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About a year ago, Mary and I witnessed an event that had a dramatic impact on our
lives as Schipperke breeders and as members of the Schipperke Club of America. I refer to the
birth of a handsome purebred Schipperke puppy...a “fawn” puppy...that we
named “Midwatch Sundance Kid.” I think it also is fair to say that
“Sundance” may well end up having a significant impact on the Schipperke
breed. That sounds pretty arrogant, but since it just might be true,
and there are lots of rumors out there, it seemed to me important to put all
the facts before you, and to let you draw your own conclusions.
“Sundance” was born to two Champions of my breeding: CH Midwatch Mighty Oz and CH Midwatch Merry Madeline…both, of course, solid black. Their pedigrees are completely innocent of any hint of color back at least nine generations. This was a first breeding for each. I’m sure you can imagine my expression when I spotted the “golden boy” in the whelping box…alongside his jet-black sister. Despite the shock and despite the fact that when I first joined the SCA over forty years ago people spoke in hushed whispers about “color” in our breed, it never for a moment occurred to me to try to hide this event nor, worse, to put the puppy down. Indeed, within hours of his birth I notified all those who had helped me over the years to develop my little kennel. Also, within hours of this birth, I contacted the VetGen Laboratory in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where their researchers are doing studies on color in a handful of breeds. Some of you may recall that, when the president of VetGen came to our Specialty Show in Wichita at my invitation to discuss their research into Epilepsy, Mr. Duffendack had also shown great interest in a “chocolate” Schip that was on the premises. I had discussed their research then and later and I was quite aware of the fact that the VetGen laboratory wanted badly to get some examples of colored coats in our breed.
At my request, VetGen sent me DNA swab kits for both
parents and the two puppies, I took the samples and returned them within a
few days. Not long afterward, VetGen reported back to me that the DNA
samples I had sent had enabled them to pinpoint the “color genes” in the
chromosome chain of the Schipperke. This meant, they reported, they were
only a few research-weeks from being able to offer a “color test” for
Schipperkes. This may sound like a slam-dunk because there are only
supposed to be black Schips, but anyone who follows the breed is aware
that there are non-black colors out there: brown, chocolate, “blue” (sort of
a slate grey) and, of course, the most common, fawn. And U.S. breeders do
NOT want the colored Schips messing up their breeding programs. There have
been a lot of “expert” opinions as to why colored Schips popped up once in
a while, but very little reliable, scientific evidence of the color
building blocks in dogs had been offered.
This, my friends, is
changing, and changing rapidly. The researchers at VetGen have been
in the forefront of efforts to “map” the canine genome. They already
On the color front,
VetGen has isolated and is now offering
color testing for a
total of fourteen breeds - now including the Schipperke - using what
they call their “ChromaGene” test. The inclusion of Schipperkes in
their testing program is new, and directly traceable to the data collected
from “Sundance” and his family. Let me expand a bit on what we now know causes the appearance of colored coats in Schipperkes.
You can get a lot more information by reviewing a couple of books (a
brief bibliography is attached), and by referring to the VetGen website, but
a short introduction may be helpful:
The locus for coat
color in the Schipperke chromosome, or DNA chain, is resident in two pair of
genes that control the color of the hair. In the Schip, the “B” gene is the
one that produces black coat; the “E” gene is the one that permits dark
color to be formed in the coat. Each Schipperke has a pair of each, so that
in most Schips, the coat color locus in the chromosome can be identified as
“BBEE” with one of each letter coming from each parent. “BBEE” means the
Schip throws black coat and his coat is also black.
The locus of the gene and the variant that produces non-black coats was
only recently added to the literature by VetGen research.
Variations
in the “B” locus usually are shown as “b” an alternative and recessive gene
which results in off-shades of black, such as brown or chocolate
(and possibly blue). Variations in the “E” locus are shown as “e” an alternative and hidden
gene which prevents dark pigment from forming in the hair. Both
of the genes in this locus must be “e” to result in the fawn or blond Schip.
The potential distribution of these genes is sometimes expressed in a graph
called the “Punnet Square” an example of which follows:
I was able to learn almost immediately from VetGen that the color
in “Sundance” was produced because both of his parents carried
the hidden “e” gene, and the law of averages being what it is, his color
chromosomes came out as “BBee.” The “Punnet Square”
for the “E” gene in this litter is shown as follows:
Of course, the big
question I had was, “Where did the “e” gene come from?” Was it
in all my dogs? Only a couple? What kind of breeding strategy
was I going to have to follow in the future?
