More Info

Did you know?

Dalmatians are actually colored dogs with lots of white spots, not the other way around! In fact, they are considered to be ticked dogs, and all ticked and roan dogs are born white and develop their spots as they mature.

How it works

Dog with copies of the Piebald variant are likely to show white spotting, patches and/or a white coat, with two copies having a greater effect than one, although the strength of this effect may be influenced by other genes.

Health implications

White spotting is not a color, but a lack of pigment. Pigment is necessary for normal vision and hearing development, so if white spotting covers the area of the ear, the dog may be deaf in that ear. Dogs at greatest risk are those with very few colored spots. This risk does not apply to dogs whose white color is due to the recessive red gene, such as Poodles.