No. Merle to merle _can _produce homozygous merles. But not always. Use
the pundit squares. I've know of quite a few merle - merle crosses that
had no mismarks, no whites, etc. But I have also known of merle-tri
breedings that produce excessive white, body white, etc. Yes, there can
be eye problems, deafness, etc. more often in merle/merle crosses in
HOMOzygous merles but I believe that is seen normally in those with
excessive white. I have had merle/merle crosses. One excessive
(homozygous) white (almost all white) puppy. I would suggest they read
CA's information on the ASCA website regarding color and merles. I have
yet to see 'fading merling' - does that mean the color goes away??? Most
of my merles either stay the same or get darker with age. Even those
from the merle/merle cross.

Margi Floyd
Winslows Aussies

Ellen~ Kuhn's Aussies wrote:

> Hi All,
>
> I was having a conversation with someone about merle to merle
>breeding. You'll see their quote below.
>
> After reading the quote below here was something about it that
>didn't quite feel right. What am I missing here? Is what they are trying
>to say is no matter what two merles you use the offspring will always be
>homozygous? For some reason I thought there was an other possibility for a
>heterozygous to be produced?
>
> Is their definition of a homozygous merle correct as well?
>
> *Quote* --Merle to merle breeding results in the offspring being
>homozygous merles, homozygous merles usually have faded merling and lots of
>white, and genetic defects such as deafness, vision problems and eye defects
>from mild to severe.-- *End Quote*
>
>
>
> Ellen E. Kuhn
>~Kuhn's Australian Shepherds~
>www.geocities.com/aussie_ud_oh/index.html
>
>He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog.
>You are his life, his love, his leader.
>He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart!
>You owe it to him to be worthy of that devotion!
>
>
>
>
>
>Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>


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