double merle aussies

She doesn't look like a typical double merle BUT please, please, please, for the love of pete, DON'T support a BYB. And that's what that seller is.

 Aussie rescue gets in puppies and young dogs very regularly if you think that's the breed you want. If you're up for a special needs (deaf) dog, they get in very young pups QUITE regularly. So go that route. Cheaper and MUCh more ethical.
 

Technically, you can't tell if a dog is a double merle by looking at it, so you would need to find out who the parents are. I would want to see parents that are DNA - CP or DNA - VP (DNA Certified proven or verified proven).

Given the other health issues in the breed (juvenile cataracts and epilepsy for example) it's really important to get puppies from a reputable breeder.

Or, if you'd like a rescue (which is another great way to go!!!) check out Aussie Rescue. ARPH has a ton of dogs at the moment.

ETA: This line is a major red flag in that ad "and can be tied outside for short periods of time." Dogs should never be tied out, let alone when they are tiny puppies, and on top of both those points, a working dog (which an Aussie/BC mix is) would go crazy in the kind of home that just ties the dog out. I wouldn't go near this person with a 50 foot pole.
 

She looks like a blue merle to me, but she is a cross breed so IMO the price is a little excessive. My aussie came from a very reputable breeder with all the breeding history, papers, health cert. etc for $700. If you want an AussieX, I think you can do a better deal and PWCA is right there are lots up for adoption.  Try this link

www.arphinc.com/page4/page4.html 

double merles are 'deaf' if there is no pigment in the ears.  All dogs are actually born deaf and blind.  The ears and eyes are too immature at birth to support sight and hearing. 

In the case of hearing, it is actually the pigment cells in the ears that complete the neural transmitters that make hearing 'happen'.  So the hearing concern raises when the dog has 'white' ears.  Even so there may be some pigment there ... but that's the cause of 'deafness'. 

Just FYI -- sight is probably the weakest of all the doggie senses -- depending on the breed (how 'opposite' of the head the eyes are) their short distance vision is really not usually very good -- night vision better.  But if a dog has to cope with the loss of a sense, the nose usually takes up the slack and the eyes are the easiest for them to cope without. 

Hearing?  again -- the nose will take up the slack -- but a dog deaf from birth can have some issues with being startled, etc. They definitely do better with another dog around.  I've had deaf dogs and blind dogs ... the deaf dog takes more human help and understanding actually.  Dogs are so nose-driven that it's more what they follow than their eyes most of the time. 

The one thing that no one has mentioned that you really need to think about is you're talking about a HERDER.  An active dog, to be sure -- but herders think a bit different and *are* different than other dogs.  They're always 'on' -- they always want to be herding something ... other dogs and humans included. 

That's not a bad thing -- my Foxy was a sheltie/corgi mix and if he had no other outlet I have seen him herd pine needles blowing in the wind just to ... "herd" something. 

It's just what a herder "is".  Each different type of breed has their thing but to theh uninitiated a herder can seem nervous ... or, conversely, will drive the humans and other animals to distraction if you don't understand that herding drive and how to cope with it. 

There will come the day when I will have another herder ... (Callie hoping for divine help here -- I miss my Mostlie Sheltie) but he was different.  It took me years to understand what made him tick -- but man ... whatta ride!!

Pit_Pointer_Aussie

Technically, you can't tell if a dog is a double merle by looking at it, so you would need to find out who the parents are.

Actually, you can't necessarily tell if a dog is double merle by looking at the parents either. When someone says a dog is double merle or lethal white, they are not really talking about the breeding of that dog. They are talking about its genetic makeup, that it has two copies of the merle gene. First, you need to know that the merle gene is dominant. Dogs with one copy of the merle gene (heterozygous) will have the merle coloring without the health problems. Dogs with two copies of the merle gene (homozygous) will look mostly white or merle and will probably have at least some of the associated health problems.

So what can we tell by looking at the parents? If the parents are one merle and one non-merle, then you know that all the merle puppies from that breeding are heterozygous, one copy of the gene.

If both parents are heterozygous merles (one copy of the merle gene) then statistically you would average 25% of the puppies non-merle, 50% heterozygous merles, and 25% double merles.

