Fur Color and Dog Personality

Dec. 13, 2006 — The color of a dog's fur may seem to be just a whim of nature and genetics that reveals little about the dog. But a new study claims that coat color for at least one breed, the English cocker spaniel, reflects a pooch's personality.

Prior research has suggested that fur color is also linked to behavior in labrador retrievers, while the type of fur — in this case, wiry or long — may indicate temperament in miniature dachshunds. Wiry-haired mini dachshunds are often more feisty than their mellower, long-haired cousin

The latest study, recently published in Applied Animal Behavior Science, determined that golden/red English cocker spaniels exhibit the most dominant and aggressive behavior. Black dogs in this breed were found to be the second most aggressive, while particolor (white with patches of color) were discovered to be more mild-mannered.

In labrador retrievers, the color rank from most to least aggressive was determined to be yellow, black and chocolate.

The behavior-fur color connection is likely due to related genetic coding that takes place during the pup's earliest life stages, according to lead author Joaquín Pérez-Guisado.

"Maybe the link (to coat color) is due to the fact that the ectoderm (one of the three primary germ cell layers) is where the skin and central nervous system originate in the embryo," he told Discovery News.

Pérez-Guisado, a researcher in the Department of Medicine and Animal Surgery at the University of Cordoba, Spain, and his colleagues measured levels of dominance and aggression in 51 seven-week-old English cocker spaniel puppies that were either full siblings or half siblings.

The tests looked at how quickly a person could capture a puppy's attention, how well puppies followed the individual, how the dogs behaved while restrained, how they exerted their social dominance and what they did when they were lifted off the floor.

In many cases, the golden-colored dogs resisted human contact and even tried to bite the tester, while the particolor pups often wagged their tails and seemed to enjoy the attention.

While genes control coat color and appear to predispose behavior in certain dogs, Pérez-Guisado said that how dogs are raised plays the biggest role in behavior. He determined that environmental factors account for 80 percent of dominant, aggressive personalities while genes only influence 20 percent of dogs' demeanors.

"It is very important to give the dog an optimum and suitable environment in order to have a dog with a low dominance aggressive behavior level," he said. "For that reason, owners are primarily responsible for this undesirable dog behavior."

Canine behaviorist and trainer Wendy Volhard and professional breeder Carolyn Sisson, who is president of the English Cocker Spaniel Club of San Diego, California, both told Discovery News they're not surprised by the findings. They said that coat color's link with behavior has been "a well-known, old wives' tale" for years.

Although they both think there is "some truth to the recent findings," Sisson believes a dog's genetic lineage, going back many generations, is a better indicator of temperament than color.

isson explained that there are 29 recognized different coat colors for English cocker spaniels, and combinations other than golds mating with golds can result in a golden dog.

"It's the line breeding out of puppy mills in England that probably resulted in the dominant traits," Sisson said.

She added, "The very best and worst of my dogs have been spaniels. They seem to cover every behavioral extreme."

Pérez-Guisado and his colleagues next plan to study the English springer spaniel and English cocker spaniel genomes to pinpoint common genes associated with so-called dog "rage" and coloration.

15 images of dog for your baby fill colors

Genetics of Coat Color and Type in Dogs

Two classic books tell us much about the inheritance of coat colors and patterns in dogs. The one most quoted is by the late Clarence C. Little, The Inheritance of Coat Color in Dogs, Howell Book House, 1957. The other is by the late Ojvind Winge, Inheritance in Dogs with Special Reference to the Hunting Breeds, Comstock Publishing, Ithaca, N.Y. 1950. A third book, Comparative Genetics of Coat Colour in Mammals, by the late A. G. Searle, Logos Press 1968 is also a useful resource. This page is organized by the coat colors or pattern names and the gene loci postulated by Little are included where possible. Molecular studies are showing that Little was usually correct in his hypotheses, but not always.

Many people read a more recent book by Malcolm B. Willis, Genetics of the Dog, Howell Book House, New York. 1989. His terminology is different for several alleles than that of Little. This leads to some real confusion for people who try to read several books or webpages designed by people who have read some of these books. All 3 of these books are out of print so they are difficult to purchase, but try your local library. There is a chapter in a book called The Genetics of the Dog edited by A. Ruvinsky & J. Sampson, CABI Publishing but sold through Oxford in North America, which contains a chapter by Philip Sponenberg and Max Rothschild on coat color. This book is still for sale by order at orders@oup-usas.org.

