Aussie pups and the merle gene... (bit of a rant) PUPPY PIC!

[OveroHunter]

My SO and I are proud breeders of registered Australian Shepherds and today we welcomed 9 puppies…

Now let’s talk genetics. Our female dog (Jitterbug) is a blue merle and the male (Bocephus) is a red tri. Jitterbug is heterozygous for the merle gene (Mm) as one of her parents was a blue merle and the other was a black tri. Since she is heterozygous, she will produce a merle puppy (statistically) 50% of the time. In fact, out of her first litter of 8 puppies, 4 were merles…

Today Jitterbug and Bocephus became the proud parents of 9 SOLID babies. As a math/finance major in college and a current benefits analyst, I did the math… There is a 0.2% chance of a heterozygous merle and a solid having 9 solid babies… Yes I did my research and yes I am confident in my calculations and reserach…

Why couldn’t we defy the odds the other way around with 9 merles??? It’s the same 0.2% chance!

[HydroPHILE]

Merle, solid, tri…they’re all adorable! I love the ones in our herding group - eventually we’ll get one for herding

You may recognize this one, OveroHunter…

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v470/wildernessk9sar/pup-1.jpg

[LulaBell]

How dare you post something like this without pics of those puppies! That’s pretty bizarre - I’m assuming more people shopping for Aussies want merles or tris rather than solid?

We had a beautiful red growing up that was just the bee’s knees. Miss that girl.

[OveroHunter]

[QUOTE=HydroPHILE;5674023]
Merle, solid, tri…they’re all adorable! I love the ones in our herding group - eventually we’ll get one for herding

You may recognize this one, OveroHunter…

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v470/wildernessk9sar/pup-1.jpg[/QUOTE]

PUMPKIN!!! Best dog we own

ETA: She was such a freaking cute puppy (half Australian Shepherd, half Blue Heeler)

[OveroHunter]

[QUOTE=LulaBell;5674026]
How dare you post something like this without pics of those puppies! That’s pretty bizarre - I’m assuming more people shopping for Aussies want merles or tris rather than solid?

We had a beautiful red growing up that was just the bee’s knees. Miss that girl.[/QUOTE]

I’ll get some pics Yes, more people want merles than solids… which is the reason we got a merle, but yes all Aussies are great

[OveroHunter]

Bocephus and Jitterbug from behind:
http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2139678610043029495mDPkcL

Jitterbug and Pumpkin:
http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2768169780043029495ttySTf

Pumpkin trying to kill Bocephus when she was a tiny puppy:
http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2196459390043029495MxFSss

Bocephus in my lap with his tongue out, Pumpkin in a headlock, and Jitterbug being normal:
http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2332392350043029495bLifeT

Last but not least… Solid Bocephus and Jitterbug puppies!
http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2947251150043029495KDdHvn

[PRS]

Awwww…I’d take any one of them! When I got my Aussie I didn’t care about color. I wanted a good dog. I fell in love with the breed because several friends have them. IMO they are a little calmer than a BC and less aggressive than an Australian Cattle Dog. My Brody at 8 weeks: http://i833.photobucket.com/albums/zz258/dorim_2005/dogs/Brody_8_wks.jpg
Riding politely in the backseat with his buddy Buster:
http://i833.photobucket.com/albums/zz258/dorim_2005/dogs/BrodyBuster.jpg
16 months: http://i833.photobucket.com/albums/zz258/dorim_2005/dogs/IMG_5434.jpg

I have a feeling that when Brody reaches his expiration date many years in the future (I hope) I’ll get another Aussie. Oh heck, who am I kidding, I probably won’t even wait that long.

[bort84]

Similarly to how I grew up loving plain bays and not really getting “colored” horses, I actually prefer the tamer colored Aussies = )

Wonderful breed though, no matter what the color. The statistics are pretty humorous though. Congrats on your pups!

