Lola_Joy
08-08-2008, 09:17 PM
I find this very intresting: (theres some parts that just relate to Cocker Spaniels)
(ZimFamilyCockers)
When breeding a dog with a merle coat pattern (any breed, not just a Cocker) it's absolutely vital to follow one rule: you must NEVER breed a merle to a merle. There's something in the genes that causes a defect if two merles are bred together. Mating two merle dogs usually results in many puppies that are born either deaf, blind, or so severely damaged that they are either stillborn or die shortly after birth.
While breeding two merles together is a sure-fire way to make a bunch of puppies with major health problems, it's now also known that puppies from just one merle parent are more likely to have health problems than puppies from two non-merle parents. It's been documented that merles are more likely to have hearing and vision problems than non-merle dogs... and I'm not talking about double-merles, I'm talking about dogs with just one parent who is a merle. For this reason, we don't ever anticipate breeding any of our dogs with a merle Cocker ever again... and we would like to encourage other Cocker breeders not to breed merle Cockers either. Besides the increased risk of hearing and vision problems in the puppies, there's the issue of what can happen if someone later down the road breeds their merle puppy with another merle puppy. I suspect that the vast majority of people who own merle dogs do not understand the dangerous results that can occur if they breed their merle dog to another merle. In fact, a lot of folks with merle dogs don't even know that their dog is a merle. They just think it has interesting coloring.
Many of you know I wanted a merle dog, but I may...Decline this want, even though,I think they are awsome dogs...Maybe not....Not sure...
(ZimFamilyCockers)
When breeding a dog with a merle coat pattern (any breed, not just a Cocker) it's absolutely vital to follow one rule: you must NEVER breed a merle to a merle. There's something in the genes that causes a defect if two merles are bred together. Mating two merle dogs usually results in many puppies that are born either deaf, blind, or so severely damaged that they are either stillborn or die shortly after birth.
While breeding two merles together is a sure-fire way to make a bunch of puppies with major health problems, it's now also known that puppies from just one merle parent are more likely to have health problems than puppies from two non-merle parents. It's been documented that merles are more likely to have hearing and vision problems than non-merle dogs... and I'm not talking about double-merles, I'm talking about dogs with just one parent who is a merle. For this reason, we don't ever anticipate breeding any of our dogs with a merle Cocker ever again... and we would like to encourage other Cocker breeders not to breed merle Cockers either. Besides the increased risk of hearing and vision problems in the puppies, there's the issue of what can happen if someone later down the road breeds their merle puppy with another merle puppy. I suspect that the vast majority of people who own merle dogs do not understand the dangerous results that can occur if they breed their merle dog to another merle. In fact, a lot of folks with merle dogs don't even know that their dog is a merle. They just think it has interesting coloring.
Many of you know I wanted a merle dog, but I may...Decline this want, even though,I think they are awsome dogs...Maybe not....Not sure...