Merle Color and Poodles 

 

The San Diego Poodle Club (SDPC) is an organization formed for the preservation of the purebred Poodle in all three varieties of Toy, Miniature and Standard that follow the Poodle Breed Standard and the rules of the American Kennel Club.  As breeders of purebred Poodles, we have a focus on good health and longevity of any Poodles we breed.  The coat of all purebred Poodles is of one solid color at the skin.  There are individuals who do not adhere to the purebred Poodle Breed Standard and it is important for this club to advise of health issues in the practice of breeding so called merle Poodles.  It is well known that there can be detrimental health issues when breeding merle Poodles.  While there are DNA tests today that can determine if a particular merle Poodle is carrying the merle gene, it is not always done before breeding a merle Poodle to what is believed to be a non-merle, cryptic merle or phantom merle Poodle.  With so many merle Poodles being bred today, there is a real potential for a double merle (MM) breeding to take place that would result in offspring being blind, deaf, missing eyes/ears and having a higher risk of cancer.  The members of the SDPC want to make sure that while some people may like the merle pattern on a Poodle the practice can, either by accident or ignorance, result in puppies needing extreme care.  Therefore, the members of the SDPC only breed purebred Poodles and are in opposition to the breeding of “merle Poodles”.