Credits: Alesia Dixon of Rare Bulldogs
We hope that you will appreciate us sharing our knowledge with you. We also hope that you will share with us, as we are always learning, and improving on our understanding. We want to thank the few, very kind breeders who have actually called and said THANK YOU to us for creating this section. We realize that there are many breeders who use our site, that we never hear from...so Thank you for expressing your appreciation, it means a lot to us!
If you have questions or suggestions to do with Color, PLEASE visit the Q and A Links section.
Please do not call for Color/DNA Questions. We appreciate your understanding that our phone lines are for our Clients & Customer Support.
Geneticists and Breeders have long been aware of several locations of chromosomes (loci), which are responsible for the color patterns we see in dogs. Each locus has 2 sides. Every puppy inherits one copy of each locus from Mom and one of each from Dad. This is true of ALL genetic traits. Each of these loci is responsible for one or more traits, either independently, or in conjunction with another locus. The simple rendition below can be applied to any single loci, such as the B loci.
The simple rendition below is applied to 2 single loci, D & B. You can see how complicated these scenarios can be. Imagine you are dealing with 3, 4, or more!
LESSON 2...showing only 2 of the 81 combination possibilities.
TESTING CENTERS & INFORMATION
There are thirteen + different locations or loci on the chromosomes that have a combined effect to determine the color of a particular dog. At each locus, there can be found many variations or alleles that can be dominant or recessive in nature. Chromosomes come in pairs, so each dog has two different alleles at each locus on the chromosome pairs, and depending on the dominance of the alleles contained at the locus determines the color of the individual dog. The genetic material of the dog is inherited one half from the mother and one half from the father. The final characteristics of the offspring is determined by the new combination that results and the dominance, recessive nature, & hierarchy of the alleles that they inherit.
We have used UC Davis for many years and recommend them above all other labs for color testing. The Results in the Charts below uses UC Davis' letter system. Other labs have different lettering systems, which is very important to differentiate. CREDITS: The reading and results in the chart, are predominantly excerpts from the UCDavis Website.
Please do not call for DNA/Color Questions. We appreciate your understanding that our phone lines are for our Clients & Customer Support.
Use these links to get answers that you do not find here on our site.
Face Book EMBARK:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1049060571845745/
Face Book COAT COLOR AND GENETICS:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/295684027143185/
DOG GENETICS: http://www.doggenetics.co.uk/
CREDITS: Huge thanks to Rick Pez of French Bulldog Breeders and Joyce Wild of J. Wild French Bulldogs for their contribution of knowledge, photos, and dna.
I have personally found about 23 other breeders with unrelated lines that have Normal Chocolate. Duglas Andy Pankratz had his first Normal Chocolate in 2007 and his first Lilac (also called Isabella) in 2009. Everyone has a theory on how the gene came to be or why it hasn't really been highlighted until recently. My simplest explanation is its a recessive gene that doesn't work with the more common mutated gene so if someone is producing the opposite colors and sells chocolate carriers to each other and all you get are black dogs, well, the breeder thinks they got ripped off, but in actuality they might have created dual chocolate carriers.
Hershey and his sister, pictured here, are DNA testable Lilac French Bulldogs, leaving no question as to whether they are TRUE LILAC.
When you have a visually brown/chocolate dog the color can come from 2 different genes. The most common right now is the Mutated chocolate which just means the gene that causes the color change is not the traditional chocolate and has risen from a DNA mutation. The location for this type has not been found and currently cannot be tested for. The other less common in the FB (but found in most other dog breeds) is the Normal Chocolate. It is called Normal chocolate because it is what you normally see in most dog breeds and you can actually DNA test (bb) to verify if the dog has that DNA.
Even a carrier of that type of chocolate will show up as Bb. The Normal Chocolate also has a consistent true chocolate color. They do not get dark almost black fur or noses that are almost black. You can visually tell they are chocolate. Some Mutated Chocolate dogs will be hard to distinguish from a black dog.
Normal Chocolate: a dog that exhibits the colors of brown skin pigment (such as the nose) and eumelanin fur. All black pigmented fur will show as brown/chocolate color. This type of chocolate will always test as bb on the chocolate DNA panel.
Mutated Chocolate: a dog that may exhibit a brown tone to fur or pigment. This type of chocolate will not show up on a DNA test so the results will show BB.s.
I have a problem when people state a hypothesis as a fact. There are no facts to support anyone saying that Normal Chocolate never existed in FB’s and that the bb dogs are mixed. Before the explosion of the internet there were so many things that were never publicly known about a lot of lines, breeds, breeders, etc. The mutated chocolate that cannot be tested for has not been documented as far back as the Normal Chocolate. I have both types of chocolate and have puppies that actually carry both types. I would really like to produce a puppy that is homozygous for both types of chocolate. Once the location of the allele is found for the Mutated Chocolate, then it can be correctly labeled. Not all lines are DNA tested so it is impossible to prove any of the hypothesis that people have stated. Keeping that in mind I do believe that some breeders may have infused the color unethically, but there are many ethical breeders who have not. I feel there are a lot of purebred dogs that have and still show up with DNA that we may not have expected. Hershey, pictured above and his sister, pictured to the right, are DNA testable Lilac French Bulldogs, leaving no question as to whether they are TRUE LILAC.
This photo is the original chocolate FB that anti-color breeders of FB’s have been posting, it is the kind of chocolate you can tell by visual verification. Breeders started noticing the blue in FB’s were selling for so much money, so they started to selectively breed for chocolate, the Mutated Chocolate. So the FB’s that carried Normal Chocolate were not used as purposeful, and it became less and less common. Therefore people in the FB community got educated on the Mutated Chocolate and the Normal Chocolate gene got forgotten. Most of those that did test for b were hushed by others thinking that they weren't true. People started incorrectly believing that being a FB could not be DNA tested for chocolate. The truth is that the mutated type of chocolate is what cannot be tested rather than the breed.
FB’s are found to have a few genes not common in other breeds. Now some of the Normal Chocolates have come into the public eye rather than being hidden. The Bondar/Duglas line has become very populous and people are starting to find out about them again. Just because it is a different chocolate than some have been breeding for, does not mean they are any less a FB than any other FB out there. There are recessive traits that can hide behind certain lines for years before they are known. They can be there for 1 generation or 20 generations. I have a separate line that carries the same type of chocolate. Because mine were only carriers, the DNA has been running behind the generations unknown. I was unaware until one of my dogs had a full panel DNA test and surprised it was there. There are multiple dogs around that do test positive for the chocolate gene but are carriers so unless the ones that have these dogs tell people, no one would know.
That being said, it is a pet peeve of mine when people say they are mixed or say they are not true chocolate FB’s. This type of chocolate has been documented long before the Mutated Chocolate ever was. Eventually scientists may find the gene responsible for the Mutated Chocolate gene (which is also documented in some lines of beagles). But until then we won't be able to test for it.
I love this photo explanation. Thank you Herine for allowing us to use this here!
Visit her instagram page here: https://www.instagram.com/hella.isabella.frenchie/
The red eye glow has a simple Scientific explanation. Many FB breeders will not agree with these findings, because they show that red eye glow does not prove the dog is truly a Lilac, since Chocolate and Blue dogs, can and do, have the red eye glow. Red eye Glow simply put is, a lack of pigment (color) in the back of the dogs eye.
All the information below is excerpts from scientists and doctors. This is not my opinion, but scientific fact.
Science don't lie!
Red Eye Glow Explained There’s a simple scientific explanation for why flash photography often results in eye glow, it’s all about the construction of your dog’s eye.
