In a way I'm still new to the breed so interested in how the Dapple & double Dapple Dachshund breedings are most Dapple Dachshunds blind /deaf ? or is it just the Double Dachshunds that have the health problems.Read about Jethro and also saw an ad in out newspaper selling Dapple or Double Dapple chocolate Dachshunds or both cannot remember now.I think most of the Dachshund breeders around here are backyard breeders just wanting monies not interested in bettering the breed. By the way I have never bred a dog nor do I ever plan on it I'm just curious.Papbouv.
Dapple in dachshunds is the same as the merle gene in other breeds, like collies. It's a dominant gene, which means one parent must be a dapple to produce a dapple. Dapple is Mm (one copy of dapple, one non), non dapple is mm, and double dapple is MM (two copies of the M gene). If you breed a dapple to a dapple (Mm to Mm), you have a 25% chance of non dapples, a 50% chance of dapples and a 25% chance of double dapples. Not all doubles are blind or deaf or have problems, but since where the merle gene lands on the body is completely random, you have no way of guaranteeing that you won't get those things in any particular litter. It's where the gene falls twice where you get the white and that area can cause the problems if it falls in an unfortunate location. It's like playing Russian Roulette with puppy lives.
Dapple can be impossible to see on a red or cream dog once they've grown up since the shading fades as they get older, so it's not unknown for someone to breed a double litter accidentally. You'll often see a red or cream referred to as a "hidden dapple" due to this. Additionally, there's a "color" out there that is being referred to as "Canadian Blue", which is really a black/tan dapple that has extreme dappling-they look blue pretty much all over, but are not genetically. There was a lady I know of just recently who bred a "Canadian Blue" to her dapple female, not realizing that the male was a dapple. She got a double in the litter, but luckily he's marked without white over his ears and eyes. Pure luck.
There are some well known breeders who are known for breeding double dapples over the years, and who claim that they don't have problems with deafness or sight issues. They will sometimes breed double dapples to dapples to get more doubles (MM to Mm= 50% chance of doubles, 50% chance of dapples). However, the DCA has made it clear that only a limited amount of white is allowed on a dachshund, and so doubles and piebalds have been dismissed from the shown ring more and more, and so the practice is falling out of favor even among those breeders.
Thanks for taking the time to explain it when Patches was little she had dark spots on her so I guess she is a red dapple maybe not sure but she has been fixed.Now her cousin Achilles is older than Patches by a couple of years.He is blue,rust,with a little white on him but not on his head.Might be an older brother I did get Patches from the same people Achilles came from Achilles belongs to my DIL's brother.Now that Patches is older she only has a dark spot on her tail at the base,darker around her ears.
That is why I was nosy I did not get to see Patches parents they brought he to my DIL's brothers house since they were his friends think Patches was from a backyard breeder she had no shots,nor was wormed she was 16 weeks old when I got her I know better but puppies have a tendency to win you over.Thanks again for the information about Dapples.