Australian Shepherd Red Merle Dilute

Regular red merles should always have darkly pigmented noses lips eyerims and pawpads.

Australian shepherd red merle dilute. Therefore for a red australian shepherd to have a merle coat they only need to inherit one dominant merle gene. On a red merle the dilute area will be an intermediate shade of red. A red australian shepherd will likely become a beige such as a weimaraner. A dilute red merle should have a lighter shade with a bit of a silvery cast weimaraners are actually dilute reds.

The black spots and patches on a blue merle aussie will likely become slate colored instead. They do become a strictly cosmetic concern if they are very large and or numerous. August 17 2020 by peter mckenna. A dilute red merle should have a lighter shade with a bit of a silvery cast weimaraners are actually dilute reds.

Cute dilute red merle australian shepherd. You need not worry for you have already taken the first and most important step and you ve found it if you are completely lost on where to begin training your australian shepherd puppy. Comparing newborn photos mercedes and master of wolves are very similar in base body shade despite the fact that mercedes is a dilute blue merle and master of wolves is a dilute red solid. Red merle australian shepherd health the merle color gene can be problematic for an australian shepherd when both parents contribute the gene to a puppy.

Dilution affects only the areas of the coat that would have been black or liver. As long as such spots are few small and inconspicuous they may not harm a dog s show or breeding career. The merle phenotype in australian shepherds is very similar to the coat color in mitf mouse mutants. In summary for red merle australian shepherd puppies to be born they must receive two recessive red coat color genes and one or two dominant merle pattern genes.

Given the extreme variation in red pigmentation in normal reds and red merles it is possible that a dilute might not be recognized as such. This difference can be very hard to see in pictures. This is called a double merle and it is associated with a variety of potential health issues. Red merle dilutes have medium toned dark patches on a pale background with pale liver on the nose and other exposed skin.

Dna testing to either certify parentage or to verify parentage for australian shepherds can be performed and as of january 2010 all adults producing a litter will be required to be dna tested to allow a. The following information will give you have been. Many champions do have one or two small ones. Dilute gene carrier vet dna center and healthgene process this sample.

A dilute australian shepherd will more than likely have different colored noses and eyes as well. The dog on the left is cheyenne a dilute blue. This color is sometimes referred to as isabella or fawn some breeds use fawn when referring to sable dogs so double check. Often identification becomes easier as the pups grow.