# Inherited traits



## gsdluvr (Jun 26, 2012)

I have heard that pups often inherit traits more from the Grandparents, than parents. My girl looks nothing like her mother and father and acts nothing like them. However, she does resemble her Grandfather on her father's side. Any ideas?


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I think it varies. My dog has a coat like his dam's mother and a body like his sire's mother. He has traits going back to a great-grand. Other half and full siblings have his sire's traits or dam's.

Luck of the genetic draw


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

Yes, I think it's just luck of the genetic draw too. 

Sage looked and acted exactly like her mother. It's spooky how much they were alike, as well as her litter sisters. Peas in a pod, that bunch. 

Carly looks and acts like her mother (right down to the ball obsession). Russell looks like his mother and acts like his father and grandmother - they are two energetic bouncy shepherds who love to herd. Can't wait to do an instinct test on Russ to see if that got passed down too.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

While I often see mom and dad in my pups, I very much see their grandparents not just in looks, but in temperament. You will see this influence far more when working with multiple generations as a breeder. Of course there are times when you get a dog and think "where the heck did you come from?".


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## gsdluvr (Jun 26, 2012)

lhczth said:


> . Of course there are times when you get a dog and think "where the heck did you come from?".


This is my dilemma as far as inherited drive!!


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## cliffson1 (Sep 2, 2006)

I think dogs inherit traits from what they are genetically as much as what their parents are. You take a pup from two parents that possess X trait. But both parents had other dogs in their litter that may not reflect X trait so much. I feel the total amount of traits that all the dogs in each parents litter reflect what they are made up( genetically) and the parents reflect part of these genetics. So though you can have expectations of results from parents, I think there is so much not seen in the parents that can surface. That's why when I see/hear people place an inordinate amount of emphasis on parents in doing a breeding, I feel they still have a ways to go. Of course I could be wrong about this:apple:, but it's how I view things.


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

Agree Cliff. Dogs are a mixture of their genes and not just a copy of the phenotype of their parents.


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## gsdluvr (Jun 26, 2012)

Hmmmm.... I think it's the same with humans. At least that is my excuse! LOL!


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## Annabellam (Nov 2, 2015)

I think there is nothing wrong with that. Sometimes it's tough to understand genetics. They might get one trait from the mother, another from the father and even another from grand parents. I think its the same with human beings.


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