OKAY… IF THEY’RE NOT ALBINOS, THEN WHY ARE THEY WHITE?
The coat color comes from a simple recessive gene. To put it plainly, in order to produce a white puppy, both parents must carry the gene for the white coat color. The white gene is not associated with the genes that cause color-paling in the German Shepherd Dog, since those genes are located at different loci. It is probably possible that a solid white GSD could carry these dilution genes. However, since the dog is white in color, the paling factor would not express itself in the color of the coat. All dogs have a total of 78 chromosomes which are inherited from both parents at the moment of conception. Thus, each parent gives half the genetic makeup to their offspring – 39 from the sire and 39 from the dam. In simple terms, the chromosomes (which carry the genes) like to hang out in pairs. They align themselves so that the genes they carry will always exist in pairs. Each gene pair controls a given trait, either alone or in combination with other gene pairs. If the genes that make up
