Take a look at this dog....?

[Suki Wingy]

Thanks for all your input. Have you studied genetics at college? I am asking because that is one of the majors I am looking into, along with zoology or ecology.

[SemaviLady]

Have you studied genetics at college? I am asking because that is one of the majors I am looking into, along with zoology or ecology.

This is a complicated question.

I did have genetics when I was in high school (overseas) and different kinds of genetics courses when I was in college. But at the time I was taking these genetics courses decades ago, much of genetics was still in a sort of theoretical state because the actual genes were unknown and various species' genomes were yet to be worked out. Mendellian theory, punnett squares, & practical experience gave us theoretical genes that would 'explain' various behaviors we'd see in breeding.

It is only now with the growing technology of "molecular genetics"(as opposed to "classical genetics") that we are now able decode and look more closely into parts of the various (species) genomes. Now it has become possible to attribute a 'dominant' D ('d' is blue in dogs) to a specific part of genetic code in canines.

You will probably learn quite a bit about general genetics in basic college courses, but these don't teach very much at all about the genetics within different species. For example, the genetics of dogs and their coat patterns are different from that found in cats, or goats and zebras for that matter. (Or Mendel's sweet peas. ) Even in the same species... PRA and dwarfism in two different breeds of dogs may actually involve different chromosomes or loci -- which means breeding affected dogs between two different breeds can produce a whole litter of unaffected carriers.

So yes, I did study genetics in school, but now, it's quite a different animal all together.

And it will continue evolve. For example, people attribute certain things to 'genetics' (such as diabetes and heart disease) but this can be a red herring because gene coding behaves little more than like software, like a computer program. If you change the food or other elements of the environment... you change the way some genes are expressed and they in turn, affect other genes within the individual in question.

Good luck with your future choices. You may find some studies/topics come more naturally for you but it may still be difficult to decide the best answer for you. Like some of us, you may take another path because challenge itself has its own rewards.

[Suki Wingy]

Thanks again. I guess I'll have to just settle with never knowing what breeds he is, but that's not too bad.

[shepgirl]

omg...and we're left hanging....I can't stand the suspense...lol

[Laurel Mc]

I have a blue heeler mix and she looks very similar. I am almost sure there is some blue heeler in this one. Mine is more spotted than marled like some blues, its a more uncommon coat. Dalmations are one of the breeds that were crossed to create the blue heeler so that may account for the coat like a dalmation, but this dog has a more stocky body and the shape of the head is much more like a blue, also.

I've never been able to figure out mine either. She's a blue/?