Black-and-tan dapple dachshund. Photo by Erwin Loh.
Dachshund breeders in the UK and the Kennel Club are to be commended for this action.
Maybe the next step will be to allow dogs with somewhat longer legs so they don’t move around like weasels or mink. After all, this is still a working breed. The smallest doxies are supposed to go after rabbits in pipes and tunnels. Their small size has a function.
There is nothing wrong with this color in dachshunds. It just should be bred responsibly.
Important note: The dog above is a single-dapple. Her sire was a black-and-tan dapple (silver dapple in every country but the US) and her dam was a solid red.
Let’s hope other merle breed fanciers get their acts together. Dapple and merle are the same color genetically.
Another breed that comes in merle (and may be a descendant of the Dachshund):
Blue merle Cardigan Welsh Corgi. Photo by Muu-karhu.
The Corgi is not much of a working dog. If you have cattle you do not get a corgi to herd them!
P.
Glad to here that this has happened. Double merle/dapple breedings scare the heck out of me. I will never understand the combination of those genes when one knows that they have a very high chance of producing deformed, unfit off-spring. Breeding for colour and the “wow” factor is all this boils down to. Good for the UK Kennel Club.
And I’d love to see the standard of the dachshund changed to allow for longer, more useful legs. I had a mini – they are fun little dogs, driven and can make great hunters, but for their lack of appendages. They really don’t get around so well on those tiny little things…it’s not practical. Kind of like lowered trucks, sure they look good and flashy, but there’s no way you’re off-roading in one….not practical.
Your Dog World link is messed up.
I fixed it.
I had a couple of double dapple dachshunds as training clients last year. Both were blind and one was also nearly totally deaf. They had skin problems and bizarrely shrunken eyes.
The woman who owned both of these puppies paid extra for them – ’cause they were so special.
I should have charged her double for training.
Ditto to the hope that we will get dachsunds with longer legs and stronger backs. I loved my dachshund (he’s now passed) but the days that he had back pain were heart-breaking.
I will not be getting another pure-bred dachshund until something is done to improve the breed. Stop breeding for looks and start breeding for health and happiness!