Hi,
I have a chocolate Merle border collie and I’m trying to understand her genetics. Her mum was a blue Merle and dad was a brown tri. From what I understand breeding Merle with Merle is bad because of the heath risks, but what colours are considered Merle and what colours aren’t Merle? Is it just the patterns or is any colour other than black and white considered a Merle? There was one deaf puppy in her litter and could the colours of both parents be the reason why?
Im not planning on breeding my collie, Im just interested in learning more and to know how to tell a responsible breeder from an un responsible one.
Is lilac or wheaten or even black tri considered Merle or they can safely breed with a Merle? Or you can only safely breed a Merle with a black and white collie?
again I’m not planning on breeding I just am interested in understanding border collie colours. Thanks so much for your help!