A Note on Piebald’s

Why are piebald’s so expensive? This is a question we are frequently asked. To answer this we must first explain that the sire and the dam both must carry the piebald gene in order to produce a piebald offspring. They don't have to be piebald themselves but they each must carry the gene. If only one parent is a carrier of the piebald gene, then the very best you can produce is offspring that carry the piebald gene but will not be piebald patterned itself.

The piebald pattern was an afterthought so to speak, in the Harlequin pinscher breed. Until recently not much thought was put into the proper breeding practices to ensure that unrelated miniature pincher bloodlines were being introduced to produce unrelated bloodlines that carry the gene. As a result, there are very few bloodlines carrying the piebald gene and only a couple of these lines are not so closely related that they should not be used together for breeding.

 Breeders associated with the American Harlequin Miniature Pincher Club have acknowledged this issue and have taken on the task of making sure that the proper breeding’s are being made to keep the piebald gene viable and healthy. The only possible way for this to be done is spending a considerable amount of time not only researching and finding high quality unrelated miniature pincher bloodlines but also purchasing them. This is not an easy or cheap task to take on. Therefore, we as dedicated responsible breeders have chosen to stand tall and continue to better the breed.

 I hope this helps to explain why there is such a difference in price when it comes to purchasing a piebald pattern Harlequin Pincher.