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Dog pattern
Merle
Irregular dark patches on a diluted ground of the same colour (blue merle, red merle); the Dachshund calls it dapple.
72 Dog breeds list Merle. It is in a club standard for 27 breeds. At least one club disqualifies it in 27 breeds.
Breeds whose standards accept Merle
| Breed | KC | KUSA | FCI | AKC | UKC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Leopard Hound | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling | Standard (“Merle Markings”) | Standard (“Leopard spotted”) |
| Anatolian Shepherd | Not recognised (“Merle unacceptable”) | No ruling | No ruling | Standard (“All color patterns and markings are equally acceptable”) | Standard (“All colors are acceptable”) |
| Australian Shepherd | Standard (“blue merle, red merle”) | Standard (“blue merle, red merle”) | Standard (“blue merle, red merle”) | Standard (“Blue Merle”) | Standard (“blue merle, red merle”) |
| Bergamasco Sheepdog | Standard (“with patches of all shades of grey through to black”) | Standard (“with grey patches of all possible shades”) | Standard (“with grey patches of all possible shades”) | Standard (“gradations of gray (including merle)”) | Standard (“with gray patches”) |
| Border Collie | Standard (“Blue Merle”) | Standard (“variety of colours permissible”) | Standard (“variety of colours permissible”) | Standard (“Blue Merle”) | Standard (“merle”) |
| Cardigan Welsh Corgi | Standard (“blue merle”) | Standard (“blue merle”) | Standard (“blue merle”) | Standard (“Blue Merle & White”) | Standard (“blue merle (black and gray marbled)”) |
| Catahoula Leopard Dog | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling | Standard (“Blue Merle”) | Standard (“The Leopard pattern has a base color, with contrasting spots of one or more other colors”) |
| Chihuahua | Not recognised (“never merle (dapple), which is unacceptable”) | Not recognised (“never merle (dapple), which is unacceptable”) | Disqualifying (“Merle colour”) | Standard (“Merle Markings”) | Disqualifying (“Merle color”) |
| Collie | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling | Standard (“Blue Merle”) | Standard (“blue merle”) |
| Dachshund | Standard (“dapple pattern”) | Standard (“dapple pattern”) | Standard (“dapple (merle)”) | Standard (“Dapple”) | Standard (“dappled”) |
| DachshundSmooth | Standard (“dapple pattern”) | Standard (“dapple pattern”) | Standard (“dapple (merle)”) | Standard (“Dapple”) | Standard (“dappled”) |
| DachshundWirehaired | Standard (“dapple pattern”) | Standard (“dapple pattern”) | Standard (“dapple (merle)”) | Standard (“Dapple”) | Standard (“dappled”) |
| DachshundLonghaired | Standard (“dapple pattern”) | Standard (“dapple pattern”) | Standard (“dapple (merle)”) | Standard (“Dapple”) | Standard (“dappled”) |
| Great Dane | Not recognised (“Merle”) | Standard (“Merle (grey-black splashed patches)”) | Standard (“Merle (grey-black splashed patches)”) | Standard (“Merle”) | Standard (“Merle”) |
| Miniature American Shepherd | Standard (“blue merle ... red merle”) | Standard (“blue merle ... red, or liver merle”) | Standard (“blue merle ... red or liver merle”) | Standard (“Blue Merle”) | Standard (“blue merle ... red merle”) |
| Mudi | Standard (“merle in these colours”) | Standard (“Cifra (Merle)”) | Standard (“Cifra (Merle)”) | Standard (“Merle Markings”) | Standard (“Merle”) |
| Old English Sheepdog | Not recognised | Not recognised | Not recognised | Standard (“Blue Merle & White”) | Not recognised |
| Peruvian Inca Orchid | No ruling | Disqualifying (“Merle coat colour in the coated variety”) | Disqualifying (“Merle coat colour in the coated variety”) | Standard (“In the coated variety all colors are accepted”) | No ruling |
| Polish Lowland Sheepdog | Not recognised (“merle, which is unacceptable”) | Standard (“all colours and patches are acceptable”) | Standard (“all colours and patches are acceptable”) | Standard (“all coat colors are acceptable”) | No ruling |
