Merle to Merle Breeding is Ok as Long as You're Ok With the Outcome??

HopeShelties said:
No, merles should not be excluded entirely. Merles in and of themselves aren't bad. Sure, merle to merle can create problems, but those of us who aren't doing merle to merle breedings shouldn't be punished because certain people choose to breed merle to merle. And, it is generally not a problem breeding merles. Problems usually only show up when you are fooling with the shades of blue which contain the least amount of pigment, and harlequin types.
I am the proud owner of a deep powder boy (with the most beautiful cast of blue to his coat, not a silvery cast or any rust), a pewter girl, and what I think is going to develop into a powder blue (as coat darkens as puppies age it seems).
Click to expand...

Totally agreed. Diva had one pup that was a domino. In my mind that was an underisable color but you wouldn't believe how many people loved it. I would not have kept her to carry on my blue line even if she hadn't been a pet for other reasons. She is a very healthy dog but we need to think of the next generation. I am looking at a blue boy right now who has a lovely blue color, a shade darker than his other nice blue littermates.
 
danisgoat said:
It seems that most people are agreeeing that merles are fine and hearty, as long as they are not bred for dilution.

So, I don't believe that they should be phased out entirely at all.
Click to expand...

That's what I'm hearing too. But must be done with care and intelligent breeding programs.
 
Justicemom said:
Totally agreed. Diva had one pup that was a domino. In my mind that was an underisable color but you wouldn't believe how many people loved it. I would not have kept her to carry on my blue line even if she hadn't been a pet for other reasons. She is a very healthy dog but we need to think of the next generation. .
Click to expand...

Shiraz? (I'm trying to learn and identify-ha!)
 
corbinam said:
Shiraz? (I'm trying to learn and identify-ha!)
Click to expand...

Yes.

Here is a picture of her when she was born. She is 1 day old. No she is not white. Everything behind her shoulders is blue but it is so light that it looked almost white. Also notcie the gray spots as opposed to black on her side.

The next picture is the same puppy at 9 months. She is the dog(with the blue eyes) on the left in the picture.

Compare that to the 4 blue puppies in the last picture and the nice rich, obvious blue color present at birth.
 
Last edited:
It seems to be pretty common in domino pattern merles... having at least one lighter colored spot on them. I believe, in my experience, that the dominos also are most often the ones to throw the harlequins. I've seen it in several breedings around here.
The worst I can think of, which is being done by two people co-breeding performance pups, is a three time repeat breeding being done in hopes of producing odd colored pups. The first breeding produced 2 harlequins, the second litter 2 regular blues and what Cheryl Anderson has labeled a cryptic chocolate merle (looks like a tri with a tiny patch of blue under one eye, and then the off/dilute slate type coloring), and then in the last breeding they had 2 regular tris and another harlequin.
The chocolate/slate cryptic merle looks like the second dog under dilute here:
http://www.snovali.com/color/index.htm
except it of course has a patch of merling under its eye.
I do actually have pictures of two of these oddball pups on my computer, however I will not share them publicly on the forum. However, for learning purposes, I don't mind sharing them privately.
ETA: Oh yes, the parents of these pups are a bi-black and a domino pattern powder blue
 
BarbV said:
That's what I'm hearing too. But must be done with care and intelligent breeding programs.
Click to expand...

Frankly I believe this is true of any breeding program involving dogs. If you don't know what you are doing, don't breed.

Rachel and I planned for over 5 years before we did our first sheltie breeding. We are still learning and still have alot to learn.
 
Regarding the continued breeding of blue merles - you may be interested to hear this is not some hypothetical scenario. Some countries in Europe (not the UK) have signed up to an agreement titled the:

European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals

The following is an extract (my emphasis):

"Guidelines for the revision of breeding policies:

- avoid or, if it is not possible to eliminate severe defects, discontinued breeding of:

-- dogs carrying "Merle factor" (significant disposition to deafness and eye disorders, e.g.: Blue merle Collie, Merle Sheltie, Merle Corgie, Merle Bobtail, Tigerdogge, Tigerteckel)."

It is on the cards therefore, for countries which have signed up to this, that eventually no merle coloured animals will be permitted to be bred.

The following is an interesting collie breeders' discussion on the subject with varying points of view:

http://www.collienet.com/Rough Collie Blue Merle Breeding.htm
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top