🐢 Merle Border Collie Health Issues

5 weeks old border collie puppy by Hanabanana (CC BY-SA 3.0) Generally, your pup’s eyes are fully open when it’s around 14-21 days. And since most dogs are born with blue eyes (due to a lack of melanin) or gray eyes (though this happens rarely), it’s quite normal for dog parents not to pay close attention to their dog’s eye color. At The Bordoodle, also called the Borderpoo, Borderdoodle, or Borpoo is a hyper-intelligent, energetic, and sensitive designer dog. Playful and friendly, the Border Collie and Poodle mix is an excellent choice for active owners. You may be interested in the gorgeous teddy-bear looks of a golden Bordoodle or have your heart melted by a mini Borderpoo. A blue merle is actually a black dog whose coloring has been genetically diluted. Parts of his black coat remain intact, while other parts take on a bluish-grey color. Patches of solid color are normally irregular in shape and are located anywhere on the dog's body. Merle comes in different colors and patterns. Posted July 20, 2015. A white face is just another variation of coat color. It doesn't indicate a merle x merle breeding. White headed dogs, or extreme white factored dogs, can produce pups with a greater incidence of deafness. This has to do with lack of pigmentation in the hairs of the inner ear. 1) Farmers noticed that merles have more health problems. 2) The pattern is associated with a certain working style and/or temperament that they didn't like for work. (This is something I've heard directly from hill shepherds.) So because of a bias, most if not all merles were lost to the working population. As highly active dogs, a healthy adult Border Collie should have at least 2 hours of high-quality exercise per day. The amount of exercise should be tailored to fit their health, for example, a more energetic dog should have more exercise and an older, less mobile one will need to have less. Splitting this exercise between at least 2 different Collie Colors: The two base color genes in collies are brown (sable) and black (tri color). Most of us know that in our breed brown is dominant and black recessive. A puppy inherits one color gene from each parent. Therefore, if a collie inherits a dominant brown gene from each parent, he/she is a “pure for sable” (homozygous for brown). Border Collie Breed Health. Border Collies are generally healthy dogs, but hereditary conditions can show up during development when they are puppies. Life Expectancy. A healthy Border Collie is expected to live for 10-17 years, the average being 12 years old. Common Health Problems. Some of the most common health problems that affect Border Collie Eye Anomaly (CEA) can be easily checked when the puppies are 6-8 weeks old, by a Board Certified Ophthalmologist. The eyes must be dilated prior to the examination, so the interior of the eye can be examined with an ophthalmoscope. If the puppy’s eyes are not normal, the actual abnormality is noted. A grading system is no longer used. Both Whippets and Border Collies are medium-sized dogs. In terms of specific size information, a Whippet Collie may fall between 18″ to 22″ (45cm to 56cm) and possibly weigh 25lbs to 55lbs (11.5kg to 25kg). Where Whippets are likely slightly taller and more lean, Collies are shorter and stockier. While a single copy of the merle gene gives a dog the characteristic coat pattern, two copies can lead to an excessive distribution of white patches, primarily affecting the head, body, and limbs. This excessive white coloring is what distinguishes double merle dogs from regular merles. Health Issues in Healthy Double Merle Dogs Collie Health Issues. Collies are typically healthy and hardy dogs. They are prone to diseases that affect all large dogs—such as bloat or hip dysplasia—as well as a few diseases they are genetically predisposed to. Collie Eye Anomaly. Collie Eye Anomaly is an inherited eye disease some Collies are born with. A board-certified veterinary Their eye colour is usually brown or blue, but some (especially merles) often have two different coloured eyes. Their eyes have an intelligent expression and an intense gaze. Some Border Collies have pointy, erect ears, while some have dropped or semi-dropped ears. Weight range. Male 17 to 20 kg, female 12 to 19 kg. Here are a few genetic health issues to be aware of to help your border collie have as healthy and happy a life as possible. Hip dysplasia. When an abnormality in the hip joint prevents a portion of the thigh bone from aligning correctly in the joint socket, the resulting hip dysplasia can cause discomfort and stiffness. Progressive retinal The Labrador Retriever and Border Collie mix is a generally healthy mixed breed. But it doesn’t mean they’re not susceptible to a lot of ailments. Boradors can still inherit diseases that Border Collies and Labradors get. Let’s dig deeper into the health concerns that can be passed on to the Borador genetically. XaySJ.

merle border collie health issues