Are merle dogs healthy

Indeed merle is a recognised and much sought after colour in some breeds including the Australian shepherd the Shetland sheepdog various collie breeds and the Welsh Cardigan corgi. A blue Merle dog looks like an exotic black dog with patches of colors that have been diluted.

Those who are adopted from shelters or taken off breeders hands are not necessarily unhealthy but do have genetic issues such as vision and hearing loss.

Are merle dogs healthy. Breeding two merle dogs Mm the resulting litter would have the probability of being 25 unaffected mm 50 merle Mm and 25 white MM. Health issues associated with the merle allele The M allele is an excellent example of pleiotropy the phenomenon where a single allele can cause distinct and seeming unrelated physical effects. It is a common misconception that a dog with a merle coat must have hearing and seeing issues.

The only time the merle gene causes a concern for health is when a dog is homozygous for merle meaning double merle The only way to get a homozygeous merle dog is to breed two merles together. A merle dog that came from only one merle parent will usually survive long into adulthood and experience good health. These dogs can also breed with other canines if done responsibly by an experienced breeder who has performed all the necessary health checks.

Its one of the most beautiful coat patterns in the dog world. But merle is definitely a case where too much of a good thing is well a bad thing. The merle also called dapple pattern is the.

Merle is a pattern in a dogs coat. Merle comes in different colors and patterns. The Merle gene creates mottled patches of color in a solid or piebald coat blue or odd-colored eyes and can affect skin pigment as well.

They are attempting to pass off something that never was as purebred. If they disregard what the dog was meant to be and have fraudulent pedigrees. They wont be doing hip and elbow X-rays or DNA testing.

They are suddenly turning up m. Some merle Chihuahuas are healthy with no hearing or vision problems at all but even if a breeder manages to produce a heathy merle litter doing so is never without risks. Double merle puppies and dogs have large white patches along their bodies and heads more so than merle dogs.

Some double merles have completely white coats with little or no merle coloring at all. Dapple and piebald are other names for merle coloring which means they carry the recessive gene too. Double Merle Dogs Have a Slew of Health Issues.

Some pits with merle coloring are perfectly fine and live healthy lives. That said the ones that are born not healthy are usually killed or abandoned and end up dying. Those who are adopted from shelters or taken off breeders hands are not necessarily unhealthy but do have genetic issues such as vision and hearing loss.

These dogs are hardy and healthy overall with an average lifespan of 12 to 15 years though some can be prone to deafness and epilepsy. The primary concerns for any dog breeder must be health temperament and conformation. Colour should only be a consideration where it is important for the breed standard.

Special care must also be taken when breeding merles to avoid health problems so merle is a colour best left to experienced dog. Single-merle dogs are less likely to be affected by such problems and can remain perfectly healthy. Indeed merle is a recognised and much sought after colour in some breeds including the Australian shepherd the Shetland sheepdog various collie breeds and the Welsh Cardigan corgi.

These health risks are more prevalent and severe in double merles meaning dogs that have two copies of the merle gene than heterozygous dogs meaning dogs that have one copy of the gene. As noted above the merle gene does not always produce the merle color in the dogs coat. Merle is a type of genetic condition that creates a unique type of pattern on a dogs coat.

This gene results in various pattern styles that occur either in solid or piebald forms. While it mainly affects a dogs coat it can also result in heterochromia iridum a condition that causes the eyes to be different colors. Double Merles and High Whites.

A homozygous or double merle is one with two copies of the merle gene and if the merle is a longer length see Advanced Merle page then this severely impairs the dogs ability to make pigment leaving large areas of the dog pigmentless white. Pigment is actually necessary for certain parts of the body to function correctly so lack of pigment can cause. Dogs with two copies of the merle gene homozygous merle or double merle have an even higher chance of being deaf and with vision impairments.

The UK Kennel Club has acknowledged the health risk associated with homozygous merle and stopped registering puppies. Double Merle Dog Health. One study found that deafness affected 92 percent of dogs with the merle allele with 35 percent in single merles and 25 percent in the double merle dog.

Other studies have found similar results showing also that double merle MM dogs experience ear and eye effects at a much higher rate than single merle dogs. A blue Merle dog looks like an exotic black dog with patches of colors that have been diluted. This Merle coats are caused by genes which may also affect eye colors coats and more.

The color is actually a recessive gene and it is not something that you can find in all the dogs that are going to be blue.