In dogs and many other animals, the retina has a reflective layer behind it called the tapetum lucidum, which acts like a mirror, reflecting light at the back of the eyes. The reflective layer is what helps dogs see better at night. Light is reflected outward, giving the dog's retina a second chance to absorb the rays. Light that is not absorbed exits the eye, appearing as the eye glow.
This is what takes place when you snap a flash picture of your pet. Individual dogs have different colored tapetum, which is why some dogs’ eyes take on a green glow, others a yellow glow, and others red and so on.
Eye Glow occurs in a wide variety of colors including white, blue, green, yellow, pink, andred. Some dogs lack pigment in their tapetum lucidum. In these individuals their eye glow is red, as it is in humans. These dogs could be any color, although it is seen more in the dilute colors.
The color of this tapetal layer varies to some extent with an animal's coat color. A black Labrador retriever, for example, will usually have a green tapetal reflection. A buff Cocker spaniel will generally show a yellow tapetal reflection. Most young puppies and kittens have a blue tapetal reflection until the structures in the back of the eye fully mature at six to eight months of age.
Color dilute dogs such as chocolate, blue, and lilac, may have no tapetal pigment, and may therefore exhibit a red reflex just like human beings. Note that this includes all dilute colors in dogs, not just lilac. If your dog consistently has red-eye in photos, he might not have pigment in the tapetum. This means the red is coming from blood vessels at the back of the eyeball.
Credits:
https://www.canidae.com/blog/2013/03/why-do-my-dogs-eyes-glow-in-dark/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-dogs-get-blue-not/
https://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2015/01/09/dog-eyes.aspx
Dr. Becker
https://www.petplace.com/article/dogs/pet-behavior-training/why-do-dogs-eyes-shine-in-photographs/
https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/Merle.php
This page is not just my opinion. Every word on this page has been taken from articles of Scientists, Geneticists, Doctors, etc. all of which can be found by the links at the bottom of this page. It took me 5 months to read and go through all the websites and articles and excerpt the pertinent info that applies here.
So many people want to swear that English Bulldog breeders are mix breeding and hanging papers to get Merle Bulldogs. Most believe whatever they are told, or what they read without any backing to prove the belief, yet they still believe it and will actually accuse others of wrongdoing without any facts to back up the accusation.
That is pretty sad since there are many VERY reputable breeders that have a conscience and ethics....so I have compiled some info here, that can be backed up with science, and by Professionals with the education to state what is correct.
We are not so misinformed, though that we do not realize that there are breeders who HAVE cheated, mixed, and hung AKC papers taking shortcuts to get the Merle in their program. This makes it even harder for the ethical breeder of Purebred AKC Merle English Bulldogs.
As for our breeding program, we have parentage DNA with AKC on all our dogs associated with our Merle Program. Our Merles are PUREBRED AKC Bulldogs (English Bulldogs). AKC themselves list ALL Breeds in connection with the Merle pattern as do others as you will see below.
Merle can be hidden by other genes, and patterns, sometimes for long periods of time. This is why the merle gene can and has ALWAYS been in EVERY breed and is backed up by scientific fact.
Hidden merles are merle dogs who do not exhibit the merle pattern because their coat color does not show the pattern. Merling is not normally shown in red, gold, fawn and cream coat colors. The hidden merle can be distinguished only by a genetic test.
1. Recessive Red: Merle can be completely hidden by recessive red, as recessive red dogs can't make eumelanin pigment and merle only affects eumelanin. A recessive red merle is known as a phantom, ghost, or cryptic merle.
2. Sable: A clear sable (dog with a red coat, but no visible black sabling) will also not show any merling because there is no eumelanin to be merled, unless it also has a mask (which does show merling).
Shaded sables will often show merle at birth, but it tends to fade as the dog grows up, so all that remains on an adult is usually a few darker brownish patches on the coat (which can be hidden very easily by thick or long fur).
3. The greying gene can also make it very difficult to see merle markings.
4. The dilution gene (dd), can also hide the merle because it dilutes the patches to roughly the same color as the base.
5. Brindle: Merle can be very difficult to see on a brindle too, due to the stripes. Brindle can hide merle, merle can hide brindle, or they can mix.
6. Heavy Markings: Merle can be hidden if the dog has very heavy markings, so a black merle could appear completely black if the patches are large enough (a cryptic merle).
https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/Merle.php
Merle is an incompletely dominant coat color pattern characterized by irregularly shaped patches of diluted pigment and solid color.
Merle only dilutes eumelanin (black) pigment; dogs with an MC1R ee genotype (recessive red) have no black pigment, thus do not express merle but can produce merle offspring. There are 3 alleles (variants) for merle: merle (M allele, SINE with longer poly-A tail), cryptic merle (Mc allele, SINE with shorter poly-A tail) and non-merle (N allele, no SINE insertion).
Dogs with cryptic merle (also called phantom or ghost merle), typically display little to no merling and some may be misclassified as non-merles.
Inheritance of merle is genetically unstable for both M and Mc alleles. During DNA replication and cell division, M may occasionally undergo poly-A tail reduction to produce Mc (germline rate of 3-4%) while Mc may undergo expansion and revert to M. Because of the complexities of merle inheritance, and potential health concerns, DNA testing is recommended to establish the genetic make-up of dogs for the merle gene for those breeds where this color dilution pattern is present.
The Veterinary Genetics Laboratory is licensed to offer the merle test.
Results are reported as:
M/M 2 copies of merle are present (double merle)
M/Mc 1 copy of merle and 1 copy of cryptic merle are present
M/N 1 copy of merle is present
Mc/Mc 2 copies of cryptic merle are present
Mc/N 1 copy of cryptic merle is present
N/N No copies of merle or cryptic merle are present
References: Clark LA, Wahl JM, Rees CA, Murphy KE. Retrotransposon insertion in SILV is responsible for merle patterning of the domestic dog. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 103(5):1376-1381 (2006). Kaelin CB, Barsh GS. Genetics of pigmentation in dogs and cats. Annu. Rev. Anim. Biosci. 1:16.1-16.32 (2013).
https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/Merle.php
This page is not just my opinion. Every word on this page has been taken from articles of Scientists, Geneticists, Doctors, etc. all of which can be found by the links at the bottom of this page. It took me 5 months to read and go through all the websites and articles and excerpt the pertinent info that applies here.
So many people want to swear that English Bulldog breeders are mix breeding and hanging papers to get Merle Bulldogs. Most believe whatever they are told, or what they read without any backing to prove the belief, yet they still believe it and will actually accuse others of wrongdoing without any facts to back up the accusation.
That is pretty sad since there are many VERY reputable breeders that have a conscience and ethics....so I have compiled some info here, that can be backed up with science, and by Professionals with the education to state what is correct.
We are not so misinformed, though that we do not realize that there are breeders who HAVE cheated, mixed, and hung AKC papers taking shortcuts to get the Merle in their program. This makes it even harder for the ethical breeder of Purebred AKC Merle English Bulldogs.
As for our breeding program, we have parentage DNA with AKC on all our dogs associated with our Merle Program. Our Merles are PUREBRED AKC Bulldogs (English Bulldogs). AKC themselves list ALL Breeds in connection with the Merle pattern as do others as you will see below.
Merle can be hidden by other genes, and patterns, sometimes for long periods of time. This is why the merle gene can and has ALWAYS been in EVERY breed and is backed up by scientific fact.
Hidden merles are merle dogs who do not exhibit the merle pattern because their coat color does not show the pattern. Merling is not normally shown in red, gold, fawn and cream coat colors. The hidden merle can be distinguished only by a genetic test.
1. Recessive Red: Merle can be completely hidden by recessive red, as recessive red dogs can't make eumelanin pigment and merle only affects eumelanin. A recessive red merle is known as a phantom, ghost, or cryptic merle.
