Dalesred Posted December 29, 2006 Report Share Posted December 29, 2006 There's no stopping me now! Over here in the UK, there's a bit of a prejudice against merle working dogs - epecially amongst older shepherds. Is this the same in other countries? I've heard various explanations - that the sheep take no notice of a merle dog for example - which I think is a load of old nonsense. Perhaps it springs from the offspring of merle to merle breeding which I've read can result in dogs with limited vision and deafness. Though Rhiw came from a working family and was bred on a farm ( both his litter sisters are working) - it is odd that he's never shown the slightest interest in herding, or thankfully, chasing - sheep ( apart from to lick their noses when he was a pup). We've put a LOT of work into his training, mind you, but sometimes I just wonder if there's anything in that old tale. His chase drive is very definitely channelled toward tennis balls rather than livestock, which of course, is as it should be... Thoughts, anyone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kat's Dogs Posted December 29, 2006 Report Share Posted December 29, 2006 As I don't work dogs, I don't know a whole lot but from all the reading I have done, but this is what I have gathered on the subject: One big thing against merle dogs is the tendency for some of them to be blind/deaf. Because of this, some farmers could be wary of having a working merle dog. About the sheep not knowing if it was a BC - there used to be the same thing (maybe there still is) with white faced/mainly white dogs. So much that they might drown/kill white pups. But, that is no longer the case (I hope). The sheep still knew that they were dogs and now you see a ton of white border collies working. I think the same would be true from merles, the sheep no it is a dog, and will allow to be worked by them. so that is my highly uneducated thoughts on the matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalesred Posted December 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2006 Thanks for that Kat - it kind of confirms what I thought too. If I've understood it right, a merle to merle mating can lead to deaf/blind/mainly white pups - so it's easy to see how the belief has sprung up - maybe goes back to te days before the genetics of these thigs had been worked out? Anyway, I've just seen your agility video and I am in AWE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kat's Dogs Posted December 29, 2006 Report Share Posted December 29, 2006 This talks more about merle and deaf/blindness. I thought it was interesting.... And this is a quote from the Border Collie Museum about deafness: As with many breeds, sometimes an all-white or mostly white Border Collie can be born deaf, since hearing is somehow linked to the presence of pigment in the skin. This most often occurs with merle to merle breeding, which is why this breeding is discouraged.and thanks about the video Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalesred Posted December 29, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2006 Gosh, that is interesting isn't it... so the deafness isn't just a merle x merle offspring issue then as I had thought... I knew his half blue eye came as a result of the merle gene...and fascinating that work on human genetics fed into this research too! I'd love to do agility with him, and that truly impressive video of Dazzle got me thinking again about it... we did flyball for a little while and he LOVED it - but the timing of the training sessions simply didn't work for me, sadly. Maybe I should look into doing agility... though I think his 'handler' would be more of a hindrance than a help!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kat's Dogs Posted December 29, 2006 Report Share Posted December 29, 2006 Agility is addictive, and I would be proud to spread the bug around! Go ahead, you know you want to... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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