Meet the Breeder

Welcome to Tollett Dachshunds. We are located on a 70 acre farm in historic Dayton, Tn. We are about 30 mi north of Chattanooga, Tn and about 70 mi southwest of Knoxville, Tn. We specialize in smooth and longhair miniature dachshunds. We have a variety of colors to choose from and all dogs are AKC or CKC registered. You can e-mail or call for more information. 423-775-2392 or jtollett@volstate.net

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ABOUT COLORS

Over the years I have learned a lot about the genetics of colors in the Dachshund breed and found that too many breeders list colors, and patterns, of a litter that just can't be possible. Some are quite obvious but others are a little more difficult to know if you don't have some understanding about how the genetics of color, etc. work. By no means am I "picking on" or ridiculing any one breeder as I have seen each one of what I have listed on more than one site and sometimes on many. These are just my views on what I know as to how the genetics work and by no means do I claim to be an expert. I always strive to learn more about it and as they are always seeming to discover something new about how a certain gene can effect another gene there is always something new to learn. I have tried to keep my views as short and to the point as I could so as not to bore the reader that really only wanted a general idea about how the colors work.

MY VIEWS:

If you breed a choc/tan to a choc/tan then all you will get is choc/tan pups. If both parents carry the dilute gene then you could also get Isabella/tan pups as well. If both also carry the recessive red (e-red) gene then you could also get chocolate based ee-red pups in normal or dilute depending on what the parents are or carry. You will not get black/tan (or blue/tan) or dominant red pups from this breeding. These dogs cannot carry black/tan.

Just because a chocolate based ee-red pup has been produced in a litter, or a chocolate based dominant red, doesn't mean it is a "dilute red". A dilute red to me means that I should be able to breed that dog to a blue/tan (a diluted black/tan) or Isabella/tan (a diluted choc/tan) and get 100% dilute puppies. Just call them chocolate based reds unless they are dilutes and then call them chocolate based dilute reds. A chocolate based red can only produce red or choc/tan pups but depending on what you breed this dog to will determine what the colors of the litter will be. If a female chocolate based red produces a black/tan puppy then that is because of the father's side and she should not be listed as a carrier of black/tan.

If you breed two ee-red dogs together then you will get 100% ee-red puppies. Just because a light, or clear red, puppy has been born in a litter does not mean it is an ee-red dog. If you breed two ee-reds together and you get something other than ee-red pups then one or both are not ee-reds but probably a clear or light dominant red.

A choc/tan pup will not have any black on it what so ever. No black hairs, no black nose, no black nails, none! If a puppy has been born with any black hairs and a black nose and both the parents are choc/tans then get a DNA test quick! Find out who the father really is! If you think about it you don't see any color difference in the chocolate color but you can see the black overlay on a dominant red. If you're seeing that on a puppy then it's NOT a choc/tan.

If you breed two dilute dogs together then you will get 100% dilute puppies. Depending on what color the parents are will determine what dilute color the pups will be. If you get black/tan, choc/tan or dominant red with a black nose then once again, get that DNA test and find out who the real father is.

Solid Black. I don't know that much about the gene that produces solid black but I will say that in about 75% of what I have seen listed as such I can see the "tan points" even if they are very, very faint. None the less, they are there and should not be listed as solid black.

English Cream. To be a cream, a puppy has to get the gene from BOTH of the parents or its just a red puppy carrying the cream gene or not a cream at all. How is it that so many breeders end up with "cream" puppies in a litter with only one of the parents being a cream? I have looked at pedigrees on puppies listed as such and have not seen one single cream listed on one of the parents side and the puppy itself really looks like a red pup. If you breed two creams together then you will get 100% cream puppies in the litter. This includes the black/cream and choc/cream as well since the cream gene only effects the red hair turning it to a cream color. Sometimes it's not that the father is another dog but that one of the parents is not a true cream but only a carrier of cream. People want their puppies to be creams so bad that sometimes they just don't see the fact that the parent is really just a light red. As I've seen before, Red puppy...$$, Cream puppy...$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

Piebalds. If you breed two piebalds together then you will get 100% piebalds in the litter. There should not be any pup that is just a black/tan or choc/tan or red. They should all have piebald markings. Some pups can be born with white spots on the chest or on the toes but this does not make them a piebald but shows that they are a piebald carrier. If a pup is born like this to two piebald parents then it shows that it is carrying the piebald gene from the mothers side. I would do a DNA test to find out who the father really is.

