What makes a blue merle

This particular phenotype is inherited as an autosomal, incompletely dominant trait. The merle gene creates mottled patches of color in a solid or piebald coat, blue or odd-colored eyes, and affects skin pigment.

The chances of having puppies that develop health issues increase when two merles are bred together. Cryptic merle dogs do not appear to be merle, but contain the merle gene.

Many solid dogs are actually cryptic, also known as phantom, merles and can produce both merle and double merles if not careful. Merle can affect all coat colors. Recessive red dogs can also 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. Combinations such as brindle merle exist, but are not typically accepted in breed standards. In addition to altering base coat color, merle also modifies eye color and the coloring of the nose and paw pads.

The merle gene modifies the dark pigment in the eyes, occasionally changing dark eyes to blue, or only part of the eye to blue. Since Merle causes random modifications, both dark-eyed, blue-eyed, and odd-colored eyes are possible. Color on paw pads and nose may be mottled pink and black.

These are also known as "double merles. A cryptic or phantom merle is a dog which phenotypically appears to be a non-merle solid-colored or a dog that has very faint patches of merle that can go unnoticed. Animals that do not present the merle phenotype may possess the merle genotype and subsequently produce merle offspring. These animals are known as cryptic merles, as they don't appear to be merle but can produce merles.

The merle pattern can occur in combination with all of those, though it is most commonly seen in blue merle dogs. Pyrenean Shepherds have very little white on their body compared to some of the other dogs in this list. Ideally, dogs should have little to no white at all, even on their chest.

The Bergamasco Shepherd is a herding dog from Italy. The most striking feature is his extremely long and thick coat that forms natural dreadlocks and grows all the way to the ground. By the time a dog is around 5 years old, the dreadlocks reach down to the floor. While impractical for many owners nowadays, this coat once made the Bergamasco Shepherd an extremely hardy sheepdog which could withstand strong winds, heavy rains and cold temperatures.

In dogs with a heavy coat, it can be difficult to pinpoint the exact color. The Catahoula Leopard Dog is a very unique looking dog from Louisiana. This dog originally was used for hunting feral pigs. Strong-willed and athletic, the breed is appreciated for its temperament and work ethic as much as for its looks. Catahoulas can have a wide range of colors and show spotting of different forms and hues, ranging from cream-colored all the way to solid black.

All colors can occur with or without the merle pattern. Some owners decide on a Catahoula based on the unique coloring alone. Do not make this mistake! These dogs are highly athletic and require intense exercise as well as a knowledgeable trainer. They are not the right choice for first-time dog owners.

Unless you are willing to spend at least 2 hours every day working with your Catahoula, decide on a different merle-colored breed with less extensive activity needs.

The Koolie is another merle-patterned breed with very high exercise needs. If you have never heard of the Koolie before, you can think of this breed to be a cousin to the Border Collie. With a similar size and build, these dogs are very athletic herders originating in Australia. Koolies are medium-sized dogs that are about inches in height. They have large, erect ears and are usually short-coated though there are a few long-coated Koolies as well. Their typical colors are red and black — and both of these can occur in combination with the merle gene as well.

Koolies have become increasingly popular in the US in the last decade for their athleticism and work ethic. Many owners who pursue competitive dog disc sports essentially frisbee routines that get scored opt to import or domestically breed these dogs.

Once more, Koolies are a breed with high exercise and training requirements — you should never decide for a Koolie based on the color alone. Only commit to this breed if you are ready to fulfill the activity needs that come with it.

Shelties are popular family and sport dogs. Once bred to herd, these extremely intelligent and fast dogs excel at a range of dog sports these days. Whether agility, obedience or barn hunt, they love to learn new skills and work together with their owner. Shelties most often are sable-colored, but can also be tri-colored or bi-black.

The merle pattern can occur in combination with any of these colors: blue merle, blue merle tri or sable merle are allowed by the breed standard. While European Shelties have a manageable coat, many US lines of Shelties have an extremely dense and long coat. Great Danes are best known for fawn or harlequin coloring, but they can come in the merle pattern as well.

A lot of blue merle Great Danes have minimal white — their merle pattern spreads across the whole body without white patches on the head, neck, chest or feet. While show dogs usually have their tails docked and their ears cropped, Great Danes look just as beautiful with ears and tails intact. Unfortunately, Great Danes are not the healthiest breed.

