Doggie coats range from sleek and straight to coarse and wiry with a lil bit of everything in between. However, a recent study reveals that nearly all types of dog coats come from just three genes!
Combinations and variations of RSPO2, FGF5, and KRT71 create the different types and some breeds, like Bo, the Portuguese water dog, have alterations of all three. I'll leave the more sciencey facts to the experts, but here's some noteworthy trivia tidbits:
- Short-haired dogs (like Beagles) have only the ancestral forms of the genes, no variations.
- Wire-haired dogs (like the German Wirehaired Pointer) come from a variation of RSPO2.
- Regular long-haired dogs (like Golden Retrievers) come from a change in the FGF5 gene while long-haired dogs with beards (like Bearded Collies) have variations of the RSPO2 gene as well.
- Curly-haired dogs (like this Irish Water Spaniel) come from a combination of both the FGF5 and KRT71 genes.
What kind of coat does your pooch have?
Source: Getty
Pied A Terre
Diesel
Nike
Mine dogs have a double coat- the outer coat is straight and about 4 inches long and is not really soft nor coarse. The inner coat is a very soft wavy (almost to the point of being kinky) fluff.
1What about non-shedding dogs like the Maltese?
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