Red Merle

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vicky2

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Has red merling ever been achieved in a Sheltie? Can it be achieved?
By red merling I mean like an Australian Shepherd's red merling.
 
In Aussies, a "red merle" dog is basically a red dog that has the mereling gene - just as a "blue merle" Aussie (or Sheltie!) is a black dog with the merleing gene.

The Red color in Aussies may look a little like the Sable color in Shelties, but they aren't the same. The Aussie-red gene just doesn't exist in our breed, so a red merle Sheltie just isn't possible.

Here's a neat page about Red in Aussies (lots of cool pictures!):
http://www.ashgi.org/color/red_aussies.htm
 
I don't care about it in the show world, just as a pet I guess. I love that coloring, too bad. :no:
 
No, because it's caused by a completely different gene (the red).

In Aussies, the tri-color/bi-black/bi-blue and blue merle are all based from the E color (black based). The red and red merle are red based.

In Shelties, you have ay (sable) and at (black). In Aussies, you have ay and at, but the ay acts differently.

There ARE sable Aussies: http://www.ashgi.org/color/sable_aussies.htm

So, while Aussies have sable, Shelties don't have red.
 
vicky2 said:
Is there a possible way for the gene to be developed into the Sheltie?
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Only if you have a mutation or a cross breeding with a breed that carries the red color. I guess there had been red shelties(pale noses, no sabling) but they are very incorrect and it would be unethical to breed them just for a color.

I was suprised that Collies do not have the bi colors(no bi gene). I love bi blues. A bi blue collie would be pretty. :smile2:
 
Justicemom said:
it would be unethical to breed them just for a color.
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Indeed. There are so many places where we can improve our breed, and make it even better - health, temperaments, structure, herding instinct - that color ends up pretty far down on the list of priorities.

It's funny, we get a lot of potential pet families who will call asking for a very specific sort of puppy... they want "Sable, with a white blaze and a full white collar" or "Tricolor, but with as little white as possible", or something equally exact. (I wonder if they think we can write the request down, wrap it around a cookie, and feed it to the bitch!) Thing is, color is the first thing people see, but the last thing that ends up being important. Love changes things: when they bring home that flashy black or plain brown puppy who's an excellent fit for their family, they can't imagine why color was such a priority in the first place.
 
Thing is, color is the first thing people see, but the last thing that ends up being important. Love changes things: when they bring home that flashy black or plain brown puppy who's an excellent fit for their family, they can't imagine why color was such a priority in the first place.

I so know what you mean....me being one of those that thought of color first. I wanted another tri but was looking for one with more tan on the face like Maggie and Katie...and along came Zaks litter, lots of dark faces so I said " lets at least meet them" and I feel in love with them all!! So now we have our dark faced puppy with tons of personality and we adore him!!!
 
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