Petz Geneticz

If you read the F.A.Q in the help section in Petz 5, you can read the following:
"Can I breed my Petz for special traits? How do I breed my Petz for special traits?
Yes, but you may have to make several attempts in order to get the results you want. Just like in the real world, the genetics of Petz 5 select dominant traits over recessive traits, and mutations are rare. Even if the trait you are breeding for is dominant, it may take more than one try to get the results you are looking for."

Genetics, eh?
So... what are they talking about? Dominant and recessive traits?! Really, this is not too hard, but you need to know some about genetics to get the petz you want when you breed! I will give you a little introduction course!

How it works
Okay. Take a pet. Any petz. Let's take a 1st gen dali. What does it look like? Take the eyes for example. The dali has aqua eyes, right? Now, let's say aqua is a dominant trait. I'm not sure if it is, but aqua eyes are common, so it's quite possible. Anyway, let's call the "gene" for aqua eyes A. A big A, since it's dominant. Now, let's take another, rarer eyecolour, like grey. We'll call it g, because it's recessive. You carry two genes for eye colour. Let's say our dali carries A and g. Because A is a dominant trait, it's "stronger" than g, and gives the dog aqua eyes. Okay, so we have a dali with aqua eyes. Below is a picture showing the dali's genes for eye colour. Her "code" is Ag.

Let's say we want her to mate with another dog! We choose another dali. This one is 2nd gen. He has grey eyes. Since grey eyes are recessive, both of your eye genes MUST be grey, or they will have the dominant gene's colour, no matter what (unless there's a mutation, of course). Below is the males eye genes. His "code" is gg.

So, what would happen if these two have pups? First off, remember that they get half of your genes from your mom, and half from your dad. So in this case, you get one eye trait from your mom, and one from your dad. Let's say the dogz get 2 pups! Now, since there are two colours involved, chances are that the pups get either one A and one g, or two g, right? Let's say one pup gets Ag, one gets gg. The first pup has the Ag code, so that one gets the dominant aqua eyes, while the second pup has gg, giving him grey eyes. Did you understand that? As you can see, it's not that hard! Remember, the more generations your petz has, the more likely it is to carry some really cool genes! There is also the possibility for a mutation, which has created all of the colourz that petz have today.

It works exactly the same for us humans! I have blue eyes, as does my dad. My five other siblings all have brown eyes, as does my mom. Let's call blue b and brown B. Blue's a recessive trait, so both I and dad must have bb. Since one of those b's came from my mom, it means that mom must have Bb. So I have bb, and my other siblings all have Bb.  

Basically, if you cross two blue danes, you get a blue puppy dane. If you cross a dog that has two dominant traits, AA for example, with a dog that has two recessive genes, like gg, the dog WILL get the dominant eye colour, even if it carries the g gene - since you inherit one trait from each parent, the pups will end up with Ag. However, its pups might get grey eyes if the dog mates with a dog that has, for example, Ag as well. Those pups could end up with Ag (aqua eyes), AA (aqua eyes) or gg (grey eyes).

Of course, this goes not just for eye colour, but for every part of the pet, and every colour! And there are ten coat colours, textures, eye colours... As you can see, the possibilites are almost endless! So get out, breed some cool petz, and have fun!

Known dominant / recessive traits

As far as I know, no one has tried to really figure out what traits are dominant and what traits are recessive. Here is a try. If you have anything to add, feel free to email me!

Species Trait Dominant / recessive? Proof
Dogz Spotted fur Dominant If you cross two spotted dogz, the pups will get spotted coats. On the other hand, if two non-spotted petz (even those whose parents had spots) get pups that are non-spotted, it must mean that the pups don't carry the gene for spots. Take my tamsin Hazel. Both of her parents were spotted, but she is not, and when she mated with a non-spotted dog, none of the pups ended up with spots, even though they have many spotted dogz in their family tree! Look at the spots chart example below this table. So if the pup has the gene for spots, it will have spots, but it can still carry the genes for non-spotted.
Catz Textured Dominant With "texture", I mean such as the scottish fold or the main coon's coat. Just like when it comes to spotted dogz, when you cross a textured and a non-textured catz, the kittens mostly seem to get textured coats as well. Therefore, I think that it's a dominant trait.

Help chart for trait inheritage

So basically:
D - dominant trait
r - recessive trait

DD + DD = DD
rr + rr = rr
Dr + DD = DD
Dr + Dr = DD / Dr / rr

Remember, your pet will get one trait from each parent. If a trait is dominant, the petz will get that trait, even if it has another trait as well. A pet needs two recessive genes to make the recessive trait show up. Recessive traits are generally rarer, since they are harder to get to show up.

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