Be sure to check out the resources below for more information and context for this episode!

About Dr. Casey Carl DVM: Dr. Carl is the Associate Medical Director at Paw Print Genetics. He is a veterinarian and is a strong proponent of using preventative medicine to limit animal suffering. He has experience working with the AVMA in addition to his 4 years in clinical practice.

Laura and Dr. Carl talk about the primary colors in dogs, and what the different loci mean (you may have heard of things like e-locus or k-locus). Dr. Carl gives an overview of how genetics works in influencing what colors dogs are.

They then discuss what affects nose color and foot pad color (it isn’t always the same as what affects coat color!).

Get a brief overview of how genetics works, what genetic mutations entail, what loci are, and what we’ve learned from the dog genome over the past decade.

Dr. Carl explains what merle is from a genetic standpoint, as well as what harlequin and merlequin are in Great Danes. He also describes the health challenges associated with breeding merle dogs.

Resources:

Canine Base Coat Color Genetic Flowchart

Your Guide to Canine Color and Trait Genetic Testing