The world of dog colors can be very confusing, and when it comes to dapple vs double dapple dachshund many people struggle to tell the difference! Dapple dachshunds are highly sought after for their distinctive markings, but double dapple dachshunds are not always regarded as a good idea. Let’s find out the difference between dapple and double dapple dachshunds!
What Is A Dapple Dachshund?
The popular dachshund comes in many different colors, such as black and tan, but not all are recognized as standard by the dachshund breed societies. The following base coat colors are all regarded as standard by the American Kennel Club:
- Black and cream
- Black and tan
- Blue and tan
- Chocolate and tan
- Cream
- Red
- Wheaten
- Wild boar
- Blue and cream
- Fawn (Isabella) and tan
- Fawn (Isabella) and cream
- Chocolate and cream
Some of these color combinations sound good enough to eat! You might notice that there are some other dachshund colors missing from the list, such as black, chocolate, and fawn. Dachshunds do appear in these colors, but they are not recognized as true dachshund colors by the breed societies.
So, where do dapple dachshunds come into it? The term dapple is used to refer to markings on the dog’s coat, not the base color of the coat. Other recognized dachshund markings include brindle, sable, and piebald.
This means that a dachshund can have one of the base coat colors listed above, and this will be affected by the type of marking genes it inherits. Not all dachshunds will inherit markings genes, as it depends on the color and genetic makeup of its parents.
The dapple pattern gene results in very distinctive coat markings. The dog has one of the base coat colors, but this is marked with lighter patches of fur as a result of reduced pigmentation of the fur. The most common combinations are a black, brown or tan body with patches of white, silver, or grey.
The gene responsible for dapple coat colors is the merle gene, which creates mottle patches of fur with reduced pigmentation. It is this gene that also gives some dog breeds, such as collies, blue or odd-colored eyes.
You can also come across dogs with more than coat marking variation, such as the piebald dapple combination. These different combinations of colors and markings mean that there is a huge amount of variation in the appearance of dachshunds! However, the breed societies have strict guidelines as to which colors and markings are and are not acceptable in a pedigree dachshund.
Puppies born to parents with the dapple gene may vary widely as to how dappled their coats are, even within an individual litter. If one parent has dapple markings, it is highly likely that all the puppies in the litter will have some form of dappling on their coats. These are more or less noticeable depending on the base coat color of the puppies.
Dapple markings show up most prominently on dogs with black and tan, red, chocolate, and tan coloring. Lighter-colored dogs can be dappled, but the spots may be barely visible against their base coat color.
Dapple Vs Double Dapple Dachshund – What Is The Difference?
So, where do double-dapple dachshunds come into it? A double dachshund puppy is one born to parents that both carry the dapple coat pattern gene. In this situation, some of the puppies in the litter will inherit the dapple gene from both parents, and become a double dapple. These puppies have prominent dapple markings, with very distinctive coloring.
However, although double-dapple dachshunds have very striking markings, they are not considered acceptable by dachshund breed societies. The reason for this is that dogs carrying two copies of the merle gene frequently suffer from hereditary health problems. Puppies bred from two dapple parents are often born with severe deformities that may result in the death of the puppy.
As a result of this, breeding two dapple dachshunds together is frowned upon and any double dapple offspring will not be able to be registered with the relevant breed societies. Some breeders do successfully breed healthy double dapple dachshunds, but there is no guaranteed way to do this safely.
How To Tell If A Dachshund Is Double Dapple
Single dapple dachshunds have spots or specks of a different base color that appear randomly over the body. The dapple markings can be quite subtle and are barely detectable on lighter-colored breeds.
Double dapple dachshunds look very different, as they often have white markings due to a complete absence of pigmentation of the hair. The most common areas for white markings to appear are on the nose, neck, paws, and tails. It is also common for double-dapple dachshunds to have blue eyes.
These tests can be useful if you intend on breeding from your dachshund and want to select the ideal mate to breed healthy puppies. Knowing whether your dachshund carries the dapple gene or not can greatly reduce the chance of accidentally breeding double dapple puppies that are at risk of birth defects.
Summary – Dapple Vs Double Dapple Dachshund Explained!
So, as we have learned, when it comes to dapple vs double dapple dachshund, it can be very difficult to tell the difference! A single dapple dachshund inherits one copy of the dapple coat marking gene from its parents, while a double dapple dachshund has two copies. The main difference is that double-dapple dachshunds often have white markings on the nose, neck, paws, and tails.
We would love to hear your thoughts on dapple vs double dapple dachshund! Are dapple dachshunds your favorite color of this popular dog breed? Or perhaps you’ve got some questions about how to tell the difference between a piebald dachshund, a white dapple dachshund and blue double dapple dachshund? Leave a comment below and we will get back to you!