2. Sable: A clear sable (dog with a red coat, but no visible black sabling) will also not show any merling because there is no eumelanin to be merled, unless it also has a mask (which does show merling).
Shaded sables will often show merle at birth, but it tends to fade as the dog grows up, so all that remains on an adult is usually a few darker brownish patches on the coat (which can be hidden very easily by thick or long fur).
3. The greying gene can also make it very difficult to see merle markings.
4. The dilution gene (dd), can also hide the merle because it dilutes the patches to roughly the same color as the base.
5. Brindle: Merle can be very difficult to see on a brindle too, due to the stripes. Brindle can hide merle, merle can hide brindle, or they can mix.
6. Heavy Markings: Merle can be hidden if the dog has very heavy markings, so a black merle could appear completely black if the patches are large enough (a cryptic merle).
https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/Merle.php
Merle is an incompletely dominant coat color pattern characterized by irregularly shaped patches of diluted pigment and solid color.
Merle only dilutes eumelanin (black) pigment; dogs with an MC1R ee genotype (recessive red) have no black pigment, thus do not express merle but can produce merle offspring. There are 3 alleles (variants) for merle: merle (M allele, SINE with longer poly-A tail), cryptic merle (Mc allele, SINE with shorter poly-A tail) and non-merle (N allele, no SINE insertion).
Dogs with cryptic merle (also called phantom or ghost merle), typically display little to no merling and some may be misclassified as non-merles.
Inheritance of merle is genetically unstable for both M and Mc alleles. During DNA replication and cell division, M may occasionally undergo poly-A tail reduction to produce Mc (germline rate of 3-4%) while Mc may undergo expansion and revert to M. Because of the complexities of merle inheritance, and potential health concerns, DNA testing is recommended to establish the genetic make-up of dogs for the merle gene for those breeds where this color dilution pattern is present.
The Veterinary Genetics Laboratory is licensed to offer the merle test.
Results are reported as:
M/M 2 copies of merle are present (double merle)
M/Mc 1 copy of merle and 1 copy of cryptic merle are present
M/N 1 copy of merle is present
Mc/Mc 2 copies of cryptic merle are present
Mc/N 1 copy of cryptic merle is present
N/N No copies of merle or cryptic merle are present
References: Clark LA, Wahl JM, Rees CA, Murphy KE. Retrotransposon insertion in SILV is responsible for merle patterning of the domestic dog. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 103(5):1376-1381 (2006). Kaelin CB, Barsh GS. Genetics of pigmentation in dogs and cats. Annu. Rev. Anim. Biosci. 1:16.1-16.32 (2013).
https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/Merle.php
This page is not just my opinion. Every word on this page has been taken from articles of Scientists, Geneticists, Doctors, etc. all of which can be found by the links at the bottom of this page. It took me 5 months to read and go through all the websites and articles and excerpt the pertinent info that applies here.
So many people want to swear that English Bulldog breeders are mix breeding and hanging papers to get Merle Bulldogs. Most believe whatever they are told, or what they read without any backing to prove the belief, yet they still believe it and will actually accuse others of wrongdoing without any facts to back up the accusation.
That is pretty sad since there are many VERY reputable breeders that have a conscience and ethics....so I have compiled some info here, that can be backed up with science, and by Professionals with the education to state what is correct.
We are not so misinformed, though that we do not realize that there are breeders who HAVE cheated, mixed, and hung AKC papers taking shortcuts to get the Merle in their program. This makes it even harder for the ethical breeder of Purebred AKC Merle English Bulldogs.
As for our breeding program, we have parentage DNA with AKC on all our dogs associated with our Merle Program. Our Merles are PUREBRED AKC Bulldogs (English Bulldogs). AKC themselves list ALL Breeds in connection with the Merle pattern as do others as you will see below.
Merle can be hidden by other genes, and patterns, sometimes for long periods of time. This is why the merle gene can and has ALWAYS been in EVERY breed and is backed up by scientific fact.
Hidden merles are merle dogs who do not exhibit the merle pattern because their coat color does not show the pattern. Merling is not normally shown in red, gold, fawn and cream coat colors. The hidden merle can be distinguished only by a genetic test.
1. Recessive Red: Merle can be completely hidden by recessive red, as recessive red dogs can't make eumelanin pigment and merle only affects eumelanin. A recessive red merle is known as a phantom, ghost, or cryptic merle.
2. Sable: A clear sable (dog with a red coat, but no visible black sabling) will also not show any merling because there is no eumelanin to be merled, unless it also has a mask (which does show merling).
Shaded sables will often show merle at birth, but it tends to fade as the dog grows up, so all that remains on an adult is usually a few darker brownish patches on the coat (which can be hidden very easily by thick or long fur).
3. The greying gene can also make it very difficult to see merle markings.
4. The dilution gene (dd), can also hide the merle because it dilutes the patches to roughly the same color as the base.
5. Brindle: Merle can be very difficult to see on a brindle too, due to the stripes. Brindle can hide merle, merle can hide brindle, or they can mix.
6. Heavy Markings: Merle can be hidden if the dog has very heavy markings, so a black merle could appear completely black if the patches are large enough (a cryptic merle).
https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/Merle.php
Merle is an incompletely dominant coat color pattern characterized by irregularly shaped patches of diluted pigment and solid color.
Merle only dilutes eumelanin (black) pigment; dogs with an MC1R ee genotype (recessive red) have no black pigment, thus do not express merle but can produce merle offspring. There are 3 alleles (variants) for merle: merle (M allele, SINE with longer poly-A tail), cryptic merle (Mc allele, SINE with shorter poly-A tail) and non-merle (N allele, no SINE insertion).
Dogs with cryptic merle (also called phantom or ghost merle), typically display little to no merling and some may be misclassified as non-merles.
Inheritance of merle is genetically unstable for both M and Mc alleles. During DNA replication and cell division, M may occasionally undergo poly-A tail reduction to produce Mc (germline rate of 3-4%) while Mc may undergo expansion and revert to M. Because of the complexities of merle inheritance, and potential health concerns, DNA testing is recommended to establish the genetic make-up of dogs for the merle gene for those breeds where this color dilution pattern is present.
The Veterinary Genetics Laboratory is licensed to offer the merle test.
Results are reported as:
M/M 2 copies of merle are present (double merle)
M/Mc 1 copy of merle and 1 copy of cryptic merle are present
M/N 1 copy of merle is present
Mc/Mc 2 copies of cryptic merle are present
Mc/N 1 copy of cryptic merle is present
N/N No copies of merle or cryptic merle are present
References: Clark LA, Wahl JM, Rees CA, Murphy KE. Retrotransposon insertion in SILV is responsible for merle patterning of the domestic dog. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 103(5):1376-1381 (2006). Kaelin CB, Barsh GS. Genetics of pigmentation in dogs and cats. Annu. Rev. Anim. Biosci. 1:16.1-16.32 (2013).
https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/Merle.php
This page is not just my opinion. Every word on this page has been taken from articles of Scientists, Geneticists, Doctors, etc. all of which can be found by the links at the bottom of this page. It took me 5 months to read and go through all the websites and articles and excerpt the pertinent info that applies here.
So many people want to swear that English Bulldog breeders are mix breeding and hanging papers to get Merle Bulldogs. Most believe whatever they are told, or what they read without any backing to prove the belief, yet they still believe it and will actually accuse others of wrongdoing without any facts to back up the accusation.
That is pretty sad since there are many VERY reputable breeders that have a conscience and ethics....so I have compiled some info here, that can be backed up with science, and by Professionals with the education to state what is correct.
