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Dapple Question

Steph

Steph

New Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2011
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210
Pets
Arelus Zephyr (Sm. Standard Doxie), Hermes & Hercules (Shih Tzu X)
For all of us out there who are owned by our pretty little dapples, I have a question for you. While I already know that double dapples can or do have some visual impairments, I was just wondering if any of the other dapples could have the same issues - especially the ones with bi-coloured eyes. Arelus (4 1/2 months old) has one blue eye and one marbled (half blue half brown) and lately I've been wondering because while he sees well in the daytime or when it's well lit out, he seems to have issues seeing at night. Thus making night time trips outdoors a real challenge.
 
My Spekkle has the same colored eyes, and her vision is different in each eye... She sees at a different distance per eye... And depending on what direction I am walking she will occasionally bump into something trying to get in her better position...
 
Neither our 3yo Daisy (permanent resident) nor Lil 11mo Gunner (the second rescue named Gunner in 5 months) seem to have any vision problems as far as I've been able to tell except Daisy's marbled eye makes her look kinda mean (but she's certainly not). I guess I'll have to figure out how to check em tomorrow.
 

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Our vet was able to notice the discrepancy in Spekkle...
And in one of the posts on here another person was saying her double dapple has sensitivity to light....
 
No a single Dapple does not have the same issue as Doubles, it cannot, as the vision impairment comes from having 2 dilution genes working together. The multicoloured eye comes from incomplete dilution of that eye. where the eye is blue, it's diluted, where it's brown, the eye has no dilution. Similar to the coat, the darker colour is the normal colour, the lighter colour is the diluted colour.

Does your dog have any white on him at all? Is it possible your dog is a double without you knowing? What colour were the parents? IF there is vision impairment, and your dog is definitely a single dapple, then there is something else going on there. I would check with a vet, glaucoma is possible, early onset cataracts, and degenerative eye disease.
 
The only white on him is a very thin strip on his chest. It starts between the "bow tie" or the two tan points there and goes under his left front leg. Mom was black and tan, Dad was a silver dapple as well. I think what I'll do is have a chat with my breeder and then if it's cool with her, I think I'll have a chat with her vet and mine.

The only other thing I can think of that would lead to night time being a challenge, would be is maybe he got spooked at night somehow and he needs to be shown that night time isn't so bad.
 
He is not a double then, as both parents have to be dapple for him to be double. It's possible he got spooked, hope it's that simple!
 
I've seen a lot of double dappled dogs in these international forums and it makes me wonder. In Finland dappled dachshunds are still quite rare and it's ILLEGAL to breed double dapples. Which is good, i think. It's very irresponsable and cruel to breed dogs that are almost definitely sick at birth - even though they have nice coat. I think health is still more important than looks..

My Manu is a black dapple and that's why i have been looking into this whole merle thing. I think they look awesome, but still, i would be very cautious if someone wanted to have him as the father of some puppies.
 
One small correction to your post, they are not sick at birth. deafness and vision impairment aren't illnesses. they are perfectly healthy.

but aside from that, yes it should be illegal here too. I HATE double dapple breeding, I wish ALL breeding was regulated, and I wish people were properly educated on issues within their breed before being allowed to breed!!! As much as I love my deaf babies, and as much as I want more (I prefer deaf dogs!), I wish they didn't exist!
 
I agree, all breeding should be regulated. And i suppose usually things go wrong when people are doing it only for the money. :( Of course, we shouldn't forget that the people who buy the puppies have the power to make a difference. For example, if ppl wouldn't buy double dapple puppies, there wouldn't be a need to breed them. :)

Sorry for the sickness thing, english isn't my native language, so i sometimes get missunderstood. ;) You're absolutely right.
 
Btw, docking is also illegal in Finland. :)
 
Inkeri said:
I agree, all breeding should be regulated. And i suppose usually things go wrong when people are doing it only for the money. :( Of course, we shouldn't forget that the people who buy the puppies have the power to make a difference. For example, if ppl wouldn't buy double dapple puppies, there wouldn't be a need to breed them. :)

Sorry for the sickness thing, english isn't my native language, so i sometimes get missunderstood. ;) You're absolutely right.
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Yes, however if buyers were educated, and avoided buying stuff that's bad, well they wouldn't be selling french fries, processed foods, Cigarrettes, Alcohol... etc.

We have to assume buyers are dumb, and regulate those that are selling.

IAnd I figured that you had a language issue, I just needed to make it clear. I dont want people thinking less of deaf or sight impaired dogs... they're perfectly healthy, just a bit of a learning difference :)
 
@Inkeri There's a movement here in Ontario, not sure about Alberta to make docking and cropping illegal as well.

Thanks you guys for all your input. The mystery was solved last night after I talked to my breeder, some emails and a couple of calls (all while my kids were at school) That turned up absolutely nothing that would indicate any sight issues...soooo, when the kids got home last night from school, they were put on the spot. It seems that on a night when I had to work a late shift, Arelus had the supreme you-know-what scared out of him by one of the neighbours tossing garbage into a dumpster. They didn't think it was a big deal at the time, so after some explaining that he's still young enough and very impressionable, I think they got the point. Teenagers...jeez.

I still do have an appointment with my vet to have his eyes checked though. He's my first doxie and eye issues are new to me. I'm so used to skin, heart and thyroid issues in dobies :)
 
ok off the wall question what happens if u breed a double dapple with a single dapple? Just curious.
 
DeafDogs said:
We have to assume buyers are dumb, and regulate those that are selling.
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Hahaha! I know... I work in customer service... ;) But still, you can't compare dogs to a pack of smokes. People should be more aware. They're buying a living, breathing partner for years (if they're lucky). I think it would be easier - maybe - to regulate those that are selling, though.
 
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