Happily enough, the
answers to some of these questions were provided in the second phase of the
genetic research undertaken by VetGen on our behalf. In this phase I
provided DNA samples from six more Schipperkes: Paternal grandparents Satchmo
Satchmo of course is
one of my main stud dogs, and has produced twelve litters of all-black
puppies, some of whom—but by no means all of them—are probably carrying
the hidden “e” gene. There have been six different bitches involved and
chances are none of them carried the “e” gene or we might have seen color
sooner. It was not until we bred Oz (a Satch son) to Maddie (a Satch
grand-daughter) that we ran across a mating of two ‘Ee” parents…and even
then we might have missed the color since the odds were 3:1 against coming
up with a fawn.
However, the good
news is - at least from my point of view - that I’m a lot better off than
most of us…I know where the color marker is, and I now know how to avoid
it.
But what is good news for the rest of you is that there is now
a test to determine if the hidden “e” gene is resident in any of your dogs.
For the cost of a tail-docking, you can have your breeding stock tested and
put your minds at rest. Or, if it turns up, you can adjust your breeding
strategy to avoid the possibility of color. I will continue to breed both
Oz and Maddie - in fact I already have done so - but not to each other. Maddie
has produced a nice all-black litter from another male, and Oz has buns in
the oven now (another bitch) which are due in a few weeks. You see, there is life after color!
Some
of you may be wondering where Satchmo got his little sneaky color gene. And
of course, I was very concerned. I no longer have either of his
parents alive to test, but his pedigree is out there on Kristin Henry’s
website, and I suggest you take a hard look at it. If you have any of
his ancestors in your pedigrees, you might be well advised to have
your breeding stock “ChromaGene” tested as well. Some of the names in
Satchmo’s pedigree may be familiar to many of you: “CH Ebon Imp Apollo,”
“CH Skipalong Echo,” “CH Jetstar’s Command Performance,” “CH Klinahof’s
Marouf a Draco,” “CH Green Lakes WaterBoy” and “CH Ye Ole Lamplighter of
San Dil Acres” to name a few. That little gene came from somewhere…When
researching these pedigrees, however, the best you can do if you find a
common ancestor, is to have your dog tested for the recessive color gene.
As far as Satchmo’s color gene is concerned--we simply don’t know
where it came from. In the first place, we’d have a hard time proving any
color in past generations, because of the common practice of not registering
(or worse, destroying) any colored pups that showed up. In the second
place, if a colored pup was reported, it has been a common
assumption that any siblings of the colored pup also “carried color.”
This simply is not true--a glance at the “Punnet Square” above shows that
one or more littermates may carry no color at all, while the others might
carry it as a recessive gene.
I need to emphasize
something I mentioned before because I’ve already heard that some of our
more “informed” members have been spreading the report that the color came
from Woody and Diane Harris’ “Thumper.” We know, of course, that it DID
NOT. Nor did it come from my late and much missed little British bitch
“Beauty” nor from any of the Landmark dogs in my pedigrees. No, the little
“e” rascal has been lurking among my own lines for a long time, waiting for
its opportunity. We know he’s there, now, though,
so he is pretty powerless.
Now, another fact of
which I need to advise you is what is going to become of Sundance. This is
another reason I’m using this letter to inform you, because I have already
heard several reports that he’s been sold. He has not, but I have
reached an agreement with a lady in England who will be buying a
co-ownership in Sundance so that he may be imported, shown and used to
refresh the gene pool of fawn/cream Schipperkes in that country.
Now,
this is where some of my peers have been gravely offended by my
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have successfully located the gene causing von Willebrand's Disease in a number
of breeds, have also isolated several other rare disorders and have been
conducting intense research to find the elusive gene that causes genetic
epilepsy. 
and Sable, and maternal grandparents Thumper and Missy. The other two samples were from parental siblings Olivia (Oz’s Sister) and Ro-Bear (Maddie’s
brother). The results of this test was most enlightening: Satchmo is BBEe;
Sable is BBEE, Thumper is BBEE, and Missy is BBEe. (Since Missy is also a
Satch-Sable daughter, it’s easy to see where she got the “e” gene.) The
siblings carried out the “law of averages” in their genetic makeup: Olivia
is BBEE and RoBear is BBEE. So the culprit in my kennel is Satchmo. 