None of these books contain DNA studies however. All are based on hypothesized alleles at hypothesized loci to fit data obtained from coat colors and patterns of dogs from various breeds and litters. DNA research has shown that there are more genes involved than those hypothesized by these authors and that the actual number of alleles at genes they discuss is more for some genes and fewer for other genes. An invited review paper on the DNA research on the genes known to be involved in coat color was published December 1, 2007 in Animal Genetics, with the photo page shown above. A newer book "The Genetics of the Dog", 2nd Edition (2012), edited by E.A. Ostrander and A. Ruvinsky contains a chapter entitled "Molecular Genetics of Coat Colour Texture and Length in the Dog" by Christopehre B. Kaelin and Gregory S. Barsh.

Schmutz, S.M., T. G. Berryere. 2007. A review of the genes affecting coat color and pattern in domestic dogs. Animal Genetics 38: 539-549.

There is a very good book entitled "Future Dog, Breeding for Genetic Soundness" by Patricia J. Wilkie. This was commissioned by the Canine Health Foundation. Although the information on coat color does not use the typical abbreviations and is limited in this book, the explanations of basic inheritance and new DNA approaches to research and diagnosis is very good.

This webpage is an attempt to summarize some of the current DNA research being done on dog coat color. Whenever possible, publications are listed documenting the research supporting the statements. Unless otherwise stated, the research that is not referenced is work from our laboratory or work done in conjunction with our collaborators. Sometimes the work is not yet published but is the result of experiments in progress or even just hypotheses of which gene might be the locus Little described from recent DNA findings in other species. It typically takes a year from the time the data are written in a manuscript and that manuscript appears in a scientific journal. We are far from having identified all the genes involved in dog coat color using DNA. There seem to be many more than Little predicted. Therefore do not consider this summary a final conclusion, but merely a work in progress.

When you read these pages and attempt to determine the genotype of your dog or an upcoming litter, please keep in mind that no gene acts in isolation. All dogs have all these genes. In some breeds the alleles are "fixed" which means all dogs are homozygous for the same allele. As a rule of thumb, the more coat colors that occur in your breed, the more genes will be needed to explain the genotype and phenotype of your dog. Furthermore there are interactions among the various genes in the pathway so that some colors are not possible unless particular alleles occur at more than one locus (i.e. a dog must have at least one E at MC1R and two of the b mutations at TYRP1 to be brown).

Our dog color research uses dogs owned by private individuals who participate in our studies by contributing DNA cheek brush samples. Most of the samples come from breeders who respond to a request through their breed club, students in our classes or individuals we approach at dog events. These are not dogs bred in research colonies, but simply dogs living normal dog lives. We thank them and their owners for volunteering their DNA to help us understand the gentics of color better.

Our research has been funded by a number of sources over the past few years. We thank the Canine Health Foundation of the American Kennel Club, the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada and HealthGene Laboratory, Toronto for their support.

"Color Breeding"

Recently there are several dog clubs, groups and breeders speak about "Color Breeding" with disdain. The research we conduct is not meant to advocate that dog breeders purposefully crossbreed or breed mutants to introduce colors or patterns that were not a tradition in their breed. Our research is meant to help dog breeders understand how coat colors and patterns are inherited so that if more than one color variant has been a classic color in their breed, they can plan matings to get pups of one or another color or several if that suits the aims of their breeding program. I do not think that rare colors should raise the price, let alone the "value" of a dog. I would hope that we value every dog we bring into our life, whatever breed or color it might be.

Color has been an integral trait in the development of many dog breeds. It was used for at least one hundred years as one of the traits under selection. In a few cases, certain colors were selected against because the people at a particular time in history thought these colors typically brought health related problems with them. Some colors do. Other colors were selected against or for because the breeders felt that those colors help that breed do its job better, as in the case of the preponderance of brown colored hunting dogs in the European hunting breeds. Those 19th century hunters thought that brown was a better camouflage color and several of them were poaching game on the baron's land!

"Guessotypes" versus Genotypes

Coat color genetics has fascinated many people for many, many years. There are countless websites posted attributing specific genotypes to specific dogs based on the classic books by C. C. Little (1957) or O. Winge (1950). Many teachers have asked students to attempt such an exercise, as a learning experience, including me.

