any quesses?

micksmom...nope. Brindle is a definite striped pattern...like a tiger...thats' what this dog has. The "sable" or red hair tipped with black is a very different set of genes. As I said either one parent was brindle...or both carry it....which would be super rare for either a Pug or a Poodle...tho of course those super rare colors are all the rage with the BYB set right now...lol!

A question just poped in my head, Just wondering could two different genes make a new totally different gene? 

Gina, is there a non-dominant form of brindle? What is it? I'm only familiar with the dominant form we have in Cardis.

That dog reminds me a LOT of some of the BYB and PM cairns I've met.

Chevysmom, who told you he's a pug/poodle?
 
I'd say your vet is right, there just has to be a terrier or some sort of wire-haired dog in there. Poodles' coats are soft and curly.

pwca....my brindle know how comes from Akitas...
 
To get Brindle you need either a) a brindle parent or b) two non brindle parents BOTH carrying the brindle gene.
 
Interestingly, some all white Akitas are genetic brindles..usually they have dark pigment as a result. If you bred such a white genetic brindle to a fawn...it'd be like breeding a brindle to a fawn and you'd get some brindle. The theory on these whites is that they "would" be brindle pintos but their white spotting gene is so extreme they have no visible spots or areas of brindle. On some of these when wet you can see ticking or freckles...further showing that they "do" have color.
 
I don't know of another mode of inheritence for brindle...like the wire coat...it seems pretty dominant.

Gina- I thought the extreme piebald white in solid white akitas just covered up brindle, it didn't make the brindle recessive to the white, since they're on different alleles?

So if you bred a white akita (who was brindle under the white and had one brindle parent- ie, a heterozygous brindle) to a non-brindle Akita (say, a fawn/red with the pretty urajiro like the giant shibas? I like that color. ) you'd get some brindle and some fawn puppies, probably with some degree of white spotting- minimal (toes, maybe a chest spot), if the fawn parent had no white. If the white-covering brindle parent had TWO brindle parents (who just carried the modifiers to produce this all-white pup), all the pups would be brindle but again, probably with the piebald spotting?

the white covering Brindle...would be scenario a) a brindle parent. You just wouldn't know it until some of the babies came out brindle lol! Brindle as I know it...in Akitas is always dominant...I think in Danes there's something hinky...think I recall reading some article on that.
 
 
 

The genetics of white spotting in the breed is crazy. I know solid parents solid for generations that've produced mismarks....and Pintos that do not throw flash of any kind. I have no idea how that works...the amount of white thing.

Ok, please don't jump down my throat as I know there are alot of people who don't agree with buying from petstores.  I have to admit that I didn't educate myself on the possibility of puppies being from puppymills etc.  But I did buy him from a pet store.  They had him down as Pug/Poodle. Being uneducated about the buying a puppy process I didn't ask alot of information about his parents etc.  I did get a letter (whatever that means) saying that he was not from a puppy mill etc from the store.  The store also included 2 seperate vet checks from my choice.
 
I bought him on a whim as I had been wanting a puppy for along time but the time had never been right...I quit my job in November and wasn't planning on returning to work until the spring so I thought the time was right (I'd be home to raise him).  I simply fell in love with him the minute I picked him up.
 
So...had I know now what I didn't know then I probably would not have bought from a store and done alittle research.  But I have to say that I couldn't imagine myself with another dog.  I'm so in love with him that it breaks my heart imagining him not in my life.  So, in that regard I do not regret my decision.  Hope this makes sense.

Ok, please don't jump down my throat as I know there are alot of people who don't agree with buying from petstores.  I have to admit that I didn't educate myself on the possibility of puppies being from puppymills etc.  But I did buy him from a pet store. 

Hey, no matter how you got him he's a cutie-patootie and in a great home! Now that you know better, we know you'll do better. I would contact the pet store and make a complaint against them AND the breeder so that they know the breeder is sending out pups of unknown parentage. There is no way he could have a wire-hair coat with the mix of breeds they claim he is. I'm sure they know that already, but will never admit it.

My cousin got a "Yo-Chon" (Yorkie-Bichon cross) that in no-way-shape-or-form has Bichon in it. He's definitely a Shih Tzu mix. I'm pretty sure those "breeders" just label the pups with whatever they think is selling hot this season because they know most people can't tell what they're really supposed to be - especially with the mimxes.

Thanks for understanding (re: petstore).  Well, now i'm wondering if he is pug/poodle.  The pics that were on dogster actually do look like him and quite a few had the same type coat...so???  What has probably happened is the one parent was pug and the other poodle mix or vise versa.  Like I said, I don't really care what he is.  Poor little guy is teething so bad he's barely eating.  His bottom fang tooth came out this morning so hopefully he'll be feeling better soon.

I still think pug poodle mix.  I have seen many poodle mixes that have wire looking coats especially when mixed with short haired breeds.  Also that breeder could have had a brindle poodle or pug especially if they were a backyard breeder. 

One possibility with a pet store pup is they got a bunch of puppies in, a clip board of inventory list, and a CD of papers to print out, and someone just couldn't figure out what he was so they made a random guesss.

Gina- thank you. I was confusing myself.