What is a Double Dapple Dachshund?

1. What is a Dapple Dachshund? 
A Dapple Dachshund is a dog that carriers the one Dapple (Merle) gene which is commonly found in Australian Shepherds, Collies, Great Danes, Sheltie and lots of other breeds. Dapple Dachshunds vary from Silver Dapple, Chocolate Dapple and more. Please check out our blog about Dachshund Coats and Colours for more information. (coming soon)

Please do note that Dapple is NOT a colour it is simply the pattern.

Some Dapple Dachshunds will have lots of dappling that is noticeable and some will have hidden dapple. Meaning that you cannot see the dappling but it is within the dogs genetics. 

2. What is a Double Dapple Dachshund?
A Double Dapple Dachshund is the result of breeding two Dapple Dachshunds together. This is a HUGE no no! Double Dapple Dachshunds like Molly Moo pictured below will generally have white markings on their coat however unsymmetrical. (Please do note that not ALL Double Dapple Dachshunds will have white pigmentation, this is where the real genetics come to play. For now we will keep it simple.)

The white markings are a dilution of the dapple gene and are usually however not always cover the band around the neck, white on paws, nose and tail tip. Very much so like a Border Collie. Double Dapple Dachshunds are usually found to have two blue eyes or one blue eye or can be known to have one dark or both dark eyes. 

3. Can you tell us simply about the genetics and what they mean?
To put it simply the Dapple Gene is the same as the Merle Gene. The dapple gene is the dominant gene and must only be bred to a non-dapple gene dog to prevent Double Dapples. 

4. What health issues can Double Dapples they have?
Double Dapples can have many potential health risks such as Blindness/Visually Impaired, Deaf/Partially Deaf and Micro Eyes/Eyes do not form. A Double Dapple Dachshund might not end up with all risks listed above but are commonly unlucky with one. The reasoning behind this is the two Dapple genes have hit one place and cause zero pigment in the area which cancels out any colour (Hence the White) and not allowing the parts of the body to function correctly.

5. How can I spot if my Dachshund is a Double Dapple or Single Dapple?
Double Dapples will tend to show large white areas on the body that are usually not symmetrical which is why they can be prone to be confused with Piebalds. A single Dapple will not show large areas of white and will not have micro eyes. 

Please also note that a single Dapple can have two blue eyes.

House of Weenies Single Dapple Puppies	Double Dapple Dachshund Molly Moo

6. Why do breeders breed Double Dapples if they are prone to such health issues?
There are a lot of questions based around this and a lot of answers. There are three main issues in our eyes

1. The breeder is a backyard breeder with no knowledge or research on breeding but thought it would be cute way to make money to breed their two pups together OR simply want the family children to experience puppies being around.

2. The breeder has every idea but chooses to ignore the facts and ends up with unhealthy pups and most of the time will put them down so that other breeders do not find out (Sneaky and awful). It is also a huge money maker for breeders if they have a "white" dachshund that they try to sell as a Piebald (We will get into what a Piebald is later)

3. The breeder simply did not do any DNA checking on the two pups that were bred with. A Dapple/Merle test is very easy tool to find out if your Dachshund carries the gene or not. 

7. What is a Piebald and how does it differ from Double Dapples/Dapples? How can you tell the difference?
This is where it can get tricky! Double Dapples and Piebalds (without knowledge or research) can be easily confused. The Dachshund breed standards (Please check your countries breed standards) is that you should not mix Dapple, Brindle or Piebald together as a Dachshund can only be registered and recognised as having 1 pattern. 

There are many hot tips on how to tell a Piebald Dachshund and Double Dapple Dachshund apart and one big give away is that a Piebald will generally have symmetrical markings where a Double Dapple will not. The Piebald pattern also has ticking rather than coloured spots. 

(Ticking: Spots that are based in white markings)
(Dapple: Coloured Spots that can be a prominent colour or diluted.)

Some pictures below as examples

Double Dapple Dachshund As you can see on Molly she has unsymmetrical markings. No ticking only uneven dappling. Molly is the result of Two Dapple parents and almost sold as a Piebald. She is 100% Deaf and has sight issues.  Check out Molly Moo and her adventures online!
Chocolate and Tan Piebald Dachshund Meatball is a Chocolate and Tan Piebald. As you can see he has lots of white and ticking on his body.  Check out Meatball and his adventures online!
Dapple Piebald Dachshund   Buddy is an example of a Dapple Piebald. As you can see he has ticking on his paws and dapple through his darker colours. Buddy also has flicking of blue through both eyes. Checkout Buddy and all his adventures online!

8. Can you breed Piebald and Dapple together? Are there any health risks?
There has been no research yet to state that a Dapple Piebald can have the same health risks as a Double Dapple Dachshund however mixing the two patterns together is undesired. It also runs the problems in the future of that potential Dapple Piebald landing in breeders arms and not understanding that breeding the Dapple Piebald to a Dapple will cause Piebald Double Dapples with health issues.

9. I am considering breeding but now sure if my Dachshund carries the Dapple/Merle gene, How do I get this tested?
There are lots of tests around however the top tests for the M Locus gene are:

1. Paw Prints Genetics

2. Orivet

Please also keep in mind that if you are not a registered breeder then question yourself if it is the right thing to do. As well as please do understand that if you have a solid coloured Dachshund that they can still to carry the dapple gene - it is just hidden.

10. What should I do if I see a Double Dapple Dachshund being sold?
If you come across what you might suspect be a Double Dapple Dachshund you are welcome to get in touch with us via email at hello@pupitandco.com or contact either @kingkingsley__ or  @buddythedappleddachshund for information and help on what to do!

Thank you so much for reading our blog on Double Dapple Dachshunds we will follow this blog with a story about our own Molly Moo the Double Dapple Dachshund.

We would also love to say thank you to Buddy, Beau and Laura for being apart of creating this blog!

Have some more questions? Please pop them in the comment section below.