Blue Merle or Red Merle? How to Tell..

Some people who are new to the breed have asked me to share how to tell a Red Merle from a Blue Merle.

💕 Rule of thumb is looking at their Nose Leather:

- Brown Nose Leather means they are Brown/Red Based and are Red Self/Bi/Tri or Red Merle.

- Black Nose Leather means they are Black Based and are Black Self/Bi/Tri or Blue Merle.

Also, a “Harlequin” does Not mean a mix of the Red & Blue Merle. & does Not mean the dog is a “Dilute” because of it’s Lighter spots. 99.9% of the time an Aussie can only be Blue (Black Based) or Red (Brown Based). Usually Not Both!

Also, the Brown on Blue Merle’s is considered COPPER & Not Red. Red & Copper are Two Completely Different things.

Many Aussies have Copper Points and some, also, have Running copper which makes them look a bit Brown & Grey.

Also, a Red Factored Blue Merle is not both Red & Blue either. It simply means the Black Based dog Carries the Recessive Red Coloring Gene and can Produce Red Pups IF Paired to another dog that is Red Factored 💕😊

*A couple rare cases have occurred where there was an Aussie puppy with a genetic anomaly and was Red & Black! Rylie Stovall actually produced a Red && Black Tri Puppy. It was Very interesting. It is Very Unlikely though*

**Here are some Side by Sides of our Blue Merle Male & our Red Merle to give people a Better idea 💕😊

I hope this cleared up any confusion for people who are new to the breed and having a hard time telling them apart 💕