We are not so misinformed, though that we do not realize that there are breeders who HAVE cheated, mixed, and hung AKC papers taking shortcuts to get the Merle in their program. This makes it even harder for the ethical breeder of Purebred AKC Merle English Bulldogs.
As for our breeding program, we have parentage DNA with AKC on all our dogs associated with our Merle Program. Our Merles are PUREBRED AKC Bulldogs (English Bulldogs). AKC themselves list ALL Breeds in connection with the Merle pattern as do others as you will see below.
Merle can be hidden by other genes, and patterns, sometimes for long periods of time. This is why the merle gene can and has ALWAYS been in EVERY breed and is backed up by scientific fact.
Hidden merles are merle dogs who do not exhibit the merle pattern because their coat color does not show the pattern. Merling is not normally shown in red, gold, fawn and cream coat colors. The hidden merle can be distinguished only by a genetic test.
1. Recessive Red: Merle can be completely hidden by recessive red, as recessive red dogs can't make eumelanin pigment and merle only affects eumelanin. A recessive red merle is known as a phantom, ghost, or cryptic merle.
2. Sable: A clear sable (dog with a red coat, but no visible black sabling) will also not show any merling because there is no eumelanin to be merled, unless it also has a mask (which does show merling).
Shaded sables will often show merle at birth, but it tends to fade as the dog grows up, so all that remains on an adult is usually a few darker brownish patches on the coat (which can be hidden very easily by thick or long fur).
3. The greying gene can also make it very difficult to see merle markings.
4. The dilution gene (dd), can also hide the merle because it dilutes the patches to roughly the same color as the base.
5. Brindle: Merle can be very difficult to see on a brindle too, due to the stripes. Brindle can hide merle, merle can hide brindle, or they can mix.
6. Heavy Markings: Merle can be hidden if the dog has very heavy markings, so a black merle could appear completely black if the patches are large enough (a cryptic merle).
https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/Merle.php
Merle is an incompletely dominant coat color pattern characterized by irregularly shaped patches of diluted pigment and solid color.
Merle only dilutes eumelanin (black) pigment; dogs with an MC1R ee genotype (recessive red) have no black pigment, thus do not express merle but can produce merle offspring. There are 3 alleles (variants) for merle: merle (M allele, SINE with longer poly-A tail), cryptic merle (Mc allele, SINE with shorter poly-A tail) and non-merle (N allele, no SINE insertion).
Dogs with cryptic merle (also called phantom or ghost merle), typically display little to no merling and some may be misclassified as non-merles.
Inheritance of merle is genetically unstable for both M and Mc alleles. During DNA replication and cell division, M may occasionally undergo poly-A tail reduction to produce Mc (germline rate of 3-4%) while Mc may undergo expansion and revert to M. Because of the complexities of merle inheritance, and potential health concerns, DNA testing is recommended to establish the genetic make-up of dogs for the merle gene for those breeds where this color dilution pattern is present.
The Veterinary Genetics Laboratory is licensed to offer the merle test.
Results are reported as:
M/M 2 copies of merle are present (double merle)
M/Mc 1 copy of merle and 1 copy of cryptic merle are present
M/N 1 copy of merle is present
Mc/Mc 2 copies of cryptic merle are present
Mc/N 1 copy of cryptic merle is present
N/N No copies of merle or cryptic merle are present
References: Clark LA, Wahl JM, Rees CA, Murphy KE. Retrotransposon insertion in SILV is responsible for merle patterning of the domestic dog. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 103(5):1376-1381 (2006). Kaelin CB, Barsh GS. Genetics of pigmentation in dogs and cats. Annu. Rev. Anim. Biosci. 1:16.1-16.32 (2013).
https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/Merle.php
This page is not just my opinion. Every word on this page has been taken from articles of Scientists, Geneticists, Doctors, etc. all of which can be found by the links at the bottom of this page. It took me 5 months to read and go through all the websites and articles and excerpt the pertinent info that applies here.
So many people want to swear that English Bulldog breeders are mix breeding and hanging papers to get Merle Bulldogs. Most believe whatever they are told, or what they read without any backing to prove the belief, yet they still believe it and will actually accuse others of wrongdoing without any facts to back up the accusation.
That is pretty sad since there are many VERY reputable breeders that have a conscience and ethics....so I have compiled some info here, that can be backed up with science, and by Professionals with the education to state what is correct.
We are not so misinformed, though that we do not realize that there are breeders who HAVE cheated, mixed, and hung AKC papers taking shortcuts to get the Merle in their program. This makes it even harder for the ethical breeder of Purebred AKC Merle English Bulldogs.
As for our breeding program, we have parentage DNA with AKC on all our dogs associated with our Merle Program. Our Merles are PUREBRED AKC Bulldogs (English Bulldogs). AKC themselves list ALL Breeds in connection with the Merle pattern as do others as you will see below.
Merle can be hidden by other genes, and patterns, sometimes for long periods of time. This is why the merle gene can and has ALWAYS been in EVERY breed and is backed up by scientific fact.
Hidden merles are merle dogs who do not exhibit the merle pattern because their coat color does not show the pattern. Merling is not normally shown in red, gold, fawn and cream coat colors. The hidden merle can be distinguished only by a genetic test.
1. Recessive Red: Merle can be completely hidden by recessive red, as recessive red dogs can't make eumelanin pigment and merle only affects eumelanin. A recessive red merle is known as a phantom, ghost, or cryptic merle.
2. Sable: A clear sable (dog with a red coat, but no visible black sabling) will also not show any merling because there is no eumelanin to be merled, unless it also has a mask (which does show merling).
Shaded sables will often show merle at birth, but it tends to fade as the dog grows up, so all that remains on an adult is usually a few darker brownish patches on the coat (which can be hidden very easily by thick or long fur).
3. The greying gene can also make it very difficult to see merle markings.
4. The dilution gene (dd), can also hide the merle because it dilutes the patches to roughly the same color as the base.
5. Brindle: Merle can be very difficult to see on a brindle too, due to the stripes. Brindle can hide merle, merle can hide brindle, or they can mix.
6. Heavy Markings: Merle can be hidden if the dog has very heavy markings, so a black merle could appear completely black if the patches are large enough (a cryptic merle).
https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/Merle.php
Merle is an incompletely dominant coat color pattern characterized by irregularly shaped patches of diluted pigment and solid color.
Merle only dilutes eumelanin (black) pigment; dogs with an MC1R ee genotype (recessive red) have no black pigment, thus do not express merle but can produce merle offspring. There are 3 alleles (variants) for merle: merle (M allele, SINE with longer poly-A tail), cryptic merle (Mc allele, SINE with shorter poly-A tail) and non-merle (N allele, no SINE insertion).
Dogs with cryptic merle (also called phantom or ghost merle), typically display little to no merling and some may be misclassified as non-merles.
Inheritance of merle is genetically unstable for both M and Mc alleles. During DNA replication and cell division, M may occasionally undergo poly-A tail reduction to produce Mc (germline rate of 3-4%) while Mc may undergo expansion and revert to M. Because of the complexities of merle inheritance, and potential health concerns, DNA testing is recommended to establish the genetic make-up of dogs for the merle gene for those breeds where this color dilution pattern is present.
The Veterinary Genetics Laboratory is licensed to offer the merle test.