| Pomeranian | Not recognised (“including merle, unacceptable”) | Not recognised (“merles not permissible”) | No ruling | Standard (“Merle Markings”) | No ruling |
| Pyrenean Mastiff | Standard (“marbled”) | No ruling | Standard (“marbled”) | No ruling | Standard (“marbled”) |
| Pyrenean Shepherd | Standard (“blue merle”) | Standard (“blue with black mottling (harlequin or slate blue)”) | Standard (“blue with black mottling (harlequin or slate blue)”) | Standard (“Blue Merle”) | No ruling |
| Rough Collie | Standard (“Blue Merle”) | Standard (“Blue Merle”) | Standard (“Blue Merle”) | Standard (“Blue Merle”) | Standard (“blue merle”) |
| Shetland Sheepdog | Standard (“Blue Merle”) | Standard (“Blue Merle”) | Standard (“Blue Merle”) | Standard (“Blue Merle & White”) | Standard (“blue merle, sable, sable merle”) |
| Smooth Collie | Standard (“Blue Merle”) | Standard (“Blue Merle”) | Standard (“Blue Merle”) | Standard (“Blue Merle”) | Standard (“blue merle”) |
| Xoloitzcuintli | Not recognised (“Merle unacceptable”) | Disqualifying (“Merle colour”) | Disqualifying (“Merle colour”) | Alternate (“Merle”) | Standard (“Any color combination is allowed”) |
| XoloitzcuintliCoated | Not recognised (“Merle unacceptable”) | Disqualifying (“Merle colour”) | Disqualifying (“Merle colour”) | Alternate (“Merle”) | Standard (“Any color combination is allowed”) |
Breeds where Merle is a fault
| Breed | KUSA | FCI |
|---|---|---|
| English Cocker Spaniel | Not recognised | Fault |
Breeds where Merle is disqualified or not accepted
| Breed | KC | KUSA | FCI | AKC | UKC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AkitaAmerican | Not recognised (“merle which is unacceptable”) | Disqualifying (“merle marking pattern”) | Disqualifying (“merle marking pattern”) | Disqualifying (“merle marking pattern”) | No ruling |
| American Cocker Spaniel | Not recognised | Disqualifying | Disqualifying | Disqualifying (“Merle Markings”) | Disqualifying (“Merle color”) |
| American Hairless Terrier | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling | Disqualifying (“merle”) | Disqualifying (“Merle (Coated variety)”) |
| American Pit Bull Terrier | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling | Disqualifying (“merle”) |
| Beagle | Not recognised | Not recognised | No ruling | Disqualifying (“Merle and Brindle Color Patterns”) | Disqualifying (“Merle”) |
| Bulldog | Not recognised | Not recognised | No ruling | Disqualifying (“The merle pattern”) | Disqualifying (“Merle color”) |
| Carolina Dog | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling | Disqualifying (“merle/roan/mottling/dappling”) | Disqualifying (“merle, roan, mottling, dappling”) |
| Drever | No ruling | No ruling | Disqualifying (“merle”) | Disqualifying (“merle”) | No ruling |
| English Shepherd | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling | Disqualifying (“Blue merles”) |
| Fila Brasileiro | No ruling | Disqualifying (“dappled”) | Disqualifying (“dappled”) | No ruling | No ruling |
| French Bulldog | Not recognised | No ruling | No ruling | Disqualifying (“merle”) | No ruling |
| German Spitz | Not recognised (“with the exception of merle, which is unacceptable”) | No ruling | No ruling | Disqualifying (“merle”) | No ruling |
| German SpitzGiant | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling | Disqualifying (“merle”) | No ruling |
| Italian Greyhound | Not recognised (“Merle”) | Not recognised (“Merle”) | Disqualifying | No ruling | No ruling |
| Poodle (Miniature) | Not recognised | Not recognised | Not recognised | Disqualifying | Disqualifying (“merle coloring”) |
| Poodle (Standard) | Not recognised | Not recognised | Not recognised | Disqualifying | Disqualifying (“merle coloring”) |
| Poodle (Toy) | Not recognised | Not recognised | Not recognised | Disqualifying | Disqualifying (“merle coloring”) |
