# White spotting gene- or what causes a white chest and paws?



## LokiTheDog (Jul 2, 2014)

Okay I've seen this question before, but usually the white spots on the dogs provided are very minimal. Mine has a fairly large white patch on the left side of his chest, and his two front paws have white tips. None of his brothers or sisters had this trait, only him since he was a wee puppy. People sometimes assume he's a mix due to this, but what else could cause it?

He also has some white nails, others are black.

http://m.imgur.com/a/RmGxG


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## MichaelE (Dec 15, 2012)

White is caused by a masking gene. The color is still there, but the gene is causing the color to be masked.


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## LoveEcho (Mar 4, 2011)

In horses, white markings (in terms of stars, snips, leg markings) are areas where the pigment had not travelled to by the time of birth. I recall it being the same thing for dogs- pigment travels to the limbs last, hence why white patches most frequently occur on the feet (and occasionally the chest). Those things happen independently of masking genes (white) or the panda pattern, I don't really know much about those.


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