# Genetics of Color and the theory of the V Locus



## JAhlers (Nov 19, 2020)

I am going to preface this post by saying I am new to breeding standard poodles and I am trying to do things the correct way. I have gotten both my male and female genetically tested for health and color and have some questions.
A while back I was reading another post on here that had brought up a theory of the V locus and the possibility of that being the potential cause of a black clearing to blue. Has there been any more research on this or is there a way to genetically test this yet? The original post was from 2017 so I was curious if there have been any advancements.
Recently I had my first litter of 11 standard poodle puppies. I am still not clear on some of the color genetics and I’m trying to wrap my head around them. I bred my (what I thought) was a black poodle. Her genetics show her as KB KB (dominant black) but she also has Ee BB. Out of the 11 puppies, 4 were solid black and the rest were blue (see attached picture of one of their blue puppies at 12 weeks old). They had started to clear out before they were 8 weeks old. How can I have a dominant black female that throws so many blues? Is it the Ee??? Is she really a blue herself???? Attached is the genetic results of the bitch (on the left) and the stud (on the right). Thank you for any insight you can give!


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## Vita (Sep 23, 2017)

JAhlers said:


> she also has Ee BB


See this site & page by Arepeggio on Poodle Coat Colors - Blue & Black. She doesn't get into DNA, but has a wealth of info and photos.

Your dog's DNA means she's a black dog with recessive genes for the "yellow colors": white, cream, apricot or red, so technically can have pups with these colors. The color DNA charts I've seen don't mention blues or silvers, and I don't know why. 

And while her EeBB says she's black, there's a chance she will fade to a blue as many "black" poodles in the US do more so than in many European countries where blacks are generally bred only to blacks. As far as I know, there is no color DNA test to determine if a black will fade to blue.

There is also this marvelous site, _Dog Coat Colour Genetics_, is worth the visit.


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