Colors | Solid Pattern | Roaning | Ticking | Open Marked Pattern | Tan Markings | Resources
      
"Color. Various.
Parti-colors are either clearly marked, ticked or roaned, the white appearing
in combination with black, liver or shades of red. In parti-colors it
is preferable that solid markings be broken on the body and more or less
evenly distributed; absence of body markings in acceptable. Solid colors
are black, liver or shades of red. White feet on a solid are undesirable;
a little white on throat is acceptable; but in neither case do these white
markings make the dog a parti-color. Tan markings, clearly defined and of
rich shade, may appear in conjunction with blacks, livers and parti-color
combinations of those colors. Black and tans and liver and tans are considered
solid colors." - Official Breed Standard for The English Cocker Spaniel,
approved by the American Kennel Club, October 11, 1988
English Cocker Spaniels are colorful but the
outcome of those colors comes from a wide range of genes. These genes
combine to determine two things - the coat color (black, red and
liver) and the coat patterns (solid and parti-color). Parti-color is further
broken down to "roan", "ticked", and "open marked" in order of dominance.
All of these factors are due to a recognized
color series (loci, that is, locations on the chromosomes) in dogs. The
generally recognized color series' are A(agouti), B (brown), C (Chinchilla series), D (blue dilution) E (extension which is responsible for red color in English Cockers), G (graying), M (merle), R (roaning), S (white spotting) and T (ticking.) In most cases multiple loci
will work together so several different genes can be used in combination
to produce a color. A gene may even mask the presence of another gene.
In genetics there is Phenotype, or how the dog
looks physically, and Genotype, the genetic makeup of the dog, which
may or may not be totally expressed in the phenotype. In addition, there
are genes which are more dominant than others and are thus called Dominant
(which are represented in charts with a Capital letter) and others which
are not as strong in expression which are called Recessive (which are
represented in charts with a Lowercase letter). Each dog receives one
set of genes from each parent. It is the combination of these many genes
which are responsible for not only coat color but ear length, darkness
and shape of eyes and the dog's entire conformation and quite often health
as well.
 Take a look below at the variety of colors available
in English Cocker Spaniels. Short descriptions of how the genes work
give an idea of how these colors and coat patterns have been recorded
in the genotype. Many of our understandings about color genetics come
from a book by Clarence C. Little titled The Inheritance of Coat Color
in Dogs. Today, researchers are still trying to answer many questions
about dominance relationships, new alleles, gene series, modifying factors,
etc. Additionally, coat color can also be affected by conditions in the
womb. There is not yet a definitive understanding of coat color.
COLORS
Loci in Coat Color
Black and Liver. For English Cockers
this loci is B, the brown series. The series allows the production of
black pigment. The genes for black (B) and liver (b) are
the same gene with black being dominant. A bb dog produces brown
pigment wherever the dog would have produced black, affecting not only
coat color but also the color of the skin, eye rims and nose.
Red. The gene for red is not the same
as the gene for black and liver. The loci is E, the extension
series. This series includes Ed (dominant black), E (normal
extension) and e (recessive red.) Thus, a red is produced by having
two (ee) recessive red genes. The skin and eye color generally
show through normally but some ee dogs will show reduced pigment
on the nose. They also seems to be more heavily affected by any gene modifier
that reduces pigment. Solid reds have something like a 30% higher chance
of retaining white on their face than black or liver puppies do, and red/orange
parti-colors tend to have more overall extension of white than black
or liver do.
If a dog carries E, the dominant gene
for "no red", it will be black coated (unless it also carries the two
recessive genes for liver, in which case it will be liver coated).
Red/Orange in Parti Colors. The same
loci (ee) recessive red will produce a red in the parti colors
that appears lighter. It is then registered as orange. Although, the loci
is the same (B, ee) they will be registered as orange in parti colors.
Occasionally the red will be darker like an Irish Setter or Welsh Springer
Spaniel. In these cases, the parti-color will be either red roan or red
and white.
Lemon and Golden. Lemon, a light orange, can appear almost yellow or buff. Lemon is a red/orange
dog (ee) that also has the loci for liver (bb.) So a lemon
must have have two recessives, the one that gives the red color (ee)
and the one that gives the liver color (bb.) The two recessives
lighten the coat color to lemon. There are other genetic factors such
as the "chincilla" gene and genetic modifiers that act together with the
liver gene to cause the yellow markings. A genetically solid lemon will
be registered in English Cocker Spaniels as either a red (who has a liver
nose) or golden. A lemon with any other coat pattern will be registered
with "lemon" in the name such as lemon roan.
An important fact to remember is that these color
factors are at work in solids, roans and parti-colors English Cocker
Spaniels the same way. Coat patterns are determined separately.
SOLID PATTERN
The solid coat pattern is
determined by the loci S, solid color. This is the normal gene in
breeds without white markings. An SS dog can completely lack white,
but it can also express very minor white markings such as a white streak
on the chest. Since S, solid color is dominant, a solid can carry for
parti-color, but a parti-color cannot carry for solid. A solid carrying
two genes for solid can only produce solid and bred to a parti-color will
only result in solid color puppies, but all those puppies will be carriers
for parti-color. If a solid that carries a gene for parti-color is bred
to a parti-color, some puppies will be solids and some will be partis, but
all the solids will carry for parti-color.
ROAN PATTERN
The loci
is R, roan. The nature of the coat pattern and the progressive
development of dark hair in a light area is unclear and still in debate.
Roan is defined as "having the base color (as red, black, or brown)
muted and lightened by a mixture of white hairs."
Roan (R) appears to be dominant to (rr)
non-roan, i.e. open marks. Roan can carry for open marks, but open marks
cannot carry for roan.
TICKING PATTERN
Open marked colors
may also have "ticking" in the coat. Ticking are flecks of color in areas
where the coat would have been white. When ticking occurs between patches,
they are registered as color, white and ticked. The loci is T, ticking. T (ticking) is dominant over
(t) lack of ticking. The amount and location of ticking are greatly
affected by genes for size, shape and density of the ticking.
There is disagreement
on whether ticking is the same as roaning or not. Both can occur
on the same dog, although roaning plus open marks cannot.
 |
| Black, White
and Ticked |
OPEN MARKED PATTERN
An
open marked dog will lack ticking or roaning in the coat. An open marked
dog will have clear white between patches. When ticking occurs between patches,
they are not truly open marked but registered color, white, and ticked.
Lack of ticking (tt) is recessive to roan and ticking. So, a roan
can carry for open marks, but open marks cannot carry for roan.
TAN MARKINGS
Any coat color or pattern can have tan markings which will
appear on the muzzle, over the eyes, on the chest, on the legs and under
the tail. The tan is loci (A) Agouti with the allele being (at).
Parti-colors can also be (at) but the coat pattern will remain
the same.
Tan is recessive. So, a dog which is itself tan
must have received the (at) loci from both parents. A dog may produce
a tan without showing tan marking if it has received one (at) from
a parent and is mated to another dog with the (at) as well.
Can a red or orange have tan marking?
Yes. A red or orange that is the product of two tan-marked parents
carries two genes for tan. Therefore it is genetically a "red and tan" or
"orange roan and tan" but phenotypically, it is not observed.
OTHER RESOURCES
Books
- Genetics of the Dog by Malcolm
Willis Aldo
- The Inheritance of Coat Color in Dogs by Clarence
C. Little, published by Howell Book House, 230 Park Ave., New York.
Web Sites
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