10/01/2026
Very well said by our friends over at Curly Country Poodles! Couldnāt agree more!
Another thing Iād love to discussā¦..
LETāS TALK MERLE POODLES
Merle is probably one of the most debated patterns in the poodle world, and unfortunately a lot gets buried under opinions, breeder drama, and misinformation.
ā¢First, merle is a pattern, not a color.
Merle changes how pigment is distributed through the coat, creating areas of lighter and darker pigmentation. Thatās why you can see different variations such as blue merle, brown merle, sable merle, and others depending on the dogās underlying genetics.
ā¢Second is the biggest misconception is that a merle dog is automatically unhealthy.
Merle itself does NOT automatically mean a dog will have vision, hearing, or other health problems. The much bigger concern comes from breeding two merle dogs together, because that can produce puppies that inherit two copies of the merle variant (MM) commonly referred to as double merles. Double merles have a significantly higher risk of serious hearing and vision abnormalities. That is exactly why genetic testing matters and understanding Merle before ever breeding it.
Responsible breeders should know whether a dog is merle, including cases where the pattern may be difficult or impossible to see visually because other genes can mask it for example red (ee) dogs. Visually they look red or apricot hiding the Merle pattern, without testing you wouldnāt even know.
ā¢Third is the part of the debate on whether merle historically existed in purebred poodles or whether it entered the breed through outcrossing generations ago. That historical question is a completely separate conversation from whether an individual merle poodle standing in front of you today is healthy, structurally sound, genetically & dna tested, or registered.
A pattern alone does not tell you the quality of a dog or the ethics of the breeder behind it. Read that again.
Health testing, temperament, structure, pedigree knowledge, responsible pairings, and breeder transparency matter far more than simply pointing at a coat pattern and assuming the worst.
People are absolutely allowed to prefer traditional poodle colors or choose not to breed merle. There is nothing wrong with that. I think every single poodle color & pattern are beautiful.
But there is a difference between having a preference and spreading inaccurate information about the genetics behind the pattern.
You donāt have to like merle poodles, and thatās ok.
But if weāre going to discuss them, we might as well discuss them accurately.
If you are here to throw nonsense comments like āyouāre a backyard breederā I will just block you since you obviously donāt have your facts straight. If youāre here to yell āyou canāt register Merle poodles with AKCā Iāll gladly give you the phone number before blocking you. Letās remember this is my page and Iāll choose who stays and who goes. Iām all for questions and healthy debates but wonāt tolerate rude or uneducated remarks. If you donāt like the Merle pattern thatās ok keep scrolling š«¶š¼
Sincerely Curly Country Poodles š©
-Pictured is Gyda when she was a pup
