Double merle dogs have an excessive white coloration and they are at risk of developing hearing impairments and other conditions. Lex is a two-year-old double merle Australian shepherd.
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This is what people refer to as the double merle gene.
Australian shepherd double merle. When you have two dominant copies you get whats called a double merle which will produce a dog that certainly has serious health problems. Once the black color gets diluted too much you start noticing white or pink colored skin on a dog particularly Australian Shepherds. A double merle sometimes called a lethal white is a dog who was bred from two dogs with a merle patterned coat see photo such as some Australian Shepherds.
Double Merle is the common term for homozygous merles dogs with 2 copies of the merle gene. The Australian Shepherd is a breed of herding dog from the United StatesDeveloped in California in the 19th century it is claimed the breed descends from a variety of herding breeds including collies imported into California alongside sheep imported from Australia and New Zealand the breed taking its name from the formerOriginally used solely as a herding dog the Australian Shepherd has. Sep 30 2018 - Explore Carol Robertss board I am a Double-Merle Australian Shepherd followed by 402 people on Pinterest.
This is a very common condition in the eyes of double merles. Double merles also have a very high chance of being deaf blind or both. Dogs who have two merle parents and have inherited two copies of the merle gene double merles are usually mostly white.
Red merle tri color red merle and white and solid red merle. A double merle inherits the merle gene twice. There is a dominant not recessive gene in merle dogs that links together to cause vision and hearing impairments in the puppies from such a breeding.
Many people are unaware but when two merles of any breed are bred together each puppy has a 25 chance of being born as a double merle. Many double merle Australian Shepherds appear depigmented meaning their coats have large areas of white and areas that are typically dark such as noses and eye rims will either be completely pink or spotted with pink. A ustralian Shepherds are one of many breeds that can be affected by careless merle-to-merle breeding breeding two merle parents.
Forrest a double merle Australian Shepherd was born blind. Contrary two recessive copies will product a non-merle Australian Shepherd. Why is it such a big deal.
What is a Double Merle. These dogs are also sometimes inaccurately referred to as lethal whites this is considered by many to be a derogatory term. What is a double merle Aussie you ask.
Dogs that are not double merles or even merle at all may have half or fully white heads or white markings on or around the ears. Lynette This is Kya a female double merle Australian Shepherd. Acceptable colours are blue merle black red merle and red.
Before we go into detail about the defects caused by double merle lets talk about what a double merle Australian Shepherd might look like. A medium sized breed with attractive colouring the Australian Shepherd with his double coat is certainly an eyecatcher. The pupil will be shaped with spiked jagged or irregular edges.
A double merle is exactly that - a puppy whos both parents have a merle coat pattern not just Aussies doesnt matter whether blue or red - when 2 merles are bred together they have a 1 in 4 chance 25 of producing a double merle pup or homozygous merle and these pups have a high probability of having hearing andor vision impairment. Often this is the best way. Theyre just as exotic-looking as their blue merle counterparts except with a different color merle effect.
One copy of the merle gene causes a marbling effect on the coat and creates lighter spots throughout the solid color coat. These issues can range anywhere from eye defects to deafness. See more ideas about merle australian shepherd australian shepherd.
Though they can be any of the Australian shepherd merle color variations they include all of the rare white Australian shepherds. The Rollins family got Lex from Speak St. The abbreviation MM is also commonly used genetic shorthand for 2 copies of the merle gene.
This term refers to a puppy bred by two merle colored Aussie parents. This is essentially how double merle dogs start to become blind or deaf because the merle gene doesnt only affect the outside coat color. Non-merle whites are possible but improbable.
This double whammy of the merle gene results in a homozygus merle or double merle puppy often referred to incorrectly as a lethal white. Moo is blind in this eye left and has abnormalities in her other eye. The red merle Australian Shepherd color group comes with three different versions.
A blue merle is actually a black dog with the black broken up into irregularly shaped patches by gray. Merle is the. Louis a rescue that specializes in helping double merle dogs.
In a double merle the marblinglightening effect is doubled and the coat becomes predominantly white. These puppies have excessive white coloration. Approximately 25 of the resulting litter could be born mostly white generally with blue eyes and generally can have hearing andor vision loss.
Double Merle dogs may also have a variety of eye defects that can occur in any color eye. However this is the most likely cause of congenital deafness in Australian Shepherds. A double merle is a dog whose parents both carried the merle gene be it Mm or CR.
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