Detailed Explanation of White Raccoon Dog Breeding Methods and Technical Key Points

White Raccoon Dogs and Their Characteristics

Raccoon dogs in nature have always been dark brown; this common ordinary color type is genetically called the wild type. In 1974, the Harbin Zoo in Heilongjiang Province acquired a rare male white raccoon dog (eyes and muzzle both pale pink), and in 1980, among domestic raccoon dog populations in the three northeastern provinces, white raccoon dogs or piebald raccoon dogs with yellow-brown or pale blue eyes and black muzzles were successively discovered. These special color types differing from the wild-type coat color are called mutant types. The Institute of Special Animal and Plant Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences used these precious white raccoon dog mutant genes and, after nearly 10 years of research, finally succeeded in breeding the new white raccoon dog color type now existing in China.

The new white raccoon dog color type now existing in China can be divided into two types based on phenotype: one type has guard hairs and underfur on all body parts white except for the eye rims, ear edges, nose tip, paws and tail tip, which carry the coat color of the wild-type raccoon dog. The other type has guard hairs and underfur on all body parts white. Both white raccoon dog coat colors are attractive, with no significant difference in body shape from ordinary-colored raccoon dogs, and they are more docile in behavior than ordinary-colored raccoon dogs

Characteristics of White Raccoon Dog Coat Color Inheritance

Extensive research shows that the gene for white coat color in raccoon dogs is a dominant gene, and its corresponding wild-type gene is a recessive gene, but the white dominant gene in raccoon dogs has a homozygous lethal effect, so all white raccoon dog individuals are heterozygotes.

Selection and Mating of White Raccoon Dogs

The coat color of the current white raccoon dog type in China is already very stable, that is, the white-haired parts, whether guard hairs or underfur, are all white, with no other mixed colors (such as guard hairs white but underfur not white or partially not white, or some part of the body not white, etc.). Therefore, selection of white raccoon dogs should focus on coat color, coat quality and body shape, and male raccoon dogs in particular should be carefully selected.

For mating white raccoon dogs, it is advisable to mate white raccoon dogs with wild-type coat color raccoon dogs, and not advisable to mate white raccoon dogs with each other. White raccoon dogs generally have the defect of thick and long guard hairs; the wild-type raccoon dogs selected for mating should preferably have short and dense guard hairs to correct the defects of white raccoon dogs.