DAPPLE (can appear in all coats, although not seen very often in the wires): Single dapple dachshunds exhibit patches of lighter color hair intermingled with patches of the self color, sometimes with a patch of white hair on the chest. It can appear over any color. It is dominant which means one of the parents must show the pattern for it to appear and it can appear with the piebald pattern. Red dapple are often very hard to distinguish, because the pattern of lighter red patches is often not very distinct, and fades with age. Black/tan dapple, often incorrectly called silver dapples, have patches of silvery colored hair mixed in with areas of black hair, giving the dog an overall mottled appearance. In Chocolate/tan dapples, dappling is a yellowish eggnog color and appears with patches of chocolate hair. Blue/tan dapples have patches of lighter blue gray mixed in with the self color ( there is no black anywhere on the dachshund). In isabella/tan dapples dappling is an diluted eggnog color appearing with the self color. If the dapple pattern should occurs across the face, one or both eyes may have blue speckles or may be entirely blue. It is impossible to have blue eyes on a dachshund without the dapple pattern. It is an AKC recognized pattern.

DOUBLE DAPPLE (can appear in all coats): CAN ONLY OCCUR WHEN TWO DAPPLED DACHSHUNDS ARE BRED TOGETHER. A double dapple will be dappled dachshund with large patches of white also mixed in. It can appear over any color, can only occur when both parents are dappled. The dapple gene is lethal in double doses, 4% of all double dapples born are blind or deaf or both. They can also be born with reduced eye size and missing eyes. Dapple to dapple breeding should be done only with great consideration and caution by experienced breeders. Most usually they have two blue eyes but can have only one blue eye and on occasion two brown eyes. It is impossible to have blue eyes on a dachshund without the dapple pattern. A double dapple will make all dapple offspring when bred. It is often mistaken for piebald pattern. It is an AKC recognized pattern. Please click on the link below to read a story about a double dapple dachshund.

*Double Dapple Warning*

PIEBALD - WHITE SPOTTING (can appear in all coats): There are three degrees of white spotting possible in the dachshund only two of the three degrees should be registered as piebalds. The first degree of white spotting is 'Irish white spotting'. This classification would include any amount of white on a dachshund LESS than four white legs, a white tipped tail, and a white chest. This minimum amount of white spotting should NOT be registered as a piebald but instead simply as the base coat color. The second degree is 'piebald white spotting'. This classification would be the minimum amount of white being four completely white legs, a white tipped tail, and a white chest and then up to 80% of white on the coat. The third degree is 'extreme piebald white spotting'. This is where more than 80% of the coat is white. Both the second and the third degrees of white spotting should be registered as piebalds. These can appear with any color. Piebald is recessive which means both parents must be showing or carrying for it to appear. True piebald bred to true piebald always produces am entire litter of piebald pups. It can appear with the dominant patterns brindle and dapple patterns but be aware AKC does not register or recognize two patterns on one dachshund. It is a safe means of creating white dachshund color, not lethal like dapple gene. (Note: Dapple piebalds often have one or two blue eyes - a solid piebald or brindle piebald will NEVER have blue eyes only brown eyes. It is impossible to have blue eyes on a dachshund without the dapple pattern.) White spotting can have 'ticking' which looks like someone took a marker and put little dots of color in the white. When tickling is present it can vary in amounts from just a few single dots to an abundance of dots running together to form a roaning effect, similar to that seen in English Setters and German Shorthair Pointers. 'Ticking' is dominant only one of the parents needs to be ticked for ticking to appear, it is a part of the piebald pattern and any amounts, or none at all, are acceptable. Piebald is a recognized AKC pattern.

TRUE SABLE (applicable only to long coats) True Sable is probably the rarest pattern of all and perhaps the most difficult pattern to describe. Many people mistakenly call a red dog with a heavy black overlay a sable. This is incorrect: the dog should be registered as a red with no pattern. A true red sable is so dark it almost looks like a black and tan from a distance. All body hairs, except on the face and feet, are banded with two color's, the self color occurs closest to the dog's body while the darker color occurs near the hair tip. The face and feet are usually just the dog's self color. Therefore, a red sable will have body hairs which are red near the base and black near the tips, and a red face and red feet. One Parent must be a sable to produce a sable pup. As mentioned in the color section, wild boar may be the expression of the sable pattern in a wire or smooth dachshund. This is an AKC recognized pattern.

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