Results are reported as:
M/M 2 copies of merle are present (double merle)
M/Mc 1 copy of merle and 1 copy of cryptic merle are present
M/N 1 copy of merle is present
Mc/Mc 2 copies of cryptic merle are present
Mc/N 1 copy of cryptic merle is present
N/N No copies of merle or cryptic merle are present
References: Clark LA, Wahl JM, Rees CA, Murphy KE. Retrotransposon insertion in SILV is responsible for merle patterning of the domestic dog. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 103(5):1376-1381 (2006). Kaelin CB, Barsh GS. Genetics of pigmentation in dogs and cats. Annu. Rev. Anim. Biosci. 1:16.1-16.32 (2013).
https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/Merle.php
This page is not just my opinion. Every word on this page has been taken from articles of Scientists, Geneticists, Doctors, etc. all of which can be found by the links at the bottom of this page. It took me 5 months to read and go through all the websites and articles and excerpt the pertinent info that applies here.
So many people want to swear that English Bulldog breeders are mix breeding and hanging papers to get Merle Bulldogs. Most believe whatever they are told, or what they read without any backing to prove the belief, yet they still believe it and will actually accuse others of wrongdoing without any facts to back up the accusation.
That is pretty sad since there are many VERY reputable breeders that have a conscience and ethics....so I have compiled some info here, that can be backed up with science, and by Professionals with the education to state what is correct.
We are not so misinformed, though that we do not realize that there are breeders who HAVE cheated, mixed, and hung AKC papers taking shortcuts to get the Merle in their program. This makes it even harder for the ethical breeder of Purebred AKC Merle English Bulldogs.
As for our breeding program, we have parentage DNA with AKC on all our dogs associated with our Merle Program. Our Merles are PUREBRED AKC Bulldogs (English Bulldogs). AKC themselves list ALL Breeds in connection with the Merle pattern as do others as you will see below.
Merle can be hidden by other genes, and patterns, sometimes for long periods of time. This is why the merle gene can and has ALWAYS been in EVERY breed and is backed up by scientific fact.
Hidden merles are merle dogs who do not exhibit the merle pattern because their coat color does not show the pattern. Merling is not normally shown in red, gold, fawn and cream coat colors. The hidden merle can be distinguished only by a genetic test.
1. Recessive Red: Merle can be completely hidden by recessive red, as recessive red dogs can't make eumelanin pigment and merle only affects eumelanin. A recessive red merle is known as a phantom, ghost, or cryptic merle.
2. Sable: A clear sable (dog with a red coat, but no visible black sabling) will also not show any merling because there is no eumelanin to be merled, unless it also has a mask (which does show merling).
Shaded sables will often show merle at birth, but it tends to fade as the dog grows up, so all that remains on an adult is usually a few darker brownish patches on the coat (which can be hidden very easily by thick or long fur).
3. The greying gene can also make it very difficult to see merle markings.
4. The dilution gene (dd), can also hide the merle because it dilutes the patches to roughly the same color as the base.
5. Brindle: Merle can be very difficult to see on a brindle too, due to the stripes. Brindle can hide merle, merle can hide brindle, or they can mix.
6. Heavy Markings: Merle can be hidden if the dog has very heavy markings, so a black merle could appear completely black if the patches are large enough (a cryptic merle).
https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/Merle.php
Merle is an incompletely dominant coat color pattern characterized by irregularly shaped patches of diluted pigment and solid color.
Merle only dilutes eumelanin (black) pigment; dogs with an MC1R ee genotype (recessive red) have no black pigment, thus do not express merle but can produce merle offspring. There are 3 alleles (variants) for merle: merle (M allele, SINE with longer poly-A tail), cryptic merle (Mc allele, SINE with shorter poly-A tail) and non-merle (N allele, no SINE insertion).
Dogs with cryptic merle (also called phantom or ghost merle), typically display little to no merling and some may be misclassified as non-merles.
Inheritance of merle is genetically unstable for both M and Mc alleles. During DNA replication and cell division, M may occasionally undergo poly-A tail reduction to produce Mc (germline rate of 3-4%) while Mc may undergo expansion and revert to M. Because of the complexities of merle inheritance, and potential health concerns, DNA testing is recommended to establish the genetic make-up of dogs for the merle gene for those breeds where this color dilution pattern is present.
The Veterinary Genetics Laboratory is licensed to offer the merle test.
Results are reported as:
M/M 2 copies of merle are present (double merle)
M/Mc 1 copy of merle and 1 copy of cryptic merle are present
M/N 1 copy of merle is present
Mc/Mc 2 copies of cryptic merle are present
Mc/N 1 copy of cryptic merle is present
N/N No copies of merle or cryptic merle are present
References: Clark LA, Wahl JM, Rees CA, Murphy KE. Retrotransposon insertion in SILV is responsible for merle patterning of the domestic dog. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 103(5):1376-1381 (2006). Kaelin CB, Barsh GS. Genetics of pigmentation in dogs and cats. Annu. Rev. Anim. Biosci. 1:16.1-16.32 (2013).
https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/Merle.php
This page is not just my opinion. Every word on this page has been taken from articles of Scientists, Geneticists, Doctors, etc. all of which can be found by the links at the bottom of this page. It took me 5 months to read and go through all the websites and articles and excerpt the pertinent info that applies here.
So many people want to swear that English Bulldog breeders are mix breeding and hanging papers to get Merle Bulldogs. Most believe whatever they are told, or what they read without any backing to prove the belief, yet they still believe it and will actually accuse others of wrongdoing without any facts to back up the accusation.
That is pretty sad since there are many VERY reputable breeders that have a conscience and ethics....so I have compiled some info here, that can be backed up with science, and by Professionals with the education to state what is correct.
We are not so misinformed, though that we do not realize that there are breeders who HAVE cheated, mixed, and hung AKC papers taking shortcuts to get the Merle in their program. This makes it even harder for the ethical breeder of Purebred AKC Merle English Bulldogs.
As for our breeding program, we have parentage DNA with AKC on all our dogs associated with our Merle Program. Our Merles are PUREBRED AKC Bulldogs (English Bulldogs). AKC themselves list ALL Breeds in connection with the Merle pattern as do others as you will see below.
Merle can be hidden by other genes, and patterns, sometimes for long periods of time. This is why the merle gene can and has ALWAYS been in EVERY breed and is backed up by scientific fact.
Hidden merles are merle dogs who do not exhibit the merle pattern because their coat color does not show the pattern. Merling is not normally shown in red, gold, fawn and cream coat colors. The hidden merle can be distinguished only by a genetic test.
1. Recessive Red: Merle can be completely hidden by recessive red, as recessive red dogs can't make eumelanin pigment and merle only affects eumelanin. A recessive red merle is known as a phantom, ghost, or cryptic merle.
2. Sable: A clear sable (dog with a red coat, but no visible black sabling) will also not show any merling because there is no eumelanin to be merled, unless it also has a mask (which does show merling).
Shaded sables will often show merle at birth, but it tends to fade as the dog grows up, so all that remains on an adult is usually a few darker brownish patches on the coat (which can be hidden very easily by thick or long fur).
3. The greying gene can also make it very difficult to see merle markings.
4. The dilution gene (dd), can also hide the merle because it dilutes the patches to roughly the same color as the base.
5. Brindle: Merle can be very difficult to see on a brindle too, due to the stripes. Brindle can hide merle, merle can hide brindle, or they can mix.
6. Heavy Markings: Merle can be hidden if the dog has very heavy markings, so a black merle could appear completely black if the patches are large enough (a cryptic merle).
https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/Merle.php
Merle is an incompletely dominant coat color pattern characterized by irregularly shaped patches of diluted pigment and solid color.
Merle only dilutes eumelanin (black) pigment; dogs with an MC1R ee genotype (recessive red) have no black pigment, thus do not express merle but can produce merle offspring. There are 3 alleles (variants) for merle: merle (M allele, SINE with longer poly-A tail), cryptic merle (Mc allele, SINE with shorter poly-A tail) and non-merle (N allele, no SINE insertion).
