Color Modification
Chocolate (bd)
Alternative Names: Brown, Liver, Chestnut, Red
This chocolate color variant, also known as “bd”, is associated with a dog’s darkest color pigment being limited to brown instead of black. Meaning all dark hair, nails and skin (including eye rims, nose and paw pads) will be a shade of brown or chocolate. This variant is found in the TYRP1 gene, known as the B locus. It was previously reported as Chocolate (Variant 3).
Breeds
Chocolate (bd) is common in:
Schapendoes
Bracco Italiano
Brittany
Miniature American Shepherd
Australian Shepherd
English Cocker Spaniel
Barbet
Neapolitan Mastiff
Weimaraner
Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever
Doberman Pinscher
Vizsla
American Cocker Spaniel
Lagotto Romagnolo
English Springer Spaniel
More Info
Did you know?
Chocolate dogs are unable to produce black pigment, so even their freckles are chocolate, and their eye color is usually gold or amber.
How it works
To show chocolate coloration a dog must inherit two chocolate variants, one from each parent. This can either be two copies of a particular variant, such as this one ("bd”), or two of any combination of chocolate variants. This variant is unique in that it can occur on the same chromosome as another chocolate variant, where both variants are donated from one parent. If the other parent does not also donate a chocolate variant, the dog will still express black pigment, not chocolate.
Prevalence
2 in 10 dogs
have one or more copy of this genetic variant in our testing.
Technical Details
| Gene | TYRP1 |
|---|---|
| Also Called | Brown (B) Locus |
| Variant | Deletion |
| Chromosome | 11 |
| Coordinate Start | 33,326,727 |
| Coordinate End | 33,326,729 |
All coordinates reference CanFam3.1
References & Credit
Credit to our scientific colleagues:
Schmutz, S. M., Berryere, T. G., & Goldfinch, A. D. (2002). TYRP1 and MC1R genotypes and their effects on coat color in dogs. Mammalian Genome, 13(7), 380–387. View the article