Kennel Club bans Merle colour

[ArcherDog]

In great news the KC is no longer allowing Merle coloured dogs to be registered in most breeds.

The Merle allele can cause health problems in dogs and irresponsible breeders were just using this ‘pretty’ coat pattern to hike up the price of a puppy, with no thought to the consequences.
This is particular relevant in poodles (and their crossbreeds), French bulldogs, whippets and chihuahuas.

There are a few select breeds where it will continue to be allowed (Australian Shepherd, Beauceron, Bergamasco, Border Collie, Cardigan Welsh Corgi, Dachshund (colour known as dapple), Great Dane, Long Haired Pyrenean Sheepdog, Rough Collie, Shetland Sheepdog and Smooth Collie)

www.thekennelclub.org.uk/media-centre/2020/january/registration-of-dogs-of-merle-colouring/

I was absolutely ecstatic when I read this.
Until I got to this part:

There are a few select breeds where it will continue to be allowed (Australian Shepherd, Beauceron, Bergamasco, Border Collie, Cardigan Welsh Corgi, Dachshund (colour known as dapple), Great Dane, Long Haired Pyrenean Sheepdog, Rough Collie, Shetland Sheepdog and Smooth Collie)

All the breeds where Merle has always been a natural feature are allowed.
But the breeds where Merle is thought to have been introduced by adding a different breed have been banned.

This isn’t about health.
If it was, Merle would have been banned in ALL breeds.
This is yet another example of the Kennel Club’s disturbing obsession with purity at all costs.

There isn’t a breed alive today that didn’t start out as a cross.
The Kennel Club’s obsession with purity has meant smaller and smaller gene pools/lots of inbreeding.
The result is many much loved breeds are now plagued by a slew of very serious diseases and are dying younger and younger.

Some breeds, the Cavalier King Charles and the Dobermann for example, are in such bad way now they can longer be fixed within their own breed.
Outcross is their only hope.
But the kennel Club won’t have any of it.

Disgusting but I wouldn’t have expected anything less of such a vile organisation.

Their reasoning behind the exemptions is that Merle colours naturally and commonly occur in those breeds and has been established in that breed over a long period of time, leading to the development of careful and strict breeding methods.

Rather than the disgusting new fad of breeding any dogs with the Merle gene and hoping you get some sellable puppies, never mind the blind/deaf ones.

It’s baby steps.
The KC has, quite rightly and well over due, made several good changes over the recent years.
Every year I go to Crufts I see more and more crossbreed categories and inclusions. Very encouraging.

As for ‘outcrossing’ - I agree but you must know the disgust and snobbery that crossbreeds draw.

Their reasoning behind the exemptions is that Merle colours naturally and commonly occur in those breeds and has been established in that breed over a long period of time
Purity.

leading to the development of careful and strict breeding methods
It hasnt.
The method for safe Merle breeding is the same for all breeds.
Merle x non Merle.
Never Merle x Merle.

But it continues...
Sometimes through naivety/ignorance - they assume two Merles will make lovely puppies and are unaware if the dangers and sometimes through greed and evil; they know but they don’t care.

I knew a horrid woman who bred Merle border collies.
I saw a photograph of one of the double merles she kept; teeny malformed eyes and most likely vision loss if not total blindness; a common result of Merle x Merle breedings.

There was a big very popular American breeder of Rough collies years ago, windmere or windclaire? Something like that anyway.
Their double Merle had sired countless litters.

The Merle gene is dangerous and as long as it exists you will have Merle x Merle breedings.

Rather than the disgusting new fad of breeding any dogs with the Merle gene and hoping you get some sellable puppies, never mind the blind/deaf ones
Any breeding of Merle is disgusting.
It’s a dangerous gene and as long as it exists so will double Merle dogs.

It’s baby steps
Not in my opinion, it’s another way of enforcing purity at all costs.

The KC has, quite rightly and well over due, made several good changes over the recent years
Because their hand was forced.
They didn’t care about Syringomelia in Cavaliers until the public outcry from ‘Pedigrees Exposed’.
They didn’t care about crippling German Shepherd dogs until the public outcry at seeing the best example at Crufts.
Their breed standards for a huge proportion of breeds do not support optimal health.
When you compare what exaggerated (and health problem riddled) breeds like Saint Bernard’s, Shar Pei’s, Basset hounds and Dachshunds used to look like with what the Kennel Club awards BOB to now, the difference is stark and alarming.

As for ‘outcrossing’ - I agree but you must know the disgust and snobbery that crossbreeds draw
No doubt due to the hard work the Kennel Club has done convincing people that only purebred Kennel Club registered puppies are well bred, healthy family pets.
Anything else is from a puppy farm.

Ok you obviously don’t like the KC, that’s your opinion, it’s fine to disagree. They aren’t perfect.

Regardless though, this is a good thing for dog breeding no matter their reasons for doing it.

Regardless though, this is a good thing for dog breeding no matter their reasons for doing it
Banning Merle for all breeds would have been a good thing for dog breeding.

This is nothing more than continuing to enforce purity (and the small gene pools and disease that go along with it) at all costs.