Dogs with cryptic merle (also called phantom or ghost merle), typically display little to no merling and some may be misclassified as non-merles.
Inheritance of merle is genetically unstable for both M and Mc alleles. During DNA replication and cell division, M may occasionally undergo poly-A tail reduction to produce Mc (germline rate of 3-4%) while Mc may undergo expansion and revert to M. Because of the complexities of merle inheritance, and potential health concerns, DNA testing is recommended to establish the genetic make-up of dogs for the merle gene for those breeds where this color dilution pattern is present.
The Veterinary Genetics Laboratory is licensed to offer the merle test.
Results are reported as:
M/M 2 copies of merle are present (double merle)
M/Mc 1 copy of merle and 1 copy of cryptic merle are present
M/N 1 copy of merle is present
Mc/Mc 2 copies of cryptic merle are present
Mc/N 1 copy of cryptic merle is present
N/N No copies of merle or cryptic merle are present
References: Clark LA, Wahl JM, Rees CA, Murphy KE. Retrotransposon insertion in SILV is responsible for merle patterning of the domestic dog. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 103(5):1376-1381 (2006). Kaelin CB, Barsh GS. Genetics of pigmentation in dogs and cats. Annu. Rev. Anim. Biosci. 1:16.1-16.32 (2013).
https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/Merle.php
This page is not just my opinion. Every word on this page has been taken from articles of Scientists, Geneticists, Doctors, etc. all of which can be found by the links at the bottom of this page. It took me 5 months to read and go through all the websites and articles and excerpt the pertinent info that applies here.
So many people want to swear that English Bulldog breeders are mix breeding and hanging papers to get Merle Bulldogs. Most believe whatever they are told, or what they read without any backing to prove the belief, yet they still believe it and will actually accuse others of wrongdoing without any facts to back up the accusation.
That is pretty sad since there are many VERY reputable breeders that have a conscience and ethics....so I have compiled some info here, that can be backed up with science, and by Professionals with the education to state what is correct.
We are not so misinformed, though that we do not realize that there are breeders who HAVE cheated, mixed, and hung AKC papers taking shortcuts to get the Merle in their program. This makes it even harder for the ethical breeder of Purebred AKC Merle English Bulldogs.
As for our breeding program, we have parentage DNA with AKC on all our dogs associated with our Merle Program. Our Merles are PUREBRED AKC Bulldogs (English Bulldogs). AKC themselves list ALL Breeds in connection with the Merle pattern as do others as you will see below.
Merle can be hidden by other genes, and patterns, sometimes for long periods of time. This is why the merle gene can and has ALWAYS been in EVERY breed and is backed up by scientific fact.
Hidden merles are merle dogs who do not exhibit the merle pattern because their coat color does not show the pattern. Merling is not normally shown in red, gold, fawn and cream coat colors. The hidden merle can be distinguished only by a genetic test.
1. Recessive Red: Merle can be completely hidden by recessive red, as recessive red dogs can't make eumelanin pigment and merle only affects eumelanin. A recessive red merle is known as a phantom, ghost, or cryptic merle.
2. Sable: A clear sable (dog with a red coat, but no visible black sabling) will also not show any merling because there is no eumelanin to be merled, unless it also has a mask (which does show merling).
Shaded sables will often show merle at birth, but it tends to fade as the dog grows up, so all that remains on an adult is usually a few darker brownish patches on the coat (which can be hidden very easily by thick or long fur).
3. The greying gene can also make it very difficult to see merle markings.
4. The dilution gene (dd), can also hide the merle because it dilutes the patches to roughly the same color as the base.
5. Brindle: Merle can be very difficult to see on a brindle too, due to the stripes. Brindle can hide merle, merle can hide brindle, or they can mix.
6. Heavy Markings: Merle can be hidden if the dog has very heavy markings, so a black merle could appear completely black if the patches are large enough (a cryptic merle).
https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/Merle.php
Merle is an incompletely dominant coat color pattern characterized by irregularly shaped patches of diluted pigment and solid color.
Merle only dilutes eumelanin (black) pigment; dogs with an MC1R ee genotype (recessive red) have no black pigment, thus do not express merle but can produce merle offspring. There are 3 alleles (variants) for merle: merle (M allele, SINE with longer poly-A tail), cryptic merle (Mc allele, SINE with shorter poly-A tail) and non-merle (N allele, no SINE insertion).
Dogs with cryptic merle (also called phantom or ghost merle), typically display little to no merling and some may be misclassified as non-merles.
Inheritance of merle is genetically unstable for both M and Mc alleles. During DNA replication and cell division, M may occasionally undergo poly-A tail reduction to produce Mc (germline rate of 3-4%) while Mc may undergo expansion and revert to M. Because of the complexities of merle inheritance, and potential health concerns, DNA testing is recommended to establish the genetic make-up of dogs for the merle gene for those breeds where this color dilution pattern is present.
The Veterinary Genetics Laboratory is licensed to offer the merle test.
Results are reported as:
M/M 2 copies of merle are present (double merle)
M/Mc 1 copy of merle and 1 copy of cryptic merle are present
M/N 1 copy of merle is present
Mc/Mc 2 copies of cryptic merle are present
Mc/N 1 copy of cryptic merle is present
N/N No copies of merle or cryptic merle are present
References: Clark LA, Wahl JM, Rees CA, Murphy KE. Retrotransposon insertion in SILV is responsible for merle patterning of the domestic dog. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 103(5):1376-1381 (2006). Kaelin CB, Barsh GS. Genetics of pigmentation in dogs and cats. Annu. Rev. Anim. Biosci. 1:16.1-16.32 (2013).
https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/Merle.php
This page is not just my opinion. Every word on this page has been taken from articles of Scientists, Geneticists, Doctors, etc. all of which can be found by the links at the bottom of this page. It took me 5 months to read and go through all the websites and articles and excerpt the pertinent info that applies here.
So many people want to swear that English Bulldog breeders are mix breeding and hanging papers to get Merle Bulldogs. Most believe whatever they are told, or what they read without any backing to prove the belief, yet they still believe it and will actually accuse others of wrongdoing without any facts to back up the accusation.
That is pretty sad since there are many VERY reputable breeders that have a conscience and ethics....so I have compiled some info here, that can be backed up with science, and by Professionals with the education to state what is correct.
We are not so misinformed, though that we do not realize that there are breeders who HAVE cheated, mixed, and hung AKC papers taking shortcuts to get the Merle in their program. This makes it even harder for the ethical breeder of Purebred AKC Merle English Bulldogs.
As for our breeding program, we have parentage DNA with AKC on all our dogs associated with our Merle Program. Our Merles are PUREBRED AKC Bulldogs (English Bulldogs). AKC themselves list ALL Breeds in connection with the Merle pattern as do others as you will see below.
Merle can be hidden by other genes, and patterns, sometimes for long periods of time. This is why the merle gene can and has ALWAYS been in EVERY breed and is backed up by scientific fact.
Hidden merles are merle dogs who do not exhibit the merle pattern because their coat color does not show the pattern. Merling is not normally shown in red, gold, fawn and cream coat colors. The hidden merle can be distinguished only by a genetic test.
1. Recessive Red: Merle can be completely hidden by recessive red, as recessive red dogs can't make eumelanin pigment and merle only affects eumelanin. A recessive red merle is known as a phantom, ghost, or cryptic merle.
2. Sable: A clear sable (dog with a red coat, but no visible black sabling) will also not show any merling because there is no eumelanin to be merled, unless it also has a mask (which does show merling).
Shaded sables will often show merle at birth, but it tends to fade as the dog grows up, so all that remains on an adult is usually a few darker brownish patches on the coat (which can be hidden very easily by thick or long fur).