[atlatl]

[QUOTE=OveroHunter;5674000]

Why couldn’t we defy the odds the other way around with 9 merles??? It’s the same 0.2% chance![/QUOTE]

Bummer how those statistically independent events still bite you!! On the up side, they are all darling. You just need to get to a statistically significant sample size, say the litter of 50 or so

[Simbalism]

My last dog was a blue merle (standard size). My current dog is a mini black tri. I had two requirements, female and good temperment. Here’s a pic of my old girl
http://www.flickr.com/photos/simbalism/3193170457/ and a pic of my current pup. http://www.flickr.com/photos/simbalism/5689079549/. Can’t wait to see pics of them as they get bigger.

[HydroPHILE]

Well holy heck - I guess I need to take a day trip out to Southern Cross soon! I mean…an Aussie makes a good wedding gift* to my fiancé, right?

*DISCLAIMER: Puppies are not gifts unless both parties of the household are responsible and familiar with the breed of puppy they obtain from a reputable source and both are in agreement as to the purchase of the puppy.

[OveroHunter]

[QUOTE=HydroPHILE;5675113]
Well holy heck - I guess I need to take a day trip out to Southern Cross soon! I mean…an Aussie makes a good wedding gift* to my fiancé, right?[/QUOTE]

Definitely, they’re great dogs I’ll keep everyone posted with pics. They are adorably improbable :lol:

[JoZ]

I suppose they can’t/don’t “merle out” as they get older? Something like my appy did? I breed Paints and I love to joke that my breeding stock colt and filly are going to “paint out” some day.

It can happen though. Someone dumped a pregnant cat on our farm about 6 years ago who gave birth to three white kittens. Not my cup of tea – solid white kittens? Ugh. And then… and then… their Siamese markings started to show up. We were absolutely delighted!

I think the pups are adorable and sure to please!

[OveroHunter]

That’s how Australian Cattledogs are, but not Aussies Cattledogs, aka blue heelers, like Pumpkin (pics above) “color out.”

High school SAT test:

Australian Shepherd is to Paint as Australian Cattledog is to Appaloosa :)

Merles are born merle from what I have seen and from what I have researched; however, if one of these guys “merles out,” I’ll be uber duber excited :D:D:D

[LibertyRun]

Kind of off topic but since you guys are the experts. I need a dog to trail ride (approx 4-5 miles at a time, 3/4 walking speed) My husband mtn bikes the same distance with the dog at higher speeds. The Aussies I have met seem kind of mellow. Would this be too much activity ? Sometimes the dog would do both in the same day. I have a field bred rough coat collie that has been doing this but is getting older. Her activity level is kind of like a slightly mellow border collie.

[Holly_Jeanne]

Solid as in?

Solid as in no white? Solid black? Solid red? Not that it really matters. (spoken as the happy owner of a black bi and a blue merle). Parent’s are lovely by the way but I’m with those waiting for puppy pictures!

Oh, and Liberty, most Aussie’s tend to be pretty high energy. I only tried to trail ride with mine once though. They went a short way and then went back to keep and eye on the farm while I was gone. :lol:

[BasqueMom]

I’m a fan of tri-colors versus the merles…your pups are adorable!

[HydroPHILE]

[QUOTE=LibertyRun;5675711]
The Aussies I have met seem kind of mellow. Would this be too much activity ? [/QUOTE]

I have never met a mellow Aussie - can you send me one? lol

Aussies are very athletic dogs and can go all day if you let them. I don’t think jogging 4-5 miles would be tough at all.

Friends of ours have several Aussies (they breed once every 5 years and train/perform in herding events,) and even her oldest one (at 12) is going’ strong.

[OveroHunter]

Solid as in not a merle (kinda like a roan in horses), but they do have plenty of white.

Aussies are the best trail dogs! We took Jitterbug (the mom) to Big South Fork with us about 3 months ago and she did one 5 mile ride and one 15 mile ride. She loved it!

Bocephus (the dad) is pretty mellow, but I think he is the exception, not the rule

[spinandslide]

In border collies, we call the merle a “candy color”…:)…I own a “candy” colored BC and while she is absolutely stupendous, she is not as brave or consistent a worker (on stock) as my traditional, plain jane black and white.

Color does not make the dog! I know it’s easy to say that when you have people wanting merles though.