A piebald or pied animal is one that has a pattern of unpigmented spots (white) on a pigmented background of hair, feathers or scales. Thus a piebald black and white dog is a black dog with white spots. The animal's skin under the white background is not pigmented.
What is piebald spotting pattern?
A pattern of less symmetrical white spotting, often called piebald, parti, or random white, is present in many breeds. A DNA variant has been found in Microphthalmia Associated Transcription Factor- (MITF) gene that is associated with piebald spotting in many breeds.
How many colors does a dog have to have to be considered pied?
When a dog is at least 50% colored, or has patches of white and another color, and the colored portions appear on the dog's head, neck and body, it's said to be “pied.” White markings will show up in particular areas of her chest, belly, feet, chin and tail end, and she might also have a white blaze or star on her face ...
Why is it called a piebald?
The pie of piebald (pie is another name for a magpie) derives from pica, which is Latin for "magpie." The other part of piebald comes from the word bald, which can mean "marked with white"; it can also be found in skewbald, an adjective used to describe animals marked with patches of white and any other color but black ...
What's the difference between piebald and merle?
The merle gene dilutes random sections of the coat to a lighter colour (usually grey in a black-pigmented dog), leaving patches of the original colour remaining. The patches can be any size and can be located anywhere on the dog, unlike the patches on a piebald dog (which are generally confined to the body and head).