However, these are at best an educated guesstimate of the underlying true genotype. I sometimes therefore call these “guessotypes” to distinguish them from actual genotypes obtained by DNA testing. Keep in mind, that not all alleles, and not even all genes involved in dog coat color are yet identified and so a complete coat color genotype is not yet possible for many breeds of dogs.

Trying to do good guessotyping requires several high quality photographs, or better, a chance to examine the living dog. Even good guessotyping is prone to flaws when the photos are not great or the dog is a breed that has several possible genotypes associated with the same phenotype, or worse is of a phenotype that changes with age. Trying to guessotype from a word description about the coat color of a dog is especially hazardous.

For example, a dog described as red, black and white could be a black-and-tan dog with white feet and/or face. It could be a fawn dog with a black facial mask and random white spots. It could be a brindle dog with a white chest mark. It could be a fawn dog with a white blaze and black skin showing around its muzzle, but actually no black hair. It could be a merle dog with copper points and Irish spotting. It could be a fawn dog with pale undersides and black tipped hairs along its spine. It could be a fawn puppy with black tipped hairs all over and a small white chest spot that changes to a very pale cream over its entire body by 3 years of age. Words only go so far in accurately describing a coat color phenotype.

Although guessotyping can be fun and even a bit of a useful mind puzzle and/or educational exercise, it should not be used to make serious decisions about the coat colors possible in offspring or parents. In other words, guessotyping has limitations. Therefore let's try to limit its use to certain exercises and not assume that guessotypes are necessarily accurate.

Articles in the Popular Press

Genetics of Coat Color in Dogs. Versatile Hunting Dog, January 2001 issue, p. 13-14. Sheila Schmutz.

Coat Color by Crayon. Canine Review, September 2003 issue. Sheila Schmutz.

Glossary of Terms Used in Relation to Dog Coat Colors and Patterns

• Belton a name for ticking in the English Setter
• Bicolor a dog that has some shade of black or brown and also white but no tan in breeds like the Shetland Sheepdog
• Blenheim a name for red coat color with white markings in the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
• Blue a coat color that is typically a solid grey (note that a Blue Belton is a black ticked/roan dog however)
• Brindle a pattern of alternating stripes of eumelanin and phaeomelanin pigmentation, i.e. yellow and black, red and black, cream and grey, etc.
• Chocolate a coat color that is typically brown, used in breeds such as the Labrador Retriever
• Domino a term used in Afghan Hounds to mean a specific facial pattern and body pattern caused by a specific genotype (see the Afghan page).
• Dilution an effect on a coat color that causes it to become a paler shade like blue or cream
• Eumelanin a melanin pigment that causes some shade of black or brown coloration
• Grizzle a term used in Salukis to mean a specific facial pattern and body pattern caused by a specific genotype (see the Saluki page). This term in other breeds means something different.
• Harlequin a coat color pattern of ragged black spots on a white background in the Great Dane
• Irish Spotting a pattern of white markings that include white undersides, a white blaze and usually a white collar
• Liver a coat color that is typically brown but is occasionally used to describe a shade of orange or phaeomelanin pigmentation
• Mask a pattern in which the muzzle and perhaps as far back as the ears are pigmented by eumelanin, resulting in a black or brown face
• Merle a pattern which reminds one of marble in which the melanin pigment is swirled and patchy amongst many white areas
• Phaeomelanin a melanin pigment that causes some shade of red, orange, gold or yellow coloration
• Piebald random spots of color on a white background
• Red a coat color that is typically the result of phaeomelanin pigmentation, however in some breeds such as Doberman Pinschers brown is called red
• Roan a pattern of intermingled white and colored hairs on some part of the body
• Ticked a pattern of many small pigmented spots on a white or roan background
• Tricolor a combination of some shade of black or brown, some shade of red often called tan and some white. Therefore both eumelanin and phaeomelanin pigmentation occurs on the same dog.

The part of dogs

this is a photo about parts of dog

Some art pictures of dog

Bigger than Life - Airedale Terrier Dog Art Painting by Montana Artist

About This Painting:

The second image shows just one of a multitude of steps that the whole painting process took. 

