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Is he Brindle, or Agouti??????

12K views 29 replies 10 participants last post by  purplesully 
#1 ·
My beautiful and smart Boxer/Lab had puppies 10 days ago. Two are obviously brindle like the mother, but one is a little tricky for me. At some angles he looks brindle, but he has a lot of hairs with brown tips. That makes me wonder about his coloring. Can you help me figure it out? What is he?

Brindle?
Agouti?
COULD he be both?

One picture shows him with a brindle sister. The other picture shows him with his other brindle sister.

THANKS everyone!
 

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#2 ·
The individual hairs are banded with different colours in agouti coats. If you check out this site: Dog Coat Colour Genetics and know the lineage of each parent dog, you can know the likelihood of any given coat colour coming out in your litter.
 
#3 ·
The individual hairs are banded with different colours in agouti coats...
I understand that 'agouti' color means that the hairs are banded (different at the base than at the tip). But that does not help me figure out what to call this puppy's color. He *looks* brindle sometimes, but other times he *looks* agouti. Some hairs are banded, but in other parts he has black hairs next to red hairs. :) thanks.
 
#4 ·
I would say that the dog is brindle, with the agouti allele (meaning that the agouti gene is expressed in the coat). By coat terms, the dog probably doesn't really have an official name for the whole coat colour. An accepted coat colour for a breed is something selected for amongst many different variables. Those that are not accepted for any breed usually go unnamed, as people breeding to standard have no reason to breed them. There are even instances in which coat colour can indicate serious genetic defects (look up double merle gene or double harlequin... OR lethal white for horses) and so are excluded from breeding programs wholesale-- IDEALLY!
 
#11 ·
I'd say he's a brindle.
but why would you breed Akita with a Labmix?
Aren't they on like different extremes in their way to stereotypically react on humans?
The Akita being very aloof and selective about who they like and the Labs being "tanks of love" that overrun every human with their bodychecks of affection. ;)
 
#14 ·
#16 ·
Wow. I have never heard of this.
My father raised two collie mix brothers from birth, so I figured it would be okay. They ate from the same bowl without fighting. They even walked (one on each side) alongside people without leashes. When one passed, the other seemed to 'get over it' in a normal time span. Do you think it was because my father asserted himself with them as 'pack leader'?

Thank you for the info.
:)
 
#18 ·
@purplesully - My family also raised two Collie mix brothers, a long time ago. It wasn't intentional - they got one from a neighbor and was just "holding" the other boy for another neighbor to come home from vacation, at which point they were just too attached. I doubt it was anything to do with being 'pack leader' as they didn't subscribe to that methodology, I think they were just easy dogs.

Another thing to keep in mind with having three puppies at once is the sheer responsibility of having three puppies at once. Training, housebraking, etc. is hard enough with one dog - multiplying it by three is just a nightmare!

Also - and this is something that not everyone considers a big deal - having multiple dogs the same age is hard. Maybe not at the beginning, but when they all start to age...it gets tragic. Even if you have funds enough at that time to cover vet expenses, the pain of losing dogs so close together is terrible to bear. I speak from experience - I lost two elderly dogs this year, and have another one who is aging (so far, so good) but losing her is going to be unimaginable.
 
#21 ·
This. My youngest are almost exactly five months apart (one turns over on the 4th, the other the 7th), and are currently 5 and 10 months old. This is a good age gap for me, and I'd be fine with having three young dogs at a minimum of 5 months apart. I wouldn't touch litter mates with a 10ft pole.
 
#19 ·
PoppyKenna and jclark343 Thank you for your insight. As much as I still want to hold on to more than one.... it looks like it would not be the best thing for the puppies. I want the best for them, and dog fights are NOT what I want. I will pick one. Most will be going to friends, so I'll still be able to see them. Thanks for the heads-up.
 
#20 ·
I think that littermate syndrome has only become a 'thing' in recent years because of the growing number of things our dogs must face in a suburban environment: separation from their owner during the workday, separation from each-other at times, walks in areas with high dog and human traffic, extended periods alone without supervision. In fact, it was the Guide Dogs Association who first studied and put a name to the phenomenon, while trying to study how the guide dogs in training would be impacted if puppy-raisers took them two at a time.

I think @amaryllis sends her dog to the groomer who had two siblings tear through the holding kennels in order to be with each other. That's a situation that dogs never encountered 15, 20, 30 years ago. But nowadays, yes, one would hope their dog can be kennelled next to the other family dogs without ripping their claws off in an anxious frenzy.

There's a littermate down the street from me who had the unfortunacy of losing his brother at the early age of five, rather than when both were old and half-asleep all the time. He now has some deep-seated and weird aggression problems toward dogs and humans. Not good news, especially if you're a husky!
 
#23 ·
Eh, I think this littermate syndrome is silly, personally. I'd never even heard of it until a couple months ago and know many a people who have raised littermates beforehand - heck, my first litter I could see myself keeping a couple puppies. I think if you can handle the responsibility of that many puppies and their training and care, if you want to make that decision, then go for it. If it becomes overwhelming for you, you are still able to find one or two new homes. Just don't make the decision lightly. The puppies are beautiful though, and I do hope you stick around so we can see more of them! The parents too, would love to see! I wouldn't count on them all getting the Akita temperment either and needing restrictions like purebred Akita owners....especially if both parents have Labrador in them and one has Boxer. Who knows how they might turn out temparment-wise, but the breeds beside Akita could triumph more so through them....
 
#24 ·
I am not a 'working mom' so I have the time to spend with the puppies during school hours. I live in the country with a big yard, so lots of playtime and space. Many have told me that I handle dogs well, so I am confident that I can train 2 puppies at one time. Besides, I house trained my four boys all at once :D LOL and they're on honor roll.
But seriously, I'll be very careful to watch out for signs of aggression. Any dog is capable of it.

Here is a picture of the the mom, as requested. No pics of the dad.
 

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#29 ·
Littermate syndrome isn't guaranteed but it DOES happen. I find it less of a concern personally than the hair-tearing frustration of dealing with multiple dogs being housebroken, multiple dogs teething at once, multiple dogs looking for something to chew on... FEEDING so many dogs very expensive puppy food and their vet bills..
 
#30 ·
We have put a lot of thought into it and decided (even though they are so painfully adorable) that one will be enough. Tiger (mom) will stay with us too. The hard part will be which one to pick!

A few of the puppies have already learned to whine at the front door when they have to go out. When we let one out we let them all out. We have been very diligent about watching for any 'potty' behavior, and they're learning fast that outside is the place to 'go'. But with only one, we will have more time to make him or her into a genius dog :D
 
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