Hi All,

I posted a week or so ago on my lab and one of the responses got me thinking and scratching my head. Is it possible for some pups in a given litter to be purebreds while others can be mixed? If so how? Different fathers or maybe some magic of genetics I'll never understand?

Max is a wonderful pound puppy. He and two of his litter mates appeared to be all lab. One of the 4 clearly had something else mixed in (suspect Australian Shepherd but no one knows). You can see the original thread and a couple of Pics of Max here:
http://www.lab-retriever.net/board/have-gotten-myself-t7288518.html?t=7288518

All input appreciated.
--steve

Different fathers
I believe this answers your question. As I understand, there can be two fathers to one litter (two separate matings).

It is entirely possible. The dam releases multiple eggs, which all can be fertilized by differrent fathers, depending on how many sires mate with her, of course. Your pup looks completely labby...the darker ears aren't that unusual.

In my "buy only from reputable breeders or adopt from rescue/shelters" opinion, unless you're planning on showing or competing, papers are worthless....but every dog, forever priceless :) Thanks for adopting from the pound and giving Max a chance at life!

Very informative and thanks for replying.

The question really is for my own education/curiosity. I have no desire to have a show/competition dog. Just a good family pet.

Yes, it is possible, as Dog Ma stated. I'm guessing your pup's mom was a stray and there could have been many dogs that got to her during her heat cycle. The chances that another purebred lab got to her I think are relatively slim though. But it is certainly possible. Multiple sired litters are sometimes done on purpose by breeders through artificial insemination, although it's always with 2 dogs of the same breed obviously. There has been some anecdotal evidence that suggests it is rarely effective, i.e., most of the time, one dog's sperm fertilizes all of the viable eggs. Once the pups are DNA'd to see which came from each sire, they more often than not turn out to have all come from the same sire. But the reverse can and does happen. Personally, I think when a mixed breed litter is produced, the difference in appearances of the pups is more likely a cause of the different characteristics of each breed being displayed. One looks more like mom, another looks more like dad, yet another looks like a mix of both, etc.