Four feet X five feet is a large painting. I kept a photo diary of the entire process from building the canvas to the final paint stroke. From a piece of canvas and sticks of wood to a finished painting that is bigger than life. The process took over 100 hours and was a labor of love. Barkley is the wonderful dog who the painting portrays. You can see her spirit shining through.

Debby Carman Ho-Dee-Do Basset Hound Dog art

Debby Carman Ho-Dee-Do colorful and cute Basset Hound Dog art giclee on stretched canvas. 

Debby Carman describes Ho-Dee-Do: Doing nothing was high on the agenda of this delightful Basset Hound. Droopy but not dopey, snoozy but not sleepy, this was one big dog with a little set of lazy legs!

Creative and colorful, this beautiful fine art giclee on stretched canvas makes a wonderful gift for that special child or big kid! Hand signed by the artist.

Dog Art on a Brown Paper Bag

You cannot get any more ingenious than with dog art on a brown paper bag and a set of Sharpies. Even better yet, it is done by a father who draws dog art for his children over the lunch hour. Everybody should have one! A bag…not the father.

Recently I was working on a brown paper bag article for a client and ran across the website, Lunch Bag Art by Derek, a father who draws on brown paper lunch bags for packing lunches for his children, using Sharpies as the medium for his creativity. To make a long story short, we contacted him and told him how impressed we were with his art work. We received this picture from him and a wonderful email. Keep up the good work, Derek. The world is watching you!

About dog art

Dog art has been a favorite of many since the ancient times. In ancient days, dogs were mostly portrayed as hunters and very little pictures are available where the dog was seen in a calm and serene position. Contemporary dog art however see dogs as innocent and playful and they are show as cute andfriendly animals.

Dog art involves painting pictures of dogs or using the photographs of dogs in various ways to transform it in to art. Dog lovers first started this trend and now it has gained so much popularity. Dog art include dog jewelry,artwork of prints, posters, paintings and crafts, ceramics, stained glass, painted tiles, wooden dog items and more. Many people are working in this line where they either paint the dog pictures in objects or frame them and make items like key chains, etc. These people are the dog artists.

There are many renowned artists whose works are being sold for very huge sums and are in demand. Besides them there are many companies who have creative artists who work on such art.

The dog art may be based in the historic times or in the contemporary times. Dog art helps us to show our love for our dogs and they enlighten our houses. The dogs in the art may be running, jumping, playing, sleeping, or doing all sorts of poses. Puppy art is also in much demand because any people find dogs cuter when they are young. Dog art includes both young and old dogs and dog artists work on all kinds of different breeds. We can make them paint our dogs in any object we wish and get our own customized dog art. Dog art is done in fabrics, coffee mugs, t-shirts, caps, greeting cards, or even have the pictures framed. In case we don’t have dogs then we can choose any dog breed and in ay color doing any thing.

the lonely dog

A few years ago, Ivan Clarke took his family on holiday. As he departed, they looked back at their dog, looking wistfully after them. “That dog is lonely,” he said. Upon his return, he sketched, and then painted a picture like none he had ever done before. Instead of a gorgeous realistic landscape, brimming with light, Ivan painted a lively, whimsical image of a dog, standing fully clothed, looking longingly after a departing ship and lit by an over-bright moon. He called it “Bon Voyage.” Without knowing it, a legacy was born. After being asked for an “explanation” time and time again, Ivan began telling all and sundry the story of “Lonely Dog” - or “LD”, as he was later nicknamed, and the world in which he lived. 

One thing led to another, the story grew

Enter left stage a U.S. businessman called Jim. Jim had bought and commissioned a number of Ivan’s paintings. On one of his visits from the USA to Queenstown he saw “Bon Voyage” and wanted to buy it. Ivan declined, saying that the painting was “for his children.” On subsequent visits the same conversation was replayed, until Jim finally stepped in and said, “ At least do a few more paintings, and put the overview of the story together and let me show it to some contacts of mine back home.” Not long after, Ivan was contacted by an executive from one of the major movie studios, expressing interest in an option on the story!

Ivan however, had made spare copies of the folder containing the story, and had sent them off to Richard Taylor at Weta Workshop that is most well known for their work in The Lord of the Rings, which went on to earn five Oscars. Richard had also fallen in love with the story, and from this began an enduring relationship where the two would call each other up occasionally and dream things over together.

