Genes and Coat Types

There are seven types of coat types found in purebred dogs and the US National Institutes of Health found three variations of genes that control all seven. The University of Utah, where the study took place, found that 95% of the breeds they studied had variations of these genes.

If a dog has variants of all three the dog will have furnishings, such as mustaches, bushy eye brows, and curly hair such as the Bichon Frise and Portuguese Water Dogs. Below Atos, a Belgian Laekenois, has a rough coat.

Dogs with the ancestral forms of the genes will have short hair like the Basset Hound. Satchel (pictured below) is a mixed breed. Her parents passed on the simple forms of the genes giving her a short, smooth coat.

There are only a few breeds, including the Afghan Hound, that don't have coats that are influenced by these genes at all. Roxy, a Yorkshire Terrier, has a smooth, long coat. Her coat is much smoother and finer than that of the Afghan Hound.