diff --git a/lib/hashie/dash.rb b/lib/hashie/dash.rb
index <HASH>..<HASH> 100644
--- a/lib/hashie/dash.rb
+++ b/lib/hashie/dash.rb
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ module Hashie
 
       attributes.each_pair do |att, value|
         self.send("#{att}=", value)
-      end
+      end if attributes
     end
 
     # Retrieve a value from the Dash (will return the
diff --git a/spec/hashie/dash_spec.rb b/spec/hashie/dash_spec.rb
index <HASH>..<HASH> 100644
--- a/spec/hashie/dash_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/hashie/dash_spec.rb
@@ -70,6 +70,13 @@ describe Hashie::Dash do
       DashTest.new(:first_name => 'Michael').first_name.should == 'Michael'
     end
   end
+
+  describe 'initializing with a nil' do
+    it 'accepts nil' do
+      lambda { DashTest.new(nil) }.should_not raise_error
+    end
+  end
+
   describe ' defaults' do
     before do
       @dash = DashTest.new
Initializing Dash with a nil