In addition to these health-related problems, they may face immune system deficiencies ( source). While the main auditory issue is deafness, in the visual department, merle breeds can experience the inability for pupils to dilate, night blindness as well as complete blindness, off-centered eyeballs, iris fissures, missing eye tissue, extra eyelids, or even being born with no eyes at all. When facing afflictions from the merle mutation, these dogs usually face auditory and visual problems. What Kind of Health Problems Do Merle Pitbulls Have? However, it is important to know how he was bred because there are circumstances which we will discuss soon which can lead to significantly higher risk for these health issues.Ĩ. If your merle pitbull is healthy, he should continue to be fine. That in itself is not a terrible risk, and not generally much cause for concern. However, they do face an increased risk of health issues, but this often occurs as low as 3% of the time in pitbulls which possess the mutation. In most cases, they are just as healthy as any other member of their breed. It also brings with it significant risk for reduced vision and hearing in dogs.īy purposely breeding dogs for the gene great risks are taken with the puppies health. The reason is simple: the merle gene isn’t simply about coloring. The American Dog Breeders Association and many other reputable organizations have stopped recognizing merle pitbulls. Second, a pit with merle coloring can no longer be registered or recognized in an effort to discourage breeding for the color. First, since it does not occur naturally in the breed, the gene must be introduced somewhere down the breeding line. Generally speaking, a pitbull is not purebred if it has this coloring. Some people have mixed pitbulls with Catahoula Leopard Dogs to gain the coloring. In order for a pitbull to have merle coloring it must have a specific genetic marker: the merle gene. How is Merle Coloring Achieved in a Pitbull Litter Of these, it’s most common in the Australian Shepherd and Catahoula Leopard Dog. Common breeds that have the merle gene include: Plenty of breeds see evidence of merle coloring, not just pits. Some brindles have uniform patterning throughout the dog whereas others have patches that are brindle. This occurs when a brown dog has small stripes of black or brown. Where merle is random and results in splotches or spots, brindle is generally more uniform. Which means that there are opportunities for magnified profits for breeders as people are willing to shell out great sums of money to have one of these beautiful animals. Instead, breeders have encouraged the gene’s growth due to the attractiveness and unusual nature of the coat, which is highly prized by pet lovers. Merle occurs commonly in a lot of breeds, but the pitbull is not one of those. Without going too deeply into complicated genetics, the merle coat (also called dapple) is actually the result of a genetic mutation which any dog could potentially exhibit, but in most breeds it has been completely bred out due to the prominence of auditory and visual impairments that result as a side effect of the allele in question. What Causes Pit bulls to Have Merle Coats?
Merle is not the same as brindle.Ī merle pitbull, therefore, is a pitbull bred to have this unique color pattern present. Merle is a genetic marker that results in differences in pigmentation so it can be achieved through breeding. It’s considered very attractive in a dog.
It describes a coat that is one color throughout with splotches of another color. “Merle” refers to the color pattern on a dog’s coat. While merle coloring is not restricted to pitbulls, the allure of this coat is attractive to the lovers of this breed and many current and would-be pitbull owners covet these astonishingly beautiful animals and many are willing to pay great expense to have a merle pitbull of their own.Īs such, there are a wide-spectrum of questions about merle pitbull acquisition and even concerns raised about what causes these unusual color schemes.įortunately, you can find the answer to those questions right here. A merle coat is one of the most gorgeous in the dog world, an enticing swirl of colors which grants each dog a unique and distinguishing pattern, which often involve dark splotches of a color overlaying a lighter shade of the same hue.