double dapples

[cyren]

anybody know anything about double dapples?need info on breeding them

[LuckysMom]

I believe from what I have read the answer is not to do it.......seems they have a high incident of problems and birth defects......

[helen]

From what I've learned on the board, Luckysmom is right. They have a high incidence of sight and hearing problems, including being born without eyes and deafness.

I'm sure that someone much more knowledgeable than I will give you a much more in depth answer.
Here's a link I see posted often. If you scroll down to the bottom it has a paragraph on double dapples
http://www.12many.com/duchwood/colorpat.html

[Me&DappledDuo]

Dappling is a harmless gene when activated singly- it dilutes. But in a pair, it acts as a deletion gene- and the gene works randomly, inot only deleting color, but eyesight (or eyes entirely) and/or hearing when it hits these areas in unison.

Please ask Heide or Lori (onebigmickeyfan) or any of our other members who've come across these unlucky DD's in rescue. All are beautiful- but most are severely incapacitated due to the irresponsible people who bred them.

There is NO safe way to ensure safe production of double dapples- and anyone needing information on breeding them needs to do a LOT more research before breeding AT ALL. :(

[blazeman]

Breeding double dapples is VERY risky. You must know genitics of BOTH DOGS.

Does your dog (the one in your profile picture) have any sight or hearing issues? How old is he/she now? Please tell us more...

I would STRONGLY urge you NOT to breed your dog, be it female or male.

[Heide]

DO NOT DO IT.
It is NOT fair to bring puppies into this world with hearing and sight problems, or no eyes or underdeveloped eyes. NO hearing or very little
THere is enough unwanted dogs out there.
Please, I beg of you do not breed DD's.
The mere fact that you have to ask about it, say's it all.
Spay/neuter your pet.
I in no way mean to be harsh or anything, but I feel very strongly on this subject.
Its just not fair and humane to do that.
I adopted our DD and he is totally blind and partially deaf. We love him to death. But when I look at his little under developed eyes, it just breaks my heart that he has to go through life, without the wonderful ability to see.

[luvmydoxie]

:( PLEASE Do NOT breed your double dapple! It is soooo risky. Don't let the thought of 'rare coloring' or 'more money' risk the health of puppies.

[kerie0408]

I believe that there is even a risk in breeding a dog that does not appear to be a dapple, but might have some dapple in him, because if you create a double dapple you might have health problems. For example, I was told that my non-dappled dog might be a dapple and I just don't see any visible signs of it. There are some people here who have double dapples and love them very much but some of those dogs are blind or deaf and were hard to place. I'm somewhat new to this board, so my info may be incorrect.

[Cindi]

More specific questions would help! Are you wanting to breed FOR a double dapple or breed A double dapple? Before breeding, make sure you know the lineage of both dogs and pictures of the relatives would be a help. You need to know if you are breeding dogs of good conformation background or questionable. If it is questionable, don't do it. If you don't know exactly what the ideal dachshund is (no, they can't be the ideal but you should try to breed *to* the standard) read up on the written standard. Many people think their dog IS the typical dachshund when in fact, there are many things that are not although OF COURSE their own dog is darling :) However, that is not the reason to breed nor is the reason that your relatives want one *just like Precious*. Breeding is a gamble when done with all the information available to you; when you know little it is worse than gambling.

Cindi

[Kim H.]

If you are looking to breed to create double dapples, I believe the vast majority of reputable breeders will tell you not to do it. Is there some reason you feel you should take this risk?

[onebigmickeyfan]

I am humom to Annie who is partially blind and totally deaf and Sammy who is totally blind and partially deaf. Both are double dapples and both have the abnormalities that come with Double Dapples and both are products of greed. They are my babies and I adopted them because they are the babies who might not otherwise get a good home. So called breeders (not a responsible well educated breeder) who just like the coloring and the profit, and be darned with the actual puppies and their quality of life. Leave breeding to the experts and stay out of the puppy business. I spend most of my free time rescueing dachshunds from situations such as abuse, shelters, ect and I feel like I make a difference until I look and see yet another irresponsible breeder popping up and that is what makes me really tired and angry. It takes 50 rescuers to clean up the mess that one uneducated breeder makes. If you are not breeding to better the breed then do not breed! Good homes for the babies with these issues are few and the need is many. There is a constant and overwhelming need for good homes for the dachshunds in rescue now who have no physical impairments not counting the ones who do come in with issues.

[Dachshundrsq]

Cyren,
You have gotten MANY good replies. Breeding is a Gamble when you have a deep genetics background of knowledge, 5-10 generation pedigrees, and honest breeders who give you all the information on the health of the dogs in their lines. Because many traits are polygenic and require numerous genes to come together to produce an "Affected" dog, you can easily breed two dogs together (not even related) that put all the pieces of the puzzle together and produce affected dogs.
To be a responsible/reputable breeder you have to adopt the concept of "Do No Harm" to the breed. There is only one way to acheive this is through Education and Conformation. Your dogs need to be AKC registered. You need to enter AKC shows and have your dogs judged against the Official AKC Dachshund Standard. You need to study the official dachshund standard and find a mentor (someone who shows successfully and has a good experience base in the breed) that will help you to uderstand what each part of the standard means and how you evaluate each trait in your dog. There are no perfect dogs, however responsible/reputable breeders always strive for that. You may have a near perfect dog in body structure, as per the dachshund standard, and it can be a sight of beauty, but if it harbors unseen health issues, have you really done
the breed any good?? It is your responsibility to KNOW what you are doing. We are in an era where Knowledge is Power and a multitude of information is available at the end of our fingertips. You have made the right first move. Asking questions. MANY breed without the first questions being asked, they go into breeding blindly and meet with disaster, heartbreak and sometimes due to sheer good luck, happiness.
There is a HUGE responsibility that comes with breeding. You are responsible for every puppy you produce (even if just produced by one of your stud dogs). If you take this responsibility seriously, then you know that you should ALWAYS be available to welcome every puppy back to you for its entire life. There should be Contracts that state that, as well as Spay/Neuter contracts for each puppy considered to be a pet. Pet overpopulation is EVERYONES responsibility. It all starts with education. When Puppy Mills no longer have a market for their puppies, this is when mass producing puppies will no longer be profitable. Unfortunately, even those who know better don't always do better. They just can't resist helping to "Save" that puppy at the local pet shops, or going somewhere and seeing the horrible conditions that the dogs live in and not being able to walk away. They add to the lining of each puppy mills pockets and create a place for yet another dog to live in misery.
My suggestion for the start of your education would be to volunteer for Rescue for about 2 years, and get your fingers busy looking up the genetics of dog breeding, including the genetics of Coat/Patterns/Colors. Attend some dog shows and get to meet some breeders and ask for some mentoring and evaluations of your dog. Go to the DCA website (or AKC website) and print out the "Official Dachshund Standard"...Learn it, Know it!
It is scarey to me that you need to know about something that is litterally SO RISKY, and never should be left in the hands of a Novice Breeder.
I hope you take no offense in my reply. It is meant with much kindness. There is no shame in seeking knowledge. Everyone here has made mistakes, everyone here has sought knowledge. Everyone started by knowing nothing and progressed to where they are today. Those who do not choose to take the many risks and responsibilities of bringing puppies into this world, will not seek further knowledge into genetics because it does not apply to them. Those who choose to go ahead and breed, they need to dig very deep and thrive to know as much as humanly possible.