About the Merle gene in Poodles

There is a lot of differing opinions out there about merle poodles, whether they are prone to all sorts of health issues or not and also if they are 100% purebred poodles or not. We have spent quite of bit of time researching into this topic, and have formed our opinion based off of that research.

Are merle poodles going to become blind, deaf or have other health issues?

The answer lies in the knowledge of the gene and responsibility of a breeder. The merle gene is semi-dominant, meaning it takes only one copy to be expressed in offspring. If a breeder mates two merle dogs together, there is a chance that 25% of the offspring will be what is called "double merles," and can very well have vision, hearing and/or other health issues. These puppies will have an excessive amount of white coat coloring and lack skin pigmentation. Merle is a very striking, unique, gorgeous coat color and pattern. Some irresponsible breeders will breed two merles together in order to produce a higher percentage of merle puppies, as it can be a very sought after coat pattern that can often be sold for a higher price. This obviously is not recommended.

However! If you have a knowledgable, responsible breeder that tests their dogs for the merle gene and never will pair two merle poodles together, all of their merle puppy offspring will be as healthy as their non-merle counterparts. These merle puppies will not have the vision, hearing or other problems that "double merle" puppies are prone to. You will just have a very unique, adorable puppy that has a very striking coat! All of our standard poodles are tested for the merle gene, and we do not ever pair two merles! We also extensively test for genetic diseases and conformation, as well as cardiac and eye health, to give you the best chance possible for a pet with a long, healthy life, whether it is merle or any another coat pattern or color!

Are Merle Poodles purebreds?

First of all, let me say, all purebred dog breeds are created by a mix of breeds many generations ago. For example, the golden retriever, a more recent purebred breed, is understood as being created by a mating between a Wavy Coated Retriever and a Tweed Water Spaniel in 1868. Some of their offspring are believed to have been crossed to Red Setters, resulting in the vast range of gold and red we see in the Goldens today. More outcrosses to other breeds may have been made to prevent exessive in-breeding. The Golden Retrievers as we know them today were accepted as a purebred by the AKC in 1925. It is not known when poodles originated as they are one of the oldest known purebred breeds. They were originally bred as water dogs and are believed to have originated in Germany, France and Russia.

So are merle poodles 100% purebred? Many say that as merle is not a original natural poodle coat pattern, merle poodles cannot be purebreds. There are a few different opinions as to what might be the truth, but in all reality, no one knows for sure. Here are a few differing opinions.

1. Many generations ago, the merle gene was introduced by another breed carrying merle. This is possible, but in order for the offspring to meet the poodle breed standard, it would have to be many generations back. They would have had to very meticulously add the other breed, genetically test all the offspring for the correct coat curl, furnishings, and merle gene, somehow get rid of the very obvious non-poodle looking offspring and never get found out, keep the most poodle-like offspring, and breed those back to a poodle generation after generation to eventually produce a merle poodle that would look like a normal poodle with the merle color pattern...and it is just rather unlikely. And if another breed was somehow the way that brought in the merle and it was so many generations back that it is unrecognizable in the current Poodles, as the merles breed true to type in every way for every puppy of the litter…. does it really matter? There are many merle breeders out there that have DNA tested back many generations, so saying someone just registered a Poodle mix as a purebred is not valid.

2. Another opinion out there is that merle has always occurred in the breed. There was a period in time in which all multicolored poodles were thought to be mistakes due to many misconceptions and lack of knowledge. In that period of time, multicolored poodles were not bred and some of those colors almost disappeared all together. The same solid color dogs would have been bred together. For example: red to red, black to black, etc. The merle pattern is not expressed in dogs that are any shade of red, and this gene might have been carried but not expressed by red poodles for many generations, so merle would have not been seen in poodles for years, until people realized that multicolored poodles were just as genetically healthy as other colors and started breeding them again. Then the merle gene would have emerged once poodles of differing colors were crossed and the merle was able to be expressed in non-red dogs.

3. Lastly, another opinion is that the Merle gene was a natural mutation in the Poodle as it is believed to have occurred in other breeds that it is common in.

Whichever opinion you prefer to believe, the merle Poodle is AKC registrable. It tests as 100% purebred Poodle by DNA genetic testing and is well loved by many. The real focus should be on breeding for higher health, better temperaments, genetics, and conformation in the Poodle breed and not obsessing over a color that no one can prove one way or another how it came to be in the Poodle breed and does not affect their overall health if bred responsibly.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, you should know from reading the above that as long as a breeder is responsible and knowledgeable about the merle gene, the merle puppies they have will be as healthy and genetically sound as a poodle puppy with any other coat color. Will the merle poodles be 100% genetically purebred poodle with no outcrosses in their ancestors? No one knows the answer to that for sure, but that really could be the same with any other coat color, not just merle. We at Meadow Lane Puppies are dedicated to producing happy, healthy BFF's (Best Furry Friends) for our puppy families by color testing our parents along with all the conformation and genetic testing we do. We are focused on improving the breed by having only healthy and genetically sound parents in our breeding program. Join the family today!

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