R001 — Irish/Tuxedo White Spotting
Open for SubmissionsSome poodles show white markings — a blaze, a chest patch, white feet, or a fuller Irish/tuxedo-type pattern — that don’t line up with what a standard commercial coat-color panel says about the S locus, the gene most parti/piebald testing is built around. The markings are real and clearly visible, and breeders consistently report the pattern recurring within families — but there is no identified causal gene, locus, or inheritance model for it, and no validated genetic test exists. We are collecting the family and phenotype data a future, qualified analysis would need before that question can even be asked properly.
Who’s a good fit
This pilot is deliberately small and works from a handful of already-identified families rather than a broad open call. Roughly in order of usefulness:
- A litter where the pups didn’t all turn out the same— some with noticeably more white patterning, some with little or none. Comparing littermates raised together is the single most useful thing we can look at.
- A pair of siblings, one clearly patterned and one not, even without the whole litter available.
- A multi-generation pedigree— grandparents you can identify, ideally with some sense of whether the pattern showed up in them too.
- A parent and at least one offspring, especially if the parent’s own pattern is known.
A pattern that’s hard to describe or doesn’t fit neatly into “clearly marked” or “clearly clean” does not disqualify a dog — ambiguous and borderline cases are genuinely useful and are recorded as exactly that, never forced into a clean yes/no. No existing DNA panel results are required, and this isn’t limited to one variety (toy, miniature, or standard are all welcome).
Common questions
Will this diagnose my dog, or tell me what causes their pattern?
No. This research hasn’t identified a cause, gene, or inheritance pattern for this trait — that’s the open question it exists to investigate. Participating doesn’t produce an individual result, diagnosis, or breeding recommendation for your dog.
Is this a genetic test?
No. It’s data collection — photos, pedigree information, and (separately, only if you agree) existing DNA panel results or a future sample. It’s not a new lab test run on your dog, and it doesn’t produce a result you’d get back.
What if my dog’s pattern is hard to classify?
That’s not a problem. Our phenotype system has a real, valid “borderline/ambiguous” category specifically because some patterns genuinely don’t sort cleanly — it’s recorded as ambiguous and stays exactly that in the data.
Can I withdraw?
Yes, at any time, from your research account. Withdrawing stops any future use of your data. It cannot pull back data already used in a completed analysis or publication.
Is there a cost, and how long does it take?
No cost. Initial participation — photos to a standard we walk you through, plus whatever pedigree or DNA information you already have — is typically well under an hour of your time.
Every use of your data — research use, genetic files, sharing with academic collaborators, publication, future contact, a biological sample, and photo use (research and public are separate choices) — is its own explicit, independent consent decision. Nothing is all-or-nothing, and you can change any of it later.
Submissions are open — anyone with a poodle relevant to this study is welcome to take part, and you don’t need an invitation. Well-documented families (littermates, known parents, multi-generation pedigrees) are especially valuable because that structure is what makes the data useful, but a single dog is welcome too, and no existing DNA results are required.