I think the point that Blueflag is making is that the genes that would produce wolf like characteristics have been bred out of the beagle line.
The wolf contains ALL the genes required to make a beagle. But the beagle does NOT contain all the genes to make a wolf.
And that point is absolutely WRONG! There are no genes for short stubby legs in the wolf population. It is not a matter of selecting from among genetic variations that are already present in wolves, it is a matter of finding and selecting for any desired variation that arises over thousands of years of dog breeding.
Thank you John O. Yes.
Not gonna even try to engage a discussion on codons, alleles and tripled or neutral vs deleterious mutation arguments.
There is/are a lot of non-coding or seemingly non-coding components of DNA that can express in morphology or physiology - or not- for good, bad or no known effect.
And for what it’s worth trying to get those words into a post with auto spell on is nearly impossible.
I acknowledge that mutations occur in a population, but to suggest that differences in Canis (species) morphology are preponderance due to serial mutation, and thus speciation is a place i can’t go in science.
Forgive any errors. Android auto spell killing me.