Breed Notes
30th July 2020

COLOUR – an emotive issue for many but something that Judges, breeders and owners should actually consider and maybe re-read the colour section of our Breed Standard!

I am not going to comment on colour genetics, there are ample articles available for all to read, some written by eminent authors from the early days of the breed, to more current ones and often available by using good search engines. If anyone should need help, just send a mail and will try and point you in the right direction.

Last time I read the standard, it describes the three recognised colours we have within our standard, these being: Sable and White, Tricolour and BLUE merle.

So lets talk colours, starting with one of the most glamorous, the Blue Merle. As its name suggests, it is BLUE in colour! Quote: “Predominantly clear silvery blue splashed and marbled with black. Rich tan markings preferred, but absence should not be penalized. Large black markings, slate colour or rusty tinge of either top or undercoat are HIGHLY UNDESIRABLE”

So why do we keep seeing all these so called “blue merles” followed by comments of: Lovely colour, fabulous etc etc. when actually they are slate grey, heavily marked, even mismarked etc etc. It should be blue, not grey!

Don’t get me wrong there are collies of correct colour out there but the majority are not – I bred 7 generations of winning Blue Merles including 2 blue champions (dog and bitch). All of whom, apart from one had excellent blue colour and limited black patches.

Take a few minutes out away from Social Media and go and look at photos of past well known Blue Merles please; the colour should be a clear blue with silvery tips to the end of the hairs and no big black patches, or worse, white.

For those who have never bred a litter of blues, it is very easy to see a good colour from birth, they stand away from the rest  and those that are born darker, even violet in colour, will remain dark and may even get darker with age, it is a myth that colour lightens with age, it is the reverse! Another myth is that colour goes if out in the sun – that also is incorrect as a correct colour, blue or tricolour will not turn a rusty shade in the sun it is the correct colour to start with.

May I suggest that anyone embarking on breeding blue merles consult some of the many articles which have been written concerning Colour breeding and try and get/breed the best foundation bitch you can before contemplating a litter. Perhaps a look at the pedigree with colours of all parents would help

The wise words of one of our more esteemed and established judges ring true, “It is hard enough to breed a good dog, harder to breed a good blue and to get both in one dog you will have accomplished something”

Now to tricolours, they should be predominantly black, again with rich tan markings. A rusty tinge in top coat highly undesirable. There is, however, no mention of GREY, which far too many tricolours show in colouring over the hindquarters and also have in their featherings at the rear! A rich black gleams in the light, enhanced with white markings makes this colour outstanding.
When born, look at the colour of the skin, a good tricolour may often have a blue tinge to the skin, especially those bred from a merle litter.

Sable and White, probably the most recognizable of all our colours and this can vary from “Any shade of light gold to rich mahogany or shaded sable. Light straw or cream colored is highly undesirable”

We are seeing fewer shaded and mahogany sables in the ring nowadays, as many breeders prefer to know that will only get sable puppies in a litter and use only males known for being “Pure for sable”.

This will eventually result in pale coloured dogs along with possible pigmentation issues where the nose is not actually black as the standard requires. Perhaps the use of a well bred tricolour to enhance the colours would not come amiss either.
Now to my final comment, we all know mistakes can happen in breeding dogs, but to intentionally mate a sable to a blue merle can result in colour issues which usually do not show themselves in the first generation but appear, “out of the blue” some generations onward.

Carole Smedley
(Antoc)