Dapples. Dapple is just a pattern and can be on any color. This is a dominant trait so if your dog is not a dapple then it can't carry it. It doesn't matter how many dapples or double dapples they have in their pedigree, if they're not a dapple then they don't carry it.

Click here for more information on breeding dapples and double dapples.

Double dapples. When a dog gets the dominant dapple gene from both of the parents (This is from breeding dapple to dapple and something I DO NOT do. ) then it is called a double dapple. Because of the pairing of both dominant dapple genes they will have white markings on them as well as the dapple. If you breed a double dapple to a solid (red, black/tan, choc/tan) then you will get 100% dapple puppies because they throw a dapple gene each time. If regular color pups are born as well as dapples then I would question if this dog was truly a double dapple or just a dapple marked piebald. I know that some dapples can be "hidden dapples" with maybe the only dapple spot being in the eye but I have seen way too many litters from "double dapples" that come out with way too many non dappled pups.

Dogs do not carry heavy or light for any of their traits. They either have it or they don't. Take an English Cream. English Cream is a COLOR in the Dachshund and not a different breed. How many times have you seen it listed that a red Dachshund is 3/4 (75%) English Cream. That doesn't make any difference. They either are an English Cream (color) 100%, or they carry the English Cream color gene 50% or they don't have the English Cream color gene at all. 0% I wouldn't list a black/tan as a 3/4 choc/tan but as a black/tan carrying choc/tan.


BUYING AN ADULT DOG.

This has to be the one thing that bothers me the most about breeders that sell their retiring dogs. How many times have you seen it listed that a dog was being retired and was now available for his/her "forever home" at $$ but with a spay/neuter contract. If the dog is retiring then why is the owner not getting it spayed/neutered themselves? If the dog is now too old for breeding for someone else then it is too old for breeding with them. Spay/neuter the dog. However, I have seen many of these dogs that didn't find a new home to go on and repeatedly have more litters of puppies. If the dog didn't get big enough to be a breeder and therefore being sold as a pet ONLY then it's still too small no matter who owns it and for the health of the dog it needs to be spayed NOW and then worry about finding a good home for it. I don't understand why the breeder doesn't spay as soon as possible unless they hope that if it doesn't sell then maybe it will eventually get big enough for them to breed. If the dog has some defect that would not make it a good breeder and is being sold as a PET ONLY with a spay/neuter contract then I have a strong feeling that the defect will still be with the dog no matter who owns it. Spay/neuter the dog now. It may even help get the dog adopted faster. Once again, I have also seen these dogs go on to become breeders if they didn't sell.

STATISTICALLY what you could get by breeding dapples and double dapples.

M = dapple gene (This is a dominant gene and only one is needed to be a dapple and would be Mm genetically ) m = non dapple gene (This is a recessive gene and any non dappled dog will be mm genetically.)

If two non dappled dogs (mm X mm) are bred together then NO pup in that litter would be dapple. 0%

If a dapple dog (Mm) is bred to a non dappled dog (mm) then STATISTICALLY you should get 50% of the litter as dapples (Mm) and 50% as non dapples (mm). However, you could have all dapples or no dapples at all. My sister had a non dappled dachshund that was bred to a dapple and all 7 of her puppies were dapples.

If a dapple dog is bred to another dapple dog (Mm X Mm) then STATISTICALLY you should get 25% double dapples (MM), 50% dapples (Mm) and 25% non dappled (mm) pups.

If a double dapple dog (MM) is bred to a non dapple dog (mm) then 100% of the litter will be dapple pups (Mm).

If a double dapple dog (MM) is bred to a dapple dog (Mm) then STATISTICALLY you should get 50% double dapples (MM) and 50% dapples (Mm).

If two double dapple dogs are bred (MM X MM) then 100% of the litter will be double dapple.

It is not recommended to breed dapple to dapple due to health issues and the risk of genetic defects.