Genetics question

I've read with some breeds (because all of mine are rescued, mixed breed) that certain traits come from mother and others from father. I have to female adopted GP/Lab mix puppies and was wondering which parent the 6 toes trait comes from, so I will know if the mother or father was GP. Thanks!

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Sep 15, 2014
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starstarstarstarstar 		not quite
by: Ed A from NJ

Well if your talking about the back feet you maybe be seeing the great Pyrenees double dew claws. Sadly that will not tell you which parent is which. Genetics just don't work that cut and dry. If they did it would not take decades or even longer to engineer pure breeds. If you don't know which parent is which by having seen them you will never know. I have seen hundreds of dogs come through our rescue brother looking nothing like brother and the same for sisters. Like I said it just isn't that cut and dry. But I can tell you what is. If you love the dog and he loves your family nothing else matters. I promise you that is that cut and dry, you found a little piece of happiness.
Sep 16, 2014
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starstarstarstarstar 		Thank you :)
by: Anonymous

Yes, I'm talking about the back feet. I'm just curious, because we rescued two sisters who looked identical when we got them, but are not growing into the same dog, if that makes sense. They both have 6 toes on both back feet. I know it is possible for dogs in the same litter to have different fathers, but these two looked so much alike that it seemed they must have the same mother and father.

We have rescued 4 mutts in the last year and love our furry babies dearly!!! It doesn't matter what their makeup is. I'm just the curious type and have read that some physical attributes are genetically determined by one parent or the other.

Thanks for your response :)
Michelle
Sep 19, 2014
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starstarstarstarstar 		those six toes
by: Ed A from NJ

Michelle:
It is great that you want to find out as much as you can about your two babies. As to the 6 toes you're really seeing 4 toes ( probable very long ) and a double dew claw. The two on the inside of their paw are most likely the dew claws. Looking very much like ram horns. On great Pyrenees they are attached to the bones very much like a thumb on a hand. They should never be removed though some would tell you they can get in the way and even get torn. While it is true I can tell you with 18 years of great Pyrenees it has never happened to mine. When dogs are mix breed you can have one puppy carrying the mommies traits more while the other has daddy's and looks completely different. Just one thing and I sure you never meant anything but I say mix breed and never use the word mutt. Every mutt I ever meet walks on two legs! Our fur babies are far to wonderful to be mutts. Good luck and I would love to see a picture of your lovely babies.
Sep 20, 2014
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starstarstarstarstar 		My Babies
by: Anonymous

I think of the word mutt as an endearing term :) I certainly didn't ever think it would offend anyone and I apologize.

Yes, I'm talking about the double dew claws on the back feet. One of the girls had two attached by bone and two attached only by skin (one of each on each foot). The other girl has the same on one foot and on the other the two toes are fused together, with deformed nails that will be incredibly difficult to keep trimmed :(

Here is a link to a pic of my pack on July 4th. Looks like you'll have to copy and paste it into your browser.
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bJ9eZ2uVSGranPwcFremaNMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink
The girls have grown a bit since then, of course. Daisy is over 50 lbs already and Tulip is still around 40 lbs. They are 6.5 mos old.

Michelle

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