Our Dachshunds of
Many Colors
|
Auslagen miniatures specialize
in a rainbow of colors with the dapple pattern. We strive to learn
as much as we can about our breed to be able to pass on to others
the best knowledge out there. By passing correct information to you
we are giving you years of wiggly tails and sloppy kisses.
In the states Dachshunds
come in two sizes. Miniatures weigh 11lbs. and under standards 16lbs.
to 32lbs. by our rule book. There are two basic colors black and tan
then the reds with all their dilution's. Chocolate and tan, isabelle
and tan, blue and tan, weaten, and now the newest creme's. The basic
patterns consist of brindling, dapple, double dapple, pibald and sable.
They come in a coat type for everyone smooth, wire and our favorite
long.
Note: General Undisputed
Advise. Dachshunds may be difficult to house break. This is an understatement.
The owners need to be willing to spend lots of time showing the door
to the brutes. We here have had great luck with the crate and exercise
pens found in all pet stores... and egg timers. Also to note, our
breed is especially good with children to the point of guarding them
with their lives.
The color "dapple"
in dachshunds is the same apparently and genetically as the merle
of collies, Australian Shepherds, and other breeds with the merle
color.
The appearance of this
pattern is like splashing or swirling of paint over all normal colors
of dachshunds. Some dappling is very bright and noticeable. Other
dogs have a dull color to the dapples. Still other dogs have so little
of the dapple pattern that it is not easily seen, for instance on
the underside of the dog. You will recognize a dapple dachshund most
easily when it is one of the "and tan" colors: black and
tan, chocolate and tan and blue and tan.
Black and tan dapple dachshunds have a
dapple pattern that looks silvery in color, and was once called "silver
dapple." The color for these dogs is now marked on AKC papers
as "black and tan dapple."
The dapple pattern on a
chocolate and tan dapple dog is lighter than the dark chocolate background
but is still a shade of light chocolate. Darker spots that are the
color of the "normal" coat may appear on the lighter dapple
area. There will be black spots on black and tan Dapples and chocolate
spots on the chocolate and tan dogs. A dog with limited dapple pattern
may have a single small streak of the dapple color and be hardly noticed.
Even expert may not notice
dapples at all in an adult red dapple. When dapple occurs on a red
dachshund, it appears as a lighter swirl in the coat that disappears
(more or less from dog to dog) as the dog matures. The only giveaway
for an adult red dapple may be the telltale blue eye or eyes that
sometimes occurs when dapples (of all colors) fall on the eye. A blue
eyed Dachshund is always a dapple but may also express another pattern
simultaneously, such as the piebald pattern or the brindle pattern.
Double Dapple is the color
of a dog that is a result of breeding two dapple dachshunds (sometimes
referred to as "single dapple" in discussions such as this)
or two double dapple dachshunds or a single dapple and a double dapple.
When you breed two single dapple dachshunds, the color possibilities
are solid, single dapple, and double dapple. When you breed two double
dapples, you can only produce double dapples.
When you breed a single dapple to a double dapple, you can produce
single dapples and double dapples. The reason for these possibilities
is that the single dapple is a heterozygous dapple and the double
dapple is a homozygous dapple. The heterozygous dapple can pass a
solid gene or a dapple gene for any given puppy. The homozygous dapple
can only pass a dapple gene.
Double dapple puppies will always have white markings, many in the
same pattern that you would associate with a Collie type dog (band
around the neck, white on paws, nose, and tail tip.) The white may
be more or less extensive. The double dapple dachshund usually has
blue eyes but may have one or both dark eyes.
Lethal genes occur in many
kinds of animals and are often associated with white coloration. Lethal
genes in any animal may cause death (before or after birth), deafness
or blindness. The blindness and deafness may be partial or complete.
There are lethal genes
associated with double dapple. Not all double-dapples have these problems
and it is believed by some to be more of a problem in some lines than
in others. The problems associated with lethal genes in double dapples
are: varying degrees of vision and hearing loss, including reduced
or absent eyes. Interestingly, if a blind or deaf double dapple is
bred to a normal dog, the lethal traits are not passed on to the offspring,
however all of the puppies of a double dapple will be dapple.
Lethal genes are not unique
to the dachshund, but are found in merle to merle breeding in Collies,
Australian Shepherds, and Great Danes. Merle is genetically and apparently
the same as Dapple color of Dachshunds. The lethal white problems of
Dalmatians are common, complicated, and difficult to understand but
also involved deafness. Overo pattered Paint or Pinto horses when
bred together can result in a certain percentage of lethal genes.
In the case of horses, "lethal white" actually results in
death as the gene causes an intestinal defect. Even pigeons have a
color that when two are bred together is associated with lethal genes.
The breeding of double
dapples is risky and controversial. We believe it is possible to breed
healthy double dapples and that it is worth the risk.
Remember that single dapple
dachshunds do not have lethal problems and if single dapple is bred
to a solid (any non-dapple) there are no problems associated with
single dapple dachshunds.
|
Double
Dapple Defects
WARNING
|
There are lethal genes
commonly associated with double dapple. Not all double-dapple have
these problems and it is believed by some to be more of a problem
in some lines than in others. The problems associated with lethal
genes in double dapples are:
As mentioned above, if
a blind or deaf double dapple is bred to a normal dog, the lethal
traits are not passed on to the offspring, however all of the puppies
of a double dapple will be dapple.
If you decide that you
want a double dapple puppy, be prepared for possible problems that
may not be easily diagnosed at a young age.
