The only way I know of to insure that a traditional yorkie has the pie bald gene is if it is a splitter (one parent was a Biewer).
Yes, generally the health issues and genetics are the same. Of course some yorkies do not have the piebald gene. Just as some do not have genes or tendencies towards large ears, roached backs or anything else that can show up. Remember at one time and to many Yorkie breeders now (esp. AKC), white is a major fault.
One health issue that has not been seen with the general yorkie population, but in the Biewers has to do with the pie bald gene. It is thought that after breeding ONLY Biewer to Biewer for 5 or so generations that the dogs do not live as long. This is suppose to be the reason that many Germans will use a traditional yorkie to freshen the genes and some say keep the color. This is also one reason that I personally have two splitters, so that I will have longer to try for my perfect dog and their offspring will also not be that far down the Biewer to Biewer lines. Several of my Biewers are products of splitter/yorkie breedings too. |