3. The greying gene can also make it very difficult to see merle markings.
4. The dilution gene (dd), can also hide the merle because it dilutes the patches to roughly the same color as the base.
5. Brindle: Merle can be very difficult to see on a brindle too, due to the stripes. Brindle can hide merle, merle can hide brindle, or they can mix.
6. Heavy Markings: Merle can be hidden if the dog has very heavy markings, so a black merle could appear completely black if the patches are large enough (a cryptic merle).
https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/Merle.php
Merle is an incompletely dominant coat color pattern characterized by irregularly shaped patches of diluted pigment and solid color.
Merle only dilutes eumelanin (black) pigment; dogs with an MC1R ee genotype (recessive red) have no black pigment, thus do not express merle but can produce merle offspring. There are 3 alleles (variants) for merle: merle (M allele, SINE with longer poly-A tail), cryptic merle (Mc allele, SINE with shorter poly-A tail) and non-merle (N allele, no SINE insertion).
Dogs with cryptic merle (also called phantom or ghost merle), typically display little to no merling and some may be misclassified as non-merles.
Inheritance of merle is genetically unstable for both M and Mc alleles. During DNA replication and cell division, M may occasionally undergo poly-A tail reduction to produce Mc (germline rate of 3-4%) while Mc may undergo expansion and revert to M. Because of the complexities of merle inheritance, and potential health concerns, DNA testing is recommended to establish the genetic make-up of dogs for the merle gene for those breeds where this color dilution pattern is present.
The Veterinary Genetics Laboratory is licensed to offer the merle test.
Results are reported as:
M/M 2 copies of merle are present (double merle)
M/Mc 1 copy of merle and 1 copy of cryptic merle are present
M/N 1 copy of merle is present
Mc/Mc 2 copies of cryptic merle are present
Mc/N 1 copy of cryptic merle is present
N/N No copies of merle or cryptic merle are present
References: Clark LA, Wahl JM, Rees CA, Murphy KE. Retrotransposon insertion in SILV is responsible for merle patterning of the domestic dog. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 103(5):1376-1381 (2006). Kaelin CB, Barsh GS. Genetics of pigmentation in dogs and cats. Annu. Rev. Anim. Biosci. 1:16.1-16.32 (2013).
https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/Merle.php
This page is not just my opinion. Every word on this page has been taken from articles of Scientists, Geneticists, Doctors, etc. all of which can be found by the links at the bottom of this page. It took me 5 months to read and go through all the websites and articles and excerpt the pertinent info that applies here.
So many people want to swear that English Bulldog breeders are mix breeding and hanging papers to get Merle Bulldogs. Most believe whatever they are told, or what they read without any backing to prove the belief, yet they still believe it and will actually accuse others of wrongdoing without any facts to back up the accusation.
That is pretty sad since there are many VERY reputable breeders that have a conscience and ethics....so I have compiled some info here, that can be backed up with science, and by Professionals with the education to state what is correct.
We are not so misinformed, though that we do not realize that there are breeders who HAVE cheated, mixed, and hung AKC papers taking shortcuts to get the Merle in their program. This makes it even harder for the ethical breeder of Purebred AKC Merle English Bulldogs.
As for our breeding program, we have parentage DNA with AKC on all our dogs associated with our Merle Program. Our Merles are PUREBRED AKC Bulldogs (English Bulldogs). AKC themselves list ALL Breeds in connection with the Merle pattern as do others as you will see below.
Merle can be hidden by other genes, and patterns, sometimes for long periods of time. This is why the merle gene can and has ALWAYS been in EVERY breed and is backed up by scientific fact.
Hidden merles are merle dogs who do not exhibit the merle pattern because their coat color does not show the pattern. Merling is not normally shown in red, gold, fawn and cream coat colors. The hidden merle can be distinguished only by a genetic test.
1. Recessive Red: Merle can be completely hidden by recessive red, as recessive red dogs can't make eumelanin pigment and merle only affects eumelanin. A recessive red merle is known as a phantom, ghost, or cryptic merle.
2. Sable: A clear sable (dog with a red coat, but no visible black sabling) will also not show any merling because there is no eumelanin to be merled, unless it also has a mask (which does show merling).
Shaded sables will often show merle at birth, but it tends to fade as the dog grows up, so all that remains on an adult is usually a few darker brownish patches on the coat (which can be hidden very easily by thick or long fur).
3. The greying gene can also make it very difficult to see merle markings.
4. The dilution gene (dd), can also hide the merle because it dilutes the patches to roughly the same color as the base.
5. Brindle: Merle can be very difficult to see on a brindle too, due to the stripes. Brindle can hide merle, merle can hide brindle, or they can mix.
6. Heavy Markings: Merle can be hidden if the dog has very heavy markings, so a black merle could appear completely black if the patches are large enough (a cryptic merle).
https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/Merle.php
Merle is an incompletely dominant coat color pattern characterized by irregularly shaped patches of diluted pigment and solid color.
Merle only dilutes eumelanin (black) pigment; dogs with an MC1R ee genotype (recessive red) have no black pigment, thus do not express merle but can produce merle offspring. There are 3 alleles (variants) for merle: merle (M allele, SINE with longer poly-A tail), cryptic merle (Mc allele, SINE with shorter poly-A tail) and non-merle (N allele, no SINE insertion).
Dogs with cryptic merle (also called phantom or ghost merle), typically display little to no merling and some may be misclassified as non-merles.
Inheritance of merle is genetically unstable for both M and Mc alleles. During DNA replication and cell division, M may occasionally undergo poly-A tail reduction to produce Mc (germline rate of 3-4%) while Mc may undergo expansion and revert to M. Because of the complexities of merle inheritance, and potential health concerns, DNA testing is recommended to establish the genetic make-up of dogs for the merle gene for those breeds where this color dilution pattern is present.
The Veterinary Genetics Laboratory is licensed to offer the merle test.
Results are reported as:
M/M 2 copies of merle are present (double merle)
M/Mc 1 copy of merle and 1 copy of cryptic merle are present
M/N 1 copy of merle is present
Mc/Mc 2 copies of cryptic merle are present
Mc/N 1 copy of cryptic merle is present
N/N No copies of merle or cryptic merle are present
References: Clark LA, Wahl JM, Rees CA, Murphy KE. Retrotransposon insertion in SILV is responsible for merle patterning of the domestic dog. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 103(5):1376-1381 (2006). Kaelin CB, Barsh GS. Genetics of pigmentation in dogs and cats. Annu. Rev. Anim. Biosci. 1:16.1-16.32 (2013).
https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/Merle.php
This page is not just my opinion. Every word on this page has been taken from articles of Scientists, Geneticists, Doctors, etc. all of which can be found by the links at the bottom of this page. It took me 5 months to read and go through all the websites and articles and excerpt the pertinent info that applies here.
So many people want to swear that English Bulldog breeders are mix breeding and hanging papers to get Merle Bulldogs. Most believe whatever they are told, or what they read without any backing to prove the belief, yet they still believe it and will actually accuse others of wrongdoing without any facts to back up the accusation.
That is pretty sad since there are many VERY reputable breeders that have a conscience and ethics....so I have compiled some info here, that can be backed up with science, and by Professionals with the education to state what is correct.
We are not so misinformed, though that we do not realize that there are breeders who HAVE cheated, mixed, and hung AKC papers taking shortcuts to get the Merle in their program. This makes it even harder for the ethical breeder of Purebred AKC Merle English Bulldogs.
