Can a solid mantle dog carry the piebald variant?

Yes, a solid mantle dog can carry the piebald variant. The piebald gene, which is associated with a variant in the MITF gene on the S locus, behaves as a dosage-dependent trait in Great Danes. This means that the amount of white spotting a dog expresses depends on how many copies of the gene it inherits.

A dog with two copies of the piebald variant (S/S) will display extensive white spotting. However, some breeders speculate that inheriting only a single copy of the piebald variant (S/N) is what causes the “mantle” pattern. Therefore, a dog that visually appears as a mantle could be carrying one copy of the piebald gene.