I'd like to see a study done before I am convinced.Īn article appeared on Wednesday, Maon theįoundation website that the merle patterning gene has been identified by the He believes that it may make a dog more attentive to motion in the flock. Molinario wonders if the M gene has something to do with herding acumen.
This might explain why some breeders, like Cane di Oropa (Oropa Sheepdog) breeders, or the Australian Koolie breeders, can be breeding double merles with impunity.īut why, Molinario asks, if the M gene is so risky, has natural selection or the supposed wisdom of the shepherds failed to eliminate it? It has, he says, become the hallmark of many groups of herding breeds. In the Valchiusella, for example, the Australian red (ee) gene seems to provide that buffer. Molinario posits that some groups of genes may be able to buffer or displace the MM pairs. Double merle can cause excessive white, and, particularly when the white is on the head, and more specifically, on and in the ears, that is when hearing and sight defects may occur.Īccording to Molinario, it was recently noticed that the MM or the double merle gene pair does not produce the same effect in all breeds. Pier Vittorio Molinario, in his treatise "Il cane pastore della Valchiusella" (the Valchiusella Sheepdog) calls the M gene the "bleach gene". Or they have been culling defective pups. If no problems have shown up, the breeders have been lucky. Without going too deeply into the genetics of merle (which can be found at en./wiki/Merle_(dog_coat)), let me just paraphrase Wikipedia by saying that if two merle dogs are mated, on average one quarter of the pups will be double merles (MM), and a high percentage of these double merle pups could have eye defects and/or be deaf. Therefore, we have chosen to present one page with all the possible merles for which we currently have examples.
It can affect any base color, so you can have blue merle (on base black), red merle (on base red), sable merle (on whatever base the sable is affecting), slate merle (on base blue), etc. Paul Adams, the illustrator of Teal, above, is Bob Adams son. Bob is a hill walker, and Teal is his walking companion. Left is blue merle Teal, belonging to Bob Adams of Kircaldy, Fife, Scotland. You may also turn it off by clicking on the two parallel lines.
You can hear " Dainty Davy" by clicking the right arrow above. This page has music available that you may turn on. By Scottish illustrator, Paul Adams, of Glenrothes, Fife.
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