Can you explain Dalmatian Coloring to me?

Question

This is aimed at our very own resident Dally Owner, I hope she knows! But anyone can answer of course :D

I am interested in knowing "how" the spots came about on a Dalmatian, and how they are able to prevent deafness on such a white dog. Or is the breed prone to being deaf?

I know nothing about Dallies, but their striking marking intrigue me.

Answer 1

Haha!!



It's suggested that the spots are caused by the same genes as ticking and extreme white, seen in a lot of gundog breeds and Bull Terriers



I've found the following websites extremely helpful:

http://abnormality.purpleflowers.net/genetics/ticking.htm

http://abnormality.purpleflowers.net/genetics/series.htm



It's also said that the more pigment a Dalmatian has on its ears, the less likely that dog will be deaf (although there have been instances where heavily marked Dals have been deaf). However large patches of colour anywhere on a Dal is diqualifying (sorry Dice and Domino!!), so breeders do not breed these patches in their programs.

Blue eyes have also been attributed to deafness. The AKC allows blue eyes, whereas the ANKC, UKC, The KC (England) all disqualify blue eyes.



I hope this helps some!

Answer 2

I am not an expert, but I believe this is what is correct;



A Dalmatian's spots are a color pigmentation that develop over time. Once born as puppies, their coat is fully white, and then after a couple weeks they develop their very unique and individual spots. It has been bred through time, just as any other dog's specific markings have been bred for.



Deafness is a genetic thing. Culling puppies just because there's white around their ears is very silly. I have seen studies where white is an indication of possible deafness, though, because those dogs that are deaf have genetic similarities to those born deaf, I suppose? The best thing is to responsibly breed and keep deaf genetics out as much as possible.

Answer 3

I'm not an expert, but I know some about piebaldism-effects.



Interesting markings are often caused by a lack of pigmentation. So, in the way that merles lack pigment and can sometimes be deaf, the same goes for dallies. Pigmentation controls blindness/deafness, but it honestly isn't even very understood by science. With humans, albino individuals have impaired vision, and people with Waardenberg's syndrome have lack of pigmentation, brilliant blue eyes of bieyes, and high instances of deafness.



In dogs that have the extreme whiteness and lack of pigmentation, a double dose of the "Extreme lack of markings" allele can have a similar effect to a double merle. But, the reason people say dogs have to have colored ears is because if the dog lacks pigmented hairs inside the ear, it will be deaf. This happens in all breeds with piebaldism-like characteristics, though, I've seen Siberians that are deaf/blind because of lack of pigmentation. It's just really common in Dallies because most of them lack a lot of pigment, some just have only one copy of the "extrmeme lack of markings" (forgot the name)allele that makes the dog especially white.





ADD: Now I'm really interested, thanks a lot :b

But anyways, it appears that all dallies have exactly the same genetic type for their first two coloring allele pairs, AA and BB. This is interesting because AA is the agouti modifier, and two copies of it prodouces a solid black dog. Even more interesting, the dominant gene for dallies it BB, producing black pigment always. However, they carry a double copy of the sw allele, which is what I was calling the "extreme lack of markings" allele. So, the double sw allele means a completely white dog. But, another gene allows the underlying black pigment to show through on random spots, so it seems all that saves dallies from deafness is luck and a either a double or stronger influence of the ticking, piebald and flecking loci for the black pigment to appear on the coat.

Answer 4

The breed is prone to being deaf, they have to have pigment of some kind on their ears or they can be deaf. The reason this is because pigmented cells are developed in the same location as the sensory cells, so it is something about if they don't develop the sensory cells don't develop. Someone I am sure can say it better than I can.



Spots like any other pattern came about by selective breeding, again someone else can give a better description of genetics than I can.





I trained and pup sat a dalmatian while our weim was out showing, and she was deaf in one ear and we didn't know it. She was quite a nightmare.

Answer 5

No idea. I'll star.



All I know is they have spots in their mouth sometimes, and all Dalmatians have different spot markings. I think the breed is prone to being deaf, but I also know white/light Catahoula Leopard Dogs are more prone to deafness than the darker ones.