27/02/2025
Written by Julia Baxter but sharing for education. The number of merle cockers I'm seeing is terrifying for the breed 😔 breeding to standard is so important to preserve our breed 💔
For information only I thought I’d just clarify a few points regarding breeding, buying and registering of Merle dogs. The following are facts.
Breeds of dog that can be registered with the Kennel Club with the colour Merle:
Australian Shepherd
Beauceron
Bergamasco
Border Collie
Dachshund (colour known as Dapple)
Great Dane
Pyrenean sheepdog (long haired)
Collie (Rough)
Collie (smooth)
Shetland Sheepdog
Corgi (Cardigan Welsh)
The Kennel Club states :
“If your puppy is of a breed not mentioned and is merle, we regret that it will not be possible to register it. You must not register it as another colour.”
Cocker Spaniel is not on the list therefore it is not possible to register a cocker spaniel as Merle.
If you have been sold a Merle cocker with Kennel Club certificates than this has been fraudulent.
Some breeders have got around this by advertising “Merle” litters but registering them as “Roan”. This is again fraudulent.
Merle markings are present at birth whereas Roan markings tend to show through later.
Having a Non KC Merle cocker spaniel doesn’t make it legitimate. It isn’t possible to have a Merle cocker spaniel without it being a crossbreed. I believe that Collies and Dachshunds are generally the breeds being used to cross with cockers. If this is the case you have a cocker cross.
There is no such thing as a Merle cocker.
You can have a Merle cocker cross, just as you can have a Sprocker, Cockerpoo, labradoodle etc
If this is what you intended to buy and you are happy with your choice then that’s absolutely 100% fine. The reason for this post is to make people aware that there are unscrupulous breeders who hoodwink people into buying something that doesn’t exist.
How is Merle inherited?
“This type of coat is caused by a variation of a particular gene. Each dog has two copies of every gene; one that they inherit from their mother and one they inherit from their father.
The merle gene variant is dominant, which means that a dog only needs one copy, inherited from either of their parents, to have a Merle coat.”
Health concerns.
The Kennel Club will not register puppies out of two Merle parents.
“Dogs that have two copies of the merle gene variant, inherited from both of their parents, have an increased risk of problems with their eyes and ears, causing blindness and/or deafness.”
I hope this has clarified things a bit and that people will take time to read the information. There really is a bit more going on then “pretty colouring” and “rare markings”. Make sure you don’t get conned!!
For those that have regrettedly fallen into the trap, your dog will, I’m sure be a healthy and happy pet/worker!! Breeding from these dogs is not advised.
Photos show Merle on the left - Roan on the right.
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