally, different colors appear accidentally, or through a breeder program.

How is the coat color of border collies inherited?

Animals (canids or other) from They inherit a number of traits from their parents. These inheritances are controlled by genes. Offspring inherit genes equally from their parents. Each dog carries two genes for each genetically controlled attribute, one from the father and one from the mother. Likewise, fathers and mothers also carry two inherited genes from their grandparents in each of their attributes. Although dogs have two genes for each attribute, only one is inherited from the father and only one is inherited from the mother, which is why we have the diversity.

Each gene has a dominant factor and a recessive factor. For example, a dog inherits the gene for pure black from its father and the gene for pure red from its mother. Because the pure black gene is dominant and the pure red gene is recessive, the pure black gene will mask the pure red gene, so the dog will have a pure black coat color. But when the dog breeds, each puppy will get only one of these genes -- some may inherit the gene for solid black, and some may inherit the gene for recessive solid red. Genes control various character traits, such as coat color, ear posture, coat length, eye color, and more. The four puppies can be quite different from each other, some may have pointed ears, some short ears, some long hair, and some smooth hair. The most attractive is the coat color of the Border Collie. Some pups may be black and white, some may be red-grey and black-spotted, and some may be blue and buff. Coat color is not determined by one gene, but by several genes, each with a dominant factor and a recessive factor. The table below shows the four genes that determine border collie coat color, and defines the dominant and recessive factors for each gene. Gene dominant recessive

gene 1 pure black and pure red gene 2 non-light yellow light yellow gene 3 unchanged light to light gene 4 blue-grey or red-grey with black spots not 'blue-grey or red-grey with black spots '. Thus, the gene that determines solid color has a dominant factor in black and a recessive factor in red. The gene that determines whether or not spots are spotted has a dominant gene that shows spots and a recessive gene that doesn't.

Give an example of the inheritance of pure color genes, such as a pure-haired male dog carrying two black genes mated with a female dog carrying both black and red genes. Both male and female dogs display black and white coat color because the female dog's red recessive gene is masked by her dominant black gene. All four offspring inherited two genes for solid color, one from the father and one from the mother, but it was free choice which gene came from the father or the mother. The proportion of genetic inheritance is shown below. Every puppy inherits the black gene from the father because their father only has the black gene. They inherit either the black gene or the red gene from their mother, both with a fifty percent chance. All offspring display black and white coat color because the dominant gene for black masks the recessive gene for red. It is impossible to tell which offspring carry the red recessive gene, so they all display black and white coats like their parents.

If a dog carrying two black genes is mated with another dog carrying two red genes, their offspring will also be black and white because they both inherit the black genes from their fathers (who only have two genes). a black gene can provide). All offspring will then carry a recessive gene (the red gene) from the mother (the mother only has the red gene to offer). It is not apparent whether these offspring carry the red gene, but if their mother is known to be red, they must carry a recessive red gene.

If a dog carries one black and one red gene, mate with another dog that also carries one black and one red gene. The proportions of the offspring's coat color are shown in the figure below. A dog will show red because it carries two recessive genes for red, one from its father and one from its mother. Other offspring will show black and white, although two dogs will each carry a red recessive gene. One of the dogs will display black and white with two genes for black, the same coat color as the other dog with one gene for black and one gene for red.

If a dog carrying one black gene and one red gene is mated with another dog carrying two red genes, the probabilities of the offspring's coat color are shown in the figure below. All offspring will carry the recessive red gene (their mothers can only pass this on to them). Two offspring will show red because they carry two red recessive genes, and the other two will show black and white even though they carry a hidden recessive red gene.

If a dog carrying two dominant black genes is mated with a dog that also carries two dominant black genes, all offspring will appear black and white. Because parents can only provide dominant black genes to their offspring, there are no recessive red genes. Then, it is impossible to tell whether a black and white dog carries the recessive red gene, because the masking properties of the dominant gene always hide the recessive red gene.

If a dog carrying two recessive red genes is mated with the same dog carrying two recessive red genes, all offspring will show red. Because parents can only provide recessive red genes to offspring. There is no dominant black gene overshadowing the recessive red gene.

While the above examples only show how solid coat colors are inherited, other coat colors are inherited in the same way, and these four genes are the main factors that determine the coat color we see in Border Collies. Border Collie Color The table below shows how an individual inherits these four genes from their parents and affects the coat color of the Border Collie.