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  1. #1
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    Linus met his dad

    I had the opportunity recently to meet Linus' dad in person while Linus was with me. The owner's eyes about popped out of his head because Linus is HUGE compared to dad and the rest of the litter and honestly, they look nothing alike. Besides size, their faces, bone structure, tails, even color was so different. Both in comparison to the dad and to the rest of the litter. The dad is not responsible for tons of litters, but the owner said to the best of his knowledge he's never thrown a dog that size.

    I have met five of Linus' litter mates when they were 6 months or so, and besides not looking anything alike, they have very different personalities from Linus. They are very quiet and not that outgoing. All of these pups are owned by breeders, so I'm not sure if they are just not as socialized off the property. I made it my second job to socialize Linus so that could be part of it.

    I met mom and he looks nothing like her, either. Though it's hard to tell because she is very feminine and Linus is very masculine. I am trying to determine, through photos, if Linus looks like his paternal grandfather. I know his show weight was in the 110 lb range, per the dad's owner, which is closer to Linus' size than dad's size.

    Knowing the breeder and her reputation, I don't think that Linus could have a different dad, but what are the chances that that he does? The breeder has seen him several times at events and has never commented on the fact that they look and act nothing alike. That leads me to believe this is pretty common. It's not a huge deal, just more of a curiousity, and I wanted to find out if anyone here has experienced the same thing. Again, I'm just curious!

  2. #2
    Senior Dog Maxx&Emma's Avatar
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    Interesting! Of course there is always the possibility there are 2 sires of the litter but the breeder should have DNA'ed the entire litter if this is a possibility. Maxx is the first Lab I have bought that I really looked at he and his dad, side by side. Maxx is a clone of his dad and their personalities are very alike. I don't think differences in personalities are a big deal, temperament, yes!
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    Ozzy - 10/2002 - 06/2011 - Rest well my sweet boy. You are forever remembered, forever missed, forever in my heart.

  3. #3
    Senior Dog BaconsMom's Avatar
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    Bacon is a carbon copy of his dad. There is the possibility of 2 sires, but a good breeder would have told you.
    Julie & Jake, Bacon's Humans

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    Born: 9/02/13

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  4. #4
    Senior Dog Berna's Avatar
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    Who knows, genes are weird!

    Cookie also took after his dad, a lot.
    Cookie Black Snowflake
    July 12th, 2006. - May 25th, 2023.

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  5. #5
    Puppy Labowner's Avatar
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    We bought Abby because we liked her sire & what he produced, but she is a carbon copy of her dam.
    Hidden Content Our hearts are owned by Abby

  6. #6
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
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    If she's a good breeder, I doubt there is a mysterious second dad. When I bred Grace to Grizz's sire, Grizz and Reyna look similar, and look similar to Grace. Ellie and Charlie look alike, but not like any of the other dogs and not really like mom or dad. Mason looks like neither mom or dad and not like any of the other siblings. I haven't seen Olive, but Roxy looks like a bitch from the last litter but not like anyone in her litter. So genetics is a real roll of the dice. Some litters are 100% consistent, some look completely different.

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  8. #7
    House Broken Maggie's Mom's Avatar
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    Maggie looks almost exactly like her paternal grandmother. I can just look at her sire's breeder's website (grandma is retired from showing/breeding now but she still has a page with age progression photos) and know exactly what Maggie will look like at each age. It really is a crazy resemblance! The first time I had the photos up and said to my husband take a look at this he just thought the photo was of Maggie. She looks nothing like her father somehow, but exactly like his mother. Genes are strange!

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  10. #8
    Senior Dog dxboon's Avatar
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    Some sires are more prepotent than others. If the sire has not been used that much, it might be tough to tell if he's the kind of boy who really stamps his get. Breeding is full of variables, so just because your dog doesn't look like his sire/dam doesn't make me automatically think anything fishy is going on. Some dogs tend to replicate themselves, some produce better than themselves, some don't seem to pass on any of their traits consistently.

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    Charlotte K. (06-26-2014)

  12. #9
    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    Genetics are crazy. If you could get ahold of picture of generations back, bet you'd find where his size comes from.

  13. #10
    Senior Dog Charlotte K.'s Avatar
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    It is a roll of the genetic dice. You said, "I know his show weight was in the 110 lb range, per the dad's owner, which is closer to Linus' size than dad's size. "Bingo. The size comes from grandpa and maybe a maternal relative way back there. The rest of Linus's traits are probably a mix of everyone. If there are not a lot of names repeated in the pedigree, as in closely linebred, the litter will be a real range. I always say that when one outcrosses, one gets a big one, a small one, a stocky one, a skinny one, etc. You get the idea.I did an outcross in Cavaliers and got a bigger girl, not oversized, but not the size her parents were, either. Her littermate is tiny. I was there, and I know without a doubt who the sire was. The stud owner and I did a mental search back in the pedigree while standing ringside with her. The big 'uns are WAY back there, but they are there, on both side of the pedigree, several generations back, farther than grandparents. There is more of my girl to love! She was a good girl doing pet therapy this past weekend at a local nursing home.Enjoy Linus for who and what he is.

 



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