Are blue merle Border Collies rare?
The Blue Merle Border Collie is a gorgeous herding dog that is best known for its striking blue merle coat. It is said to be the rarest color found in Border Collies. In order to exhibit this color, one of the parents must have the merle gene.
Can you breed a Blue Merle Border Collie?
Blue Merle Border Collie breeding & genetics Having a blue merle Border Collie parent doesn’t guarantee a puppy with the same color pattern. There’s a possibility to get one pup with a merle coat in a whole litter. Aside from the merle allele/gene and non-merle allele, there’s a third variant called cryptic merle.
How much do blue merle collies cost?
On average, you should expect to fork out between $500 and $1,000 to buy a regular Border Collie. One with blue merle coloring will cost more. If you want a well-bred puppy from a reputable breeder, be ready to pay between $1,000 and $2,000.
Do blue merle dogs have health problems?
Health Issues The merle gene is known to cause a number of health problems, mostly deafness and blindness, and also sun sensitivity and higher rates of skin cancer. These problems are unusual in heterozygous merles (Mm) but more common in homozygous merles (MM).
What is a ghost merle?
Dogs with cryptic merle (also called phantom or ghost merle) typically display little to no merle pattern and some may be misclassified as non-merles. The cryptic merle alleles occur in the lower end of the range (typically from 200-255, however, this range and designation varies by study).
How much do blue merle dogs cost?
What’s the price point you can expect for a merle dog? The quick answer is – somewhere between $800 and $2,000, with an average of $1,300.
Why are merle dogs more expensive?
In a nutshell, merle dogs are expensive because puppy buyers are willing to pay a lot of money for them. The pattern is very sought-after, and the more demand there is, the higher breeders can set their prices. In addition, merle breedings can be quite rare in some breeds.
Are all merle dogs deaf?
Results: Deafness prevalence in merles overall was 4.6% unilaterally deaf and 4.6% bilaterally deaf. There was a significant association between hearing status and heterozygous versus homozygous merle genotype. For single merles (Mm), 2.7% were unilaterally deaf and 0.9% were bilaterally deaf.
What is the rarest border collie color?
The rarest Border Collie colors are those that combine a rare color with a rare pattern, such as:
- Slate merle with tri.
- Red brindle.
- Slate sable.
- Lilac merle with tri.
What can you breed a blue merle with?
Unless you have done a lot of merle breeding and really know what you are getting into, the safe rule is still that a blue merle should be bred only to a black (tri or bi).