Merle collies

[fankino04]

Just wondering if this colour is common in non working collie lines, I went to meet a potential new dog walking client and its the most beautiful colour but apparently hyper sensitive and reactive to absolutely everything. I wondered if the coat might be an indication that he was from working lines and finding City life hard, the owner got him when he was nearly a year old off a friend of a friend who was going to pts.

 

[satinbaze]

I think Merle is more popular in show and obedience collies. Most farmers prefer black and whites or tricolour. Not sure if this has anything to do with temperament or not

 

[fankino04]

Thanks SB, it was just a general pondering...

 

[be positive]

I had a blue merle bitch from working parents, her merle dad was neurotic and reactive but had been treated badly, mine was a total dream but would probably have been bonkers if she had lived in a city being taken out on a lead for walks, she was very active, on the go from dawn to dusk with a brain that was as busy as her body.

 

[Annette4]

I'm not a knowledgeable person when it comes to collies but all the merles I know, irrespective of owners have some kind of issues even with experienced collie owners.

 

[Clodagh]

I don't know the answer, but I do love merles.
Both JB and BBP have merles I think?

 

[planete]

I used to have a farm bred merle collie who was fantastic, very brave with any type of stock and inexhaustible but he needed to work and was very sensitive. Shouting at him would have reduced him to a quivering wreck. A lot of collies are noise sensitive, not linked to colour I don't think. A collie of any colour without a job will often seem neurotic too. I know I could not keep one happy now.

 

[BBP]

I have a blue Merle and I would say he has no more or less issues than many collies of other colours I have seen (based on conversations and Facebook training pages). He has a few things that he is extremely sensitive to that can be challenging (cars, horses, any power tool or hoover noise) but excluding those things he is laid back, happy and easy to have around. He went to Burghley today (we weren’t shopping, it was purely a dog day out) and he was super. He was named ‘dog of the day’ by at least three groups of people that met or walked past him!

 

[JennBags]

I have a red merle, she's from working lines, and yes she's sensitive. More so than other collies? Quite possibly, it's hard to judge.
Reactive: she can be, what do you mean by this?
She's active as hell, and quite dominant, and we do have a few fear-aggression problems with her so we have to manage certain situations. Yesterday Mr JB was in a shop with her and a man came in and thought it would be funny to growl at her. He didn't find her reaction very funny, and it's a good thing she was on the lead.

 

[TPO]

I'll check with my mum when I see her as shes a bit of a collie expert.

Merle is a common colour in australia border collies.

Having grown up in a household full of collies and spent some of my childhood dragged to shows, tracking, obedience, sheep dog trials, field trials and anything else you can think of I can safely say they are very intelligent and need a job. There is an exception to every rule but most dont do well, in their younger years at least, as pets with no mental stimulation. They are so quick to learn and are very capable of making their own entertainment if need be.

 

[Moobli]

In all the years OH has had working sheepdogs (over 30 years) he hasn’t yet had a merle. They aren’t as common in working circles as in obedience/agility/show lines. There have always been some merles in the working lines but farmers like what they know and so tend to prefer the more common black/white or tricolour dogs (and usually have a preference for dogs like the last good dog they had).

When breeders concentrate on colour over working ability, health or temperament there are often issues of nervousness and sensitivity (although as a breed they don’t often do well in a city/noisy/busy environment as they are inherently sensitive anyway).

 

[Aru]

I just had a ponder and this and just realised....I never met a working merle sheepdog in Ireland. Mismatched eyes occasionally(they werent popular either) but never the true merle. I wonder if it has to do with the danger of merle on merle mating causing high levels of puppy death that made the idea of them unpopular.
They are quite common in Australia in the pet lines!tho I suspect theres some Australian Cooly and shepard breeding influencing here to bring the colour. Usually are flashy pretty dogs...but generally sensitive even compared to the standard borders..
I must admit I prefer the Australian shepards as they are a bit steadier but just as attractive.

I'd consider them similar to the chocolate or silver labs...bred for colour over ability and temperament and its not a positive thing in the majority.