Merles and Brindles are not natural to the chi. Then again, neither is the long coats. The difference is, the long coat was bred into them years ago (likely a Pomeranian cross) and has since become accepted by registration groups such as AKC. The brindles and merles are a more recent cross and are widely gaining acceptance, but have not yet been accepted by the AKC. What you gotta realize is that many of our "full breed" breeds, were, at one time or another, crossed with another breed to get a specific characteristic. It takes years, but eventually these characteristics become a new breed or a new characteristic of an old breed. If this hadn't happened, we would still have only wolves today. That is what is going on with the merles and brindles. Yes, they have been crossed bred at some point in the past, but it has become an acceptable crossing that is producing a new characteristic in the chis. So, while they are not natural to the chi as we have known them in the past, they are becoming that way. Eventually the AKC will list brindle and merle as chi colors. Do not think, if you see a merle or brindle chi that it is a mixed breed. This cross likely happened very long ago and no other characteristic of the other breed remains. They are full chis.
In case you are considering a breeding yourself, be very careful and do a lot of research prior to trying to breed any merles. Merles have a genetic chromosome that if not done exactly right can cause several problems in a chi....mostly blindness. It is not something to do on a whim. I have been breeding chis for many years, but I would never attempt a merle breed simply because I do not have the experience with merles that are required for a safe breeding. I will leave that to those who know all about how the merle gene works. To my knowledge, this danger does not exist with the brindle, but there could be something I do not know on that topic. Marsha ----- Original Message ----- From: "Cornelia Malies" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, March 07, 2006 1:06 PM Subject: [Chihuahuas] merle question > I heard that the merle coat in Chis was not a natural thing. That is > came trough crossing a Chi with a Doxi( dachshund) What is this all > about? How can they AKC or CKC then? Was somebody cheating? I'd love > to know more about that > > Connie > > > > > > " Lets talk about our wonderful little friends! > Join today! " > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > " Lets talk about our wonderful little friends! Join today! " Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chihuahuas/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