This is a great Aussie color site: http://www.ashgi.org/color/

 ***UPDATE***

Here's the emails we've been sending each other:

me

"she is too cute!!!
do you still have her around?
i would like to know if you have met the parents/where she came from, and why you are getting rid of her. "

her

"Yes I still have her. I met both the parents and both were very friendly well behaved dogs. We are getting rid of her because we are away a lot, and we are moving somewhere there wouldn't be enough room for her."

me

"do you know if both parents were "merle" ?? or if they were working dogs themselves?? has she been around other dogs at all?? (we have a jack russell)
also, i'd like to maybe come by and check her out with my boyfriend. we live in halifax though, so a firm date/time would be important (my boyfriend works 9-5 m-f aswell)
thanks for the reply :) "

her

"The mother was merle, and the father was black and white. I think they were just kept as pets. Someone came to visit and brought their dog once, and she was fine. You could come see her on Saturday."

NOW, after running this idea past you guys, i'm thinking that i will pass on this offer. although i don't really feel like this is a case of BYB, i agree that puppies should not be left out on ties AND that there are lots of dogs in shelters that would love a good home like ours... i just wonder if there's one around here (???)  but i'll look into it.

does anybody know of a good site for canadians ? (east coast, halifax nova scotia)

**************************

i also found this

http://halifax.kijiji.ca/c-pets-dogs-puppies-for-sale-Australian-Shepherd-Pups-W0QQAdIdZ54923218

thoughts? 

Glad you're skipping on this one.

How about aussie rescue Canada? http://www.aussierescuecanada.com/ They have a person in Nova Scotia...

ARPH has links to Canada on its website: http://www.aussierescue.org/AdoptFromARPH/AvailableAussies.aspx

Canadian National Austrialian Shepherd Association members : http://www.cnasa.ca/member%20breeders.htm

Aussies in non-aussie rescues/shelters http://tegeirian.homestead.com/photos.html

Sometimes you all worry me.  The person selling the dog appears to be no more than someone who bit off more than they could chew when they got the dog and now want to find it a new home.  Look at the poster's other ads on that site.  A collection of toy horses?  A betta fish and bowl?  Perhaps they spent that much on the dog or perhaps they are asking a lot to keep less desirable people from inquiring.  Don't we always tell people to ask for SOME money?  Don't we tell people not to just dump dogs but to find them a home?

Such a cute pup!  I would ask for more info about the parents and where/why she got the dog in the first place.  But it still wouldn't stop me from going to look and considering the dog if I wanted another dog.

Do consider the needs of an aussie/bc mix though.  You say you have a jack, so you know high energy.  Now think twice as much only bigger!  lol..

I say go check her out! 

samshine

Pit_Pointer_Aussie

Technically, you can't tell if a dog is a double merle by looking at it, so you would need to find out who the parents are.

Actually, you can't necessarily tell if a dog is double merle by looking at the parents either. When someone says a dog is double merle or lethal white, they are not really talking about the breeding of that dog. They are talking about its genetic makeup, that it has two copies of the merle gene. First, you need to know that the merle gene is dominant. Dogs with one copy of the merle gene (heterozygous) will have the merle coloring without the health problems. Dogs with two copies of the merle gene (homozygous) will look mostly white or merle and will probably have at least some of the associated health problems.

So what can we tell by looking at the parents? If the parents are one merle and one non-merle, then you know that all the merle puppies from that breeding are heterozygous, one copy of the gene.

If both parents are heterozygous merles (one copy of the merle gene) then statistically you would average 25% of the puppies non-merle, 50% heterozygous merles, and 25% double merles.

Sorry -- didn't mean that you could tell by looking at the parents alone -- just meant that the DNA cert. means you 100% know who the dogs are related to and can do the genetic profile of the gene from there. (Assuming one wasn't a merle who only showed mereling on the tail and then tail was docked -- or some other situation, which can happen.)

i don't really feel like this is a case of BYB

Well, IMO, it certainly isn't a responsible Aussie breeder.  The Aussie gene pool is quite small, and there are some serious health problems rampant in the breed, so if you go through a breeder, it's critical that you find a reputable one.  Many belong to the ASK-TELL program, or they have extensively tested their breeding stock for PRA, hip dysplasia, and other problems (you can check the pup's parents yourself - they should be listed with CERF and OFA or PennHip) .  If you want to rescue, here's a site for you: http://www.aussierescuecanada.com/

More sites:

http://www.ontarioaussies.ca/ 

http://www.mikatura.com/ 

Could a dog that is half border collie be double merle? Are BCs ever merle?  

How much are they asking for the pup?

When did they get her? sooner than 8 weeks and I would stay away.

She's very cute and I doubt she is a double merle. They say that she is half border collie. Keep that in mind.

I would go look at her personally. If you don't like her and if she was taken from the litter too early then look in to rescue.

If you want an aussie I can help hook you up with our canadian counterparts. I'm picking up red merle male aussie puppy to foster myself  next week. So, pups come around pretty frequently.