1/2/2023 0 Comments Bully merle![]() Knowledgeable and responsible breeders who want to produce merle puppies mate a merle with a non-merle dog roughly half the puppies will be merles, and none will have the vision or hearing defects associated with double merle dogs. If two such dogs are mated, on the average one quarter of the puppies will be "double merles", which is the common term for dogs homozygous for merle, and a high percentage of these double merle puppies could have eye defects and/or be deaf. Merle is actually a heterozygote of an incompletely dominant gene. ![]() Pea scheme showing potential consequences of breeding two merle dogs together. Just recently the UK Kennel Club (the oldest in the World) has banned the registration of merle Poodles as it is not and never has been a colour pattern recognised in pure Poodles. Merle is sometimes introduced to other purebred dog breeds through crossbreeding, but these dogs are not purebred and cannot be registered with any reputable kennel club. There may also be additional requirements for the pattern such as the dog being allowed to have the pattern but must have completely dark eyes with no blue in them. ![]() Harlequin Beaucerons are genetically merle.ĭepending on the breed, registry, or country, the pattern may be register-able with a registry but not allowed in conformation, and the pattern may not be recognized by the breed standard, disqualifying it from showing. The merle gene also plays a part in producing harlequin Great Danes. In Dachshunds, the merle marking is known as "dapple". Merle is a distinguishing marking of several breeds, particularly the Australian Shepherd and Catahoula Leopard Dog, and appears in others, including the Koolie in Australia, the Shetland Sheepdog, various collie breeds, the Cardigan Welsh Corgi, the Pyrenean Shepherd and the Bergamasco Shepherd. Pigmentation on paw pads and nose may be mottled by pink. Since merle causes random modifications, however, both dark-eyed, blue-eyed, and odd-colored eyes are possible. The merle gene modifies the dark pigment in the eyes, occasionally changing dark eyes to blue, or part of the eye to be colored blue. In addition to altering base coat color, merle also modifies eye color and coloring on the nose and paw pads. Combinations such as brindle and sable merle exist, but are not typically accepted in breed standards. Dogs who are recessive red can still be affected by merle, but the patches are either hardly seen or, if the dog is a clear recessive red, are not visible at all. The merle forms of brown and black are usually called "red" (though this is not correct red and brown are genetically different) and "blue" as patches of blue are formed throughout the coat.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |