Even with the Piebald gene, if you know your lines, you know what each dog tends to throw.. some throw more gold, some throw darker faces.. some throw a blaze.. you try and breed for what you are looking for. This is very different than just throwing two dogs together and seeing what happens, as it seems some feel that Parti/Biewer breeders do. Although the amount of color or it's placement is way down my list of priorities, it is still of concern.
Most of my dogs carry the Irish spotting gene rather than the Piebald.. I breed Irish spotting to Irish Spotting and most come out, Irish spotting.. however, my lines tend to have faces that "wash out" early.. loose the deep rich colors and "clear" to tan or cream while the backs remain darker blue. I loose the "gold" that I desire.. so, I breed to another line that maintains the gold.. but of course, then you may loose the ears, or the top line.. so see.. it's no different than breeding the traditional colors.. we still have all of the same concerns .. breeding towards the ideal.
Will we ever get it all in one dog??? Most likely not, but we keep trying. For me, I will work first on health, a strong confirmation and character then worry about the color...
Diana