Meanwhile, Ivan had produced a total of eight paintings and a prodigious amount of gorgeous pencil drawings as the world of the Lonely Dog took shape, fast becoming an alternative reality. Lonely Dog’s musical abilities appeared, along with his band mates, as well as the orphanage where he was first found, cold and lonely, tucked inside a shoe. The town of “Alveridge” (anything but average) grew, the “Catside” of town began to strive for ascendancy over the “Houndside” and everyday life began to grind ever forwards.

Inspired by the enthusiasm for the little folder he had produced, and tired of answering “Wow! What is this all about?”, Ivan put together some light-hearted Alveridgean Tales with the help of a local Queenstown writer, added pictures of his paintings and pencil illustrations and self published “Lonely Dog - The Birth of a Legend” which quickly became known as “The Little Grey Book” as a limited edition of 300, selling them in his gallery at $285 each.

They sold quickly, with the last few selling for $1,000 each! The Ivan Clarke Gallery has now on-sold many of these “Little Grey Books” on behalf of the original purchasers to new buyers on the secondary market, willing to pay more than $6000 just to own what they believe is the beginning of a collectors legacy.

A mixture of Queenstown locals and overseas visitors progressively fell in love with Lonely Dog and his world, and have become avid collectors of all things “Alveridgean” - particularly limited edition prints and drawings. Soon the idea of limited edition bronze character sculptures was hatched between Richard and Ivan. Richard Taylor, while perhaps best known for his special effects wizardry, is first and foremost a world-class sculptor.

The two now had their heads together over such “major issues” as the angle of a tail, and fall of a particular piece of fur. Now, collectors are rejoicing in a life size monumental bronze of LD himself, guitar slung over his back, sloping off into the distance. At a miniature level he is joined by “Bronson”; leader of the Bronson Howlers motorcycle gang - all powerful fore-arms and studded wristbands. “Rolph Flannegan”; Alveridge County Orphanage Headmaster and seminal influence on LD’s fascination with music - who glowers with a mixture of pride and bashfulness. “Celia Creme”; doyen of the feline fashion world - strikes a sultry, end of the evening pose

At the Ivan Clarke Gallery, in Queenstown, surprising things began to happen. Interest in the world of Lonely Dog began to consume both staff and visitors alike. Sales of all things Alveridgean rapidly overtook those of the traditional landscapes. Lonely Dog soon became an independent enterprise in it’s own right completely separate from Ivan Clarke Gallery.

The management team began the 18 month long process of making a really serious attempt to reveal the entire world of Alveridge in one, cohesive whole, gathering the many illustrations, sketches, scribblings and thought starters that defined LD’s world, and placing them together in one enormous volume - the Almalogue.

Titled “Alveridgea - and the Legend of The the Lonely Dog”. This epic leather-bound story-book gives a detailed account of the young hound’s life in which he eventually creates a name for himself as a legendary virtuoso rocker. It is a fascinating work of art in itself. It can be considered to be that of a Travelogue, Almanac and Poets journal including Alveridgean music, folklore and character interviews.

It is hard to describe the Almalogue. It looks like an extremely large, ancient book from another world. The book has a central medallion recessed in the leather embossed cover, and weights 4.3kg. It is presented in a fabulous wooden case with a cast bronze motif inlaid . The Almalogue book was originally written by “hounds”, and was intended to be a somewhat patriotic book portraying all things Alveridgean, alongside their national hero, their claim to fame - Lonely Dog.

The Almalogue then went on to be stored in he Alveridge County Library. The book has since been “stolen” and found once again, not only with all kinds of bits and pieces inserted into it (including postcards and beer mats), but also annotations all throughout it’s pages from the “locals” disputing and defacing as they see fit! There is also evidence that it has spent some time circulating the swanky Catside circles of Northern Tolleston. Hand bound, this “book” from cover to cover is a work of art in itself. Is it the be all and end all of Alveridge? Absolutely not! But it is the closest to it at this stage.

Created as the foundation for which screen-play, scriptwriters and all future “Lonely Dog” multi-media will be based on, it is believed that this limited edition work of art could have significant investment worth in years to come.The tale is inspired by Ivan’s family pet dachshund Arthur Snout. “The book explores outrageous notions and ideologies with a whole range of paranormal ideas you would expect to find around the next corner in downtown Port Alveridge,” says Ivan.