Of course it's a good thing, because although not a complete solution it will hopefully raise awareness and reduce demand for this colouring in general, and especially in some of the currently overpopular breeds and crosses.

Of course it's a good thing, because although not a complete solution it will hopefully raise awareness and reduce demand for this colouring in general, and especially in some of the currently overpopular breeds and crosses
Not if it’s still being seen in rough collies, borders, Dachshunds, shelties etc.
It will still be seen as normal and desirable.

We will still have people breeding double Merle BCs, roughs etc.

Do the health problems only come with a double M?

lovely, but its old news, this was announced in January 2020.

My dog is one of the breeds in which this colour is still permitted - though I wouldn't touch a breeder who bred merles or other weird colours with a barge pole. As far as I can see, it's not popular in the U.K., much more prevalent in the US. I don't watch crufts avidly, just once or twice a decade catch the breed finals - I've never seen this colour in that ring, and the double form is not permitted in the breed standard (i just checked).

Any moves against this are moves in the right direction, it's good but not job done.

It’s very prevalent in the US, the son of the Double Merle rough I mentioned won best of breed in 2012 at the Westminster Kennel club dog show.
That stud is entirely blind and his kennel chose him specifically to create entire litters of Merle pups.

I'm confused- I know someone who adopted two visually impaired puppies from a litter of 5- all blind. Only one parent was Merle.

How does that happen? Was the other parent a recessive Merle or something?

I thought you should never breed from Merles, full stop.

I'm confused- I know someone who adopted two visually impaired puppies from a litter of 5- all blind. Only one parent was Merle
How does that happen? Was the other parent a recessive Merle or something?
My guess would be one parent was Merle and the other was a cryptic Merle.
A dog that is Merle but the pattern isn’t easily seen so appears solid but actually it isn’t.

I thought you should never breed from Merles, full stop
Merle x non Merle is thought to be safe.

Cryptic Merle, Merle and double Merle

Do the health problems only come with a double M?
I think so, yes, though possibly there are merle variants that have issues – I am not 100% sure of the science. You can get dogs that are ‘cryptic merles’ – another colour conceals the merle patterning.

There was a big very popular American breeder of Rough collies years ago, windmere or windclaire? Something like that anyway.
You mean this one Horrendous.

This move by the KC is in the category of a step in the right direction, but for the wrong reasons. Limiting merle, but not to limit merle x merle, but to maintain ‘purity’.

Having a registry (especially one that allows you to check the COI of a mating, as the KC does) is very valuable. The problem comes with the sanctification of the closed registry ahead of the health of the dogs – hence the issues with Cavs and Dobes – as well judging purely on conformation, which is particularly ridiculous with working breeds. I listened to a talk by a longstanding breeder of German Pointers a year or two ago and she said that it used to be said that any German Pointer could work, and that was now no longer the case, and that it was becoming harder for a working-bred dog to win in the ring. We’re going the way of a massive split in the breed, as with cockers and springers and labs and border collies.

Double Merle Great Dane.
Showing the malformed, sometimes entirely missing eyes common to the double Merle.

If health was any priority, Merle would not be allowed period.

I can't understand it. I used to love German Shepherds as a child, my DPs friends had two. When I see them now I just feel sad. That poor deformed dog at Crufts a few years ago. I wonder if it's like the celebrity plastic surgery and those involved just can't see how deformed they are. Though at least humans are doing it to themselves.

As the owner of a splendid blue merle Border Collie, I couldn't give a toss. My lad, and all prior to him, are ISDS. I wouldn't touch the Kennel Club with a barge pole. As far as I am concerned, they have done more damage to dogs than good. It's hypocritical of the KC to pretend to a concern about in/breeding when they have singlehandedly create more breeding problems than anyone else.

It’s a completely token move really...

But to be fair, I can see two breeds in that list of exemptions, that I know of that are so small in numbers that if you couldn’t register merles you’d pretty much force them into extinction.

Fascinating thread - I didn’t know any of this. (Not dog owner but have in the past admired Merle dogs).

Thank you. Cryptic Merle explains it. So sad. Amateur breeders.

On another similar but different note - should breeding of all-white or predominantly-white be banned because of the risk of deafness?

On this sort of issue, any bad publicity is good publicity.

That wyndlair thing... unspeakably horrible. Yes, it's not enough for double merles to be unacceptable in shows, they should be disallowed as parents too, at least.

My border collie is isds registered and probably carries is Merle but the only sign is very spotty legs. He's not been bred from (neutered). It's pretty common in collies

If health was any priority, Merle would not be allowed period.
The KC could sort the problem (at least with registered pedigree dogs) not by banning merle, but by refusing to register any dog that was the product of a double merle parent, and insisting on any dog being mated to a known merle being tested for the merle gene.

White is more complicated – some white is due to the intensity with which the colour is expressed and the dogs will be absolutely fine. Many predominantly white dogs will also be fine provided they have colour over their heads – a lot of JRTs, Pointers etc are largely white with no problems with their hearing.

This website is a trove of info on canine coat colour.