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What Are The Long Term Health Effects On A Puppy From A Double Merle Breeding?

Hi, so I was looking at this red merle puppy and fell in love with him but found out that both his parents are blue merle.

He looks totally normal to me and I have been reading about this "double merle" thing but he seems to have the normal coloring of a red merle. So I was wondering is it always bad when the parents of the puppy are both merle and if I get him does it mean that he will be prone to having more trouble later in life?

Above are two pictures that I took of him, the one where he is standing I kind of caught him when he was trying to potty.

Comments for What Are The Long Term Health Effects On A Puppy From A Double Merle Breeding?

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Not sure
by: Shaun

But your puppy is adorable! I though it was bad when both were merles and the pup had a completely white face. Yea, doesn't sound like sound genetic science so hopefully someone who knows can chime in. We have a red merle pup as well :)

Double Merle
by: Anonymous

He is beautiful but a double merle can have problems. Blindness and deafness are common. A merle to merle is the result of irresponsible breeding.
If I were purchasing an Aussie I would not select him. :(

More Info About Double Merles
by: Anton

You can find more info about double merle or homozygous merle Australian Shepherds here.

Not the end of the world
by: Anonymous

We just adopted a double Merle from irresponsible breeding and he is totally deaf with a slight visual impairment. He is, however, the most intuitive and spirited dog I have ever known and he’s so lovable. These dogs have a bad wrap because of bad breeding, but they deserve a good home too. I love my deafie!

Merle
by: Anonymous

Not all merle pups from a merle/merle breeding will be 'defective' homozygous merles. Statistically such a breeding will produce 25% homozygous merles, 50% normal heterozygous merles and 25% solids. Your pup looks fine and I wouldn't worry.

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