| Rat Terrier | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling | Disqualifying (“Brindle or merle color patterns”) | Disqualifying (“merle”) |
| Russian Tsvetnaya Bolonka | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling | Disqualifying (“merle”) | No ruling |
| Siberian Husky | Not recognised (“except merle which is unacceptable”) | Disqualifying (“merle ... patterns are not allowable and are to be disqualified”) | Disqualifying (“merle ... patterns are not allowable and are to be disqualified”) | Disqualifying (“merle ... patterns are not allowable and are to be disqualified”) | No ruling |
| Staffordshire Bull Terrier | Not recognised | Not recognised | No ruling | Disqualifying (“merle pattern”) | No ruling |
| Teddy Roosevelt Terrier | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling | Disqualifying (“Merle Markings”) | Disqualifying (“merle”) |
| Yorkshire Terrier | Not recognised | Not recognised | No ruling | Disqualifying | No ruling |
| Afghan Hound | Not recognised (“merle which is unacceptable”) | Not recognised (“merle which is unacceptable”) | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling |
| Akita | Not recognised (“merle which is unacceptable (Akita)”) | Not recognised | Not recognised | Not recognised | No ruling |
| Bearded Collie | Not recognised (“merle unacceptable”) | Not recognised (“never merle/dapple”) | Not recognised (“never merle/dapple”) | No ruling | No ruling |
| Borzoi | Not recognised (“merle which is unacceptable”) | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling |
| Boston Terrier | Not recognised | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling |
| Canaan | Not recognised (“Blue Merle”) | Not recognised | Not recognised | Not recognised | No ruling |
| Chinese Crested | Not recognised (“except merle, which is unacceptable”) | Not recognised (“except merle, which is unacceptable”) | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling |
| Eurasier | Not recognised (“merle, which are unacceptable”) | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling |
| Finnish Lapphund | Not recognised (“except merle, which is unacceptable”) | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling |
| Havanese | Not recognised (“except merle which is unacceptable”) | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling |
| Lhasa Apso | Not recognised (“merle, which is unacceptable”) | Not recognised | Not recognised | No ruling | No ruling |
| Löwchen | Not recognised (“merle which is unacceptable”) | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling |
| Pekingese | Not recognised (“Albino, liver or merle unacceptable”) | Not recognised (“Albino, liver or merle unacceptable”) | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling |
| Pembroke Welsh Corgi | Not recognised | Not recognised | Not recognised | No ruling | No ruling |
| Saluki | Not recognised (“brindle, blue or merle which are unacceptable”) | Not recognised (“brindle, blue or merle which are unacceptable”) | No ruling | Not recognised | No ruling |
| Shih Tzu | Not recognised (“except merle, which is unacceptable”) | Not recognised (“except merle, which is unacceptable”) | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling |
| Tibetan Spaniel | Not recognised (“merle which is unacceptable”) | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling |
| Tibetan Terrier | Not recognised (“chocolate, liver or merle, which are unacceptable”) | Not recognised (“any colour except chocolate, liver or merle permissible”) | Not recognised (“any colour except chocolate, liver or merle permissible”) | No ruling | No ruling |
| Whippet | Not recognised (“Merle unacceptable”) | Not recognised (“Merle unacceptable”) | Not recognised (“Any colour or mixture of colours, except merle”) | No ruling | No ruling |
| American Staffordshire Terrier | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling |
| Welsh Sheepdog | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling | No ruling |