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Leg length

A dog's leg length correlates with its breed's functional role and is influenced by factors including diet, exercise, environment, and genetic predispositions promoting leg growth.

Affected Genes: SEMA3c

Inheritance: Complex Inheritance

Variant(canFam6):
chr18:20111682: G>A
chr18:20114457: G>A
chr18:20119010: G>A
chr18:20127923: C>T

A dog's leg length is often related to its breed's function and purpose, such as Corgis having a greater distance from withers to elbow than from elbow to ground, while Golden Retrievers have legs roughly equal in length to the distance from withers to elbow. Leg length can also be influenced by diet, exercise, environmental conditions, and genetics, with some breeds possessing genes that promote leg growth and development.

References:
Heinrich J, Berger C, Berger B, Hecht W, Phillips C, Parson W. The LASSIE MPS panel: Predicting externally visible traits in dogs for forensic purposes. Forensic Science International: Genetics 2023 66:102893

Plassais J, Kim J, Davis BW, Karyadi DM, Hogan AN, Harris AC, Decker B, Parker HG, and Ostrander EA. Whole genome sequencing of canids reveals genomic regions under selection and variants influencing morphology. Nat Commun. 2019 10(1):1489.