Paw Print Genetics is excited to announce the release of our new Coat Color/Trait and Disease Genotype Probability Calculators on our website. These new tools allow breeders to calculate the possible outcomes from potential breeding pairs based on their genetic test results. The Coat Color/Trait Calculator can be used by the general public and both the Coat Color/Trait and Disease Calculators can be used by Paw Print Genetics customers specifically for their dogs that have results from PPG testing.
Both calculators can be found on our website at www.pawprintgenetics.com. After you login, under ‘My Account’ scroll down and click on either calculator. The Coat Color/Trait Calculator can also be found at https://www.pawprintgenetics.com/products/traits/calculator/.
What do the calculators do?
Have you ever wondered what the outcome of a particular breeding might be? Will the puppies be healthy? What will they look like? What if the potential dam and sire are both carriers of a genetic disease? What are their risks of having an affected puppy? What color will the puppies be? Will they have long, short, or curly hair? For some breeders, calculating the outcome from a breeding between two dogs who are both carriers of the same genetic mutation for a simple autosomal recessive disease or trait, is pretty straightforward. For others, who might be new to genetic testing, it might feel very overwhelming, especially when it comes to some of the more complex genetic pathways associated with coat colors or genetic diseases with complex inheritance patterns.
For many years, our customers have been asking us questions about what to expect from a particular breeding given the genetic test results they have on their dogs. At Paw Print Genetics, we are always happy to answer those questions and help our customers understand their results and what the outcome might be for a given breeding pair. Even though our directors and genetic specialists are just a phone call away, we want to empower our customers with the ability to unlock the full potential of their genetic test results by providing simple and easy to use calculators for Coat Color/Trait and Disease Genotype Probabilities. Using the known genotypes from previously performed genetic testing at Paw Print Genetics, these calculators accurately calculate all of the possible disease genotypes and the physical appearance of puppies that could be produced in a proposed breeding. For the Color/Trait Calculator, you can also manually select potential genotypes for a hypothetical dam and sire to see the potential outcomes.
Where do I find the calculators and how do they work?
Both the Disease and Coat Color/Trait Calculators can be found by clicking on the ‘My Account’ dropdown after you have logged in to your Paw Print Genetics account.
The Coat Color/Trait Calculator can also be reached from the Coat Color and Trait Testing page of the Paw Print Genetics website: https://www.pawprintgenetics.com/products/traits/. Simply click on the link for “Color/Trait Calculator” located above the Coat Color Diagram on the right side of the page. Because the Disease Calculator only works with dams and sires in your account who have had testing completed at Paw Print Genetics, it can only be reached by logging in to your Paw Print Genetics account and selecting it from the My Account dropdown. The Coat Color/Trait Calculator allows you to use results from dams and sires already tested in your account or you can manually create a hypothetical pairing by selecting the potential genotypes of the dam and sire (for up to 6 colors/traits).
What kind of results will the calculators provide?
The Coat Color/Trait Calculator first generates a table of the possible outcomes from a hypothetical breeding between dogs based on the selected trait genotypes of the potential dam and sire. The results table shows the expected percentage of dogs in the litter with each possible genotype and a brief interpretation. In addition, the calculator will produce a bar graph that groups the results from the genotype probability table with the same expected overall appearance. For example, in a hypothetical breeding between a dam and a sire who are both carriers for yellow/red coat color (E/e) and brown coat color (B/b), the calculator will produce the following results:
The Disease Calculator only works with dogs that have genetic test results found in your account. The calculator will present to you a list of possible dams and sires along with their Paw Print Genetics test results. Select the dam and sire and the specific disease tests (up to 8) that you want to include in your calculation. If both dogs have not been tested for the same diseases, the calculator will alert you that it is going to assume that the untested dog is normal/clear for that particular disease. Once you have made your selections, the calculator will then provide you a results table with the expected percentage of pups in the litter with each possible genotype and a brief interpretation. In addition, the calculator will produce a bar graph that groups the results from the genotype probability table with the same expected overall outcome. For example, in a hypothetical breeding between a dam and sire that are both carriers of one copy of the mutation for Exercise-induced Collapse (EIC), the expected outcome for an autosomal recessive condition in each puppy is 25% normal/clear (WT/WT), 50% carrier of EIC (WT/M), and 25% at risk/affected with EIC. This is displayed in the results table and bargraph below:
Adding results for more diseases (including those with more complicated genetic inheritance) increases the complexity of the calculation. The Disease Calculator automates these complex calculations and presents the results of a prospective breeding in a simple and easily understandable format. Don’t forget that the percentages of the genotypes and phenotypes that are calculated are only statistical averages and the actual outcome in a breeding may be skewed, as each pup has these probabilities, not the litter. Nevertheless, these calculators will help you see what is possible and the probability of achieving the desired outcome of a potential breeding.
Your feedback is welcome.
We hope our customers will find these calculators useful as they make preparations for future breedings. As always, we welcome any feedback about what you like about these calculators, how they have helped you, and any comments on how to potentially improve them to make them more useful. Please send feedback to: AskUs@pawprintgenetics.com.