As for our breeding program, we have parentage DNA with AKC on all our dogs associated with our Merle Program. Our Merles are PUREBRED AKC Bulldogs (English Bulldogs). AKC themselves list ALL Breeds in connection with the Merle pattern as do others as you will see below.
Merle can be hidden by other genes, and patterns, sometimes for long periods of time. This is why the merle gene can and has ALWAYS been in EVERY breed and is backed up by scientific fact.
Hidden merles are merle dogs who do not exhibit the merle pattern because their coat color does not show the pattern. Merling is not normally shown in red, gold, fawn and cream coat colors. The hidden merle can be distinguished only by a genetic test.
1. Recessive Red: Merle can be completely hidden by recessive red, as recessive red dogs can't make eumelanin pigment and merle only affects eumelanin. A recessive red merle is known as a phantom, ghost, or cryptic merle.
2. Sable: A clear sable (dog with a red coat, but no visible black sabling) will also not show any merling because there is no eumelanin to be merled, unless it also has a mask (which does show merling).
Shaded sables will often show merle at birth, but it tends to fade as the dog grows up, so all that remains on an adult is usually a few darker brownish patches on the coat (which can be hidden very easily by thick or long fur).
3. The greying gene can also make it very difficult to see merle markings.
4. The dilution gene (dd), can also hide the merle because it dilutes the patches to roughly the same color as the base.
5. Brindle: Merle can be very difficult to see on a brindle too, due to the stripes. Brindle can hide merle, merle can hide brindle, or they can mix.
6. Heavy Markings: Merle can be hidden if the dog has very heavy markings, so a black merle could appear completely black if the patches are large enough (a cryptic merle).
https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/Merle.php
Merle is an incompletely dominant coat color pattern characterized by irregularly shaped patches of diluted pigment and solid color.
Merle only dilutes eumelanin (black) pigment; dogs with an MC1R ee genotype (recessive red) have no black pigment, thus do not express merle but can produce merle offspring. There are 3 alleles (variants) for merle: merle (M allele, SINE with longer poly-A tail), cryptic merle (Mc allele, SINE with shorter poly-A tail) and non-merle (N allele, no SINE insertion).
Dogs with cryptic merle (also called phantom or ghost merle), typically display little to no merling and some may be misclassified as non-merles.
Inheritance of merle is genetically unstable for both M and Mc alleles. During DNA replication and cell division, M may occasionally undergo poly-A tail reduction to produce Mc (germline rate of 3-4%) while Mc may undergo expansion and revert to M. Because of the complexities of merle inheritance, and potential health concerns, DNA testing is recommended to establish the genetic make-up of dogs for the merle gene for those breeds where this color dilution pattern is present.
The Veterinary Genetics Laboratory is licensed to offer the merle test.
Results are reported as:
M/M 2 copies of merle are present (double merle)
M/Mc 1 copy of merle and 1 copy of cryptic merle are present
M/N 1 copy of merle is present
Mc/Mc 2 copies of cryptic merle are present
Mc/N 1 copy of cryptic merle is present
N/N No copies of merle or cryptic merle are present
References: Clark LA, Wahl JM, Rees CA, Murphy KE. Retrotransposon insertion in SILV is responsible for merle patterning of the domestic dog. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 103(5):1376-1381 (2006). Kaelin CB, Barsh GS. Genetics of pigmentation in dogs and cats. Annu. Rev. Anim. Biosci. 1:16.1-16.32 (2013).
https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/Merle.php
This page is not just my opinion. Every word on this page has been taken from articles of Scientists, Geneticists, Doctors, etc. all of which can be found by the links at the bottom of this page. It took me 5 months to read and go through all the websites and articles and excerpt the pertinent info that applies here.
So many people want to swear that English Bulldog breeders are mix breeding and hanging papers to get Merle Bulldogs. Most believe whatever they are told, or what they read without any backing to prove the belief, yet they still believe it and will actually accuse others of wrongdoing without any facts to back up the accusation.
That is pretty sad since there are many VERY reputable breeders that have a conscience and ethics....so I have compiled some info here, that can be backed up with science, and by Professionals with the education to state what is correct.
We are not so misinformed, though that we do not realize that there are breeders who HAVE cheated, mixed, and hung AKC papers taking shortcuts to get the Merle in their program. This makes it even harder for the ethical breeder of Purebred AKC Merle English Bulldogs.
As for our breeding program, we have parentage DNA with AKC on all our dogs associated with our Merle Program. Our Merles are PUREBRED AKC Bulldogs (English Bulldogs). AKC themselves list ALL Breeds in connection with the Merle pattern as do others as you will see below.
Merle can be hidden by other genes, and patterns, sometimes for long periods of time. This is why the merle gene can and has ALWAYS been in EVERY breed and is backed up by scientific fact.
Hidden merles are merle dogs who do not exhibit the merle pattern because their coat color does not show the pattern. Merling is not normally shown in red, gold, fawn and cream coat colors. The hidden merle can be distinguished only by a genetic test.
1. Recessive Red: Merle can be completely hidden by recessive red, as recessive red dogs can't make eumelanin pigment and merle only affects eumelanin. A recessive red merle is known as a phantom, ghost, or cryptic merle.
2. Sable: A clear sable (dog with a red coat, but no visible black sabling) will also not show any merling because there is no eumelanin to be merled, unless it also has a mask (which does show merling).
Shaded sables will often show merle at birth, but it tends to fade as the dog grows up, so all that remains on an adult is usually a few darker brownish patches on the coat (which can be hidden very easily by thick or long fur).
3. The greying gene can also make it very difficult to see merle markings.
4. The dilution gene (dd), can also hide the merle because it dilutes the patches to roughly the same color as the base.
5. Brindle: Merle can be very difficult to see on a brindle too, due to the stripes. Brindle can hide merle, merle can hide brindle, or they can mix.
6. Heavy Markings: Merle can be hidden if the dog has very heavy markings, so a black merle could appear completely black if the patches are large enough (a cryptic merle).
https://www.vgl.ucdavis.edu/services/dog/Merle.php
Merle is an incompletely dominant coat color pattern characterized by irregularly shaped patches of diluted pigment and solid color.
Merle only dilutes eumelanin (black) pigment; dogs with an MC1R ee genotype (recessive red) have no black pigment, thus do not express merle but can produce merle offspring. There are 3 alleles (variants) for merle: merle (M allele, SINE with longer poly-A tail), cryptic merle (Mc allele, SINE with shorter poly-A tail) and non-merle (N allele, no SINE insertion).
Dogs with cryptic merle (also called phantom or ghost merle), typically display little to no merling and some may be misclassified as non-merles.
Inheritance of merle is genetically unstable for both M and Mc alleles. During DNA replication and cell division, M may occasionally undergo poly-A tail reduction to produce Mc (germline rate of 3-4%) while Mc may undergo expansion and revert to M. Because of the complexities of merle inheritance, and potential health concerns, DNA testing is recommended to establish the genetic make-up of dogs for the merle gene for those breeds where this color dilution pattern is present.
The Veterinary Genetics Laboratory is licensed to offer the merle test.
Results are reported as:
M/M 2 copies of merle are present (double merle)
M/Mc 1 copy of merle and 1 copy of cryptic merle are present
M/N 1 copy of merle is present
Mc/Mc 2 copies of cryptic merle are present
Mc/N 1 copy of cryptic merle is present
N/N No copies of merle or cryptic merle are present
References: Clark LA, Wahl JM, Rees CA, Murphy KE. Retrotransposon insertion in SILV is responsible for merle patterning of the domestic dog. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 103(5):1376-1381 (2006). Kaelin CB, Barsh GS. Genetics of pigmentation in dogs and cats. Annu. Rev. Anim. Biosci. 1:16.1-16.32 (2013).