In order to ensure a long and healthy life for your Great Dane, you always need to make sure to purchase a puppy from a responsible breeder and health-tested parents. Color should be secondary in this choice! On the topic of health — you absolutely want to avoid getting a double merle Great Dane, as these merle pups are quite unhealthy. Border Collies are known to only be black and white. This is quite far from the truth!

This breed in fact can have a large number of different colors, ranging from common ones like red and white to extremely exotic and rare colors such as lilac merles with tan points. Merle Border Collies are often confused with merle Australian Shepherds. In order to tell them apart, look for the following features:. If you are interested in an in-depth comparison, check out our Australian Shepherd vs Border Collies article!

A cousin to the Border Collie, the rough Collie looks like a big brother of the Sheltie. The most common color in Rough Collies is sable, followed by black tri. The merle pattern is seen more often these days than a few decades ago, because of the popularity of this coloring.

Rough Collies have large amounts of white on their chests and necks. A typical merle Rough Collie will have the merle pattern across his rump and on his head, with a wide white collar and white blaze on his head. Rough Collies are great family and companion dogs.

They are very friendly and generally easy to train. The biggest challenge with these dogs is keeping up with their grooming needs — daily brushing is a must with a Rough Collie. If this sounds too much, you can consider the short-coated variety of the Collie, the Smooth Collie:. The Smooth Collie essentially looks identical to the Rough Collie, but he has short hair all across his body.

This breed is a lot less common than the Rough Collie, and in fact often gets mistaken for a shaved Rough Collie! For first-time dog owners, these are the perfect Collie breed. Smooth Collies also mainly come in sable and black tri.

The merle pattern is seen in combination with black tri, and the resulting dogs are blue merle tri. If you have your heart set on a merle Collie, chances are you will have an easier time finding a merle Smooth Collie puppy than a rough Collie.

It originated of course in Scotland. In recent years, a movement started in the US to bring back the original Scottish Collie. Breeders are crossing Smooth Collies to other herding dogs such as Border Collies, English Shepherds and German Shepherds to create an agile, intelligent and brave working dog. The Scottish Collie can have a wide range of allowed colors, including bi black, black tri, sable, blue merle, blue merle tri and others.

The breeders of Scottish Collies breed under their own association and breeding registry. Merle Chihuahuas are dogs in high demand and their price reflects this. They are one of the few small merle breeds most merle dogs are medium to large breeds. Chihuahuas can have a wide range of different colors , including white, brown, red, black, brindle and sable — and these can occur with or without merle patterning. The AKC currently does not allow merle Chihuahuas to be registered, as they usually are a result of crossbreeding.

Chihuahuas come in two different coat varieties: smooth and rough that means short and long hair. The merle pattern can occur in both coat options. Many small breed dogs develop severe behavioral issues such as separation anxiety or reactivity due to the owners not investing enough time and energy into training. Your Chihuahua needs you to treat him like a big dog when it comes to teaching him how to behave well.

Bully breeds of any kind are popular dogs all across the US. Bully breeds come in pretty much any color you can think of, including white, black, parti-colored, brindle, fawn, cream, red, gold, brown, grey, blue — and also with the merle pattern!

While merle was not originally part of the breed and was added through outcrosses. This is also the reason that the AKC currently does not allow merle Bully breeds such as Pitbulls to be registered as pure-bred dogs. The Beauceron is a yet another herding dog from the French Alps. While very popular in France, this breed is relatively unknown in the US, and it is in fact very difficult for most puppy buyers to find a Beauceron breeder nearby. Nowadays this dog is not used much anymore for herding, but as a guard and companion dog and also in the sport of protection IPO and French Ring.

They also work as search and rescue dogs. The Beauceron mostly has a black and tan coloring. However, the breed standard allows for merle-patterned dogs as well. The breed has very little to no white, whether in the solid-colored varieties or in the merle-patterned one. The two dogs in the picture are a solid black and tan mother and her blue merle tri offspring.

The merle coloration is beautiful, making it desirable for dog owners. But what happens when a breeder gets carried away and breeds two merles? Double Merle pups are born when both of the parents are merle.

And that these are really the only two issues with double merles, all other health issues being attributed to poor breeding practices, at least with the Australian Shepherds, where the merle gene is most common and desirable. It would probably help, at this point, if I show you another merle for reference:. I found a great blog post, chock full of photo illustrations of merles of various breeds. But that merles are more prone to health issues, and that breeding two merles, while sometimes achieving stunning visual results, is highly undesirable.

Ask to see both parents.