catahoulas with a lot of white

[stevloft]

I read somewhere in a magazine that said sometimes you get cats with mainly white and they Erik sometimes come out bind or deaf anyone ever heard of this?

[Hogsnatchers]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=do+predominantly+white+catahoulas+have+deafness+and+blindness+problems

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[hillbilly]

yes it is possible. the old timers around me use to cull them out when they were born

[barlow]

I've never owned a Catahoula and can't stand a performance animal with excessive white on it, as a matter of preference . . but just based on reading and some second hand info from friends . . . I believe it's white on the head, especially in the area of the eye and ears. And it isn't breed specific to Catahoulas. Dalmatians have the same issue and I was told by an old breeder that it was one reason why excessive white was disallowed from Boxer breed standards til the 90's or so.

Any of y'all remember the last time a Paint horse won the Kentucky Derby? 

[halfbreed]

   it is not hearsay it is a fact , it's the mearl gene that causes it and you can have a solid black dog born deaf due to it  . some solid dogs are called ghost mearls . it is when you have a solid or dog with no white at all carrying the double mearl gene .

[Hogsnatchers]

Yep, mearle gene is what causes it like halfbreed stated. Lots of notable breeders will pick and choose their breedings to try and minimize the number of pups born that way.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[barlow]

Merle is a dominant gene. It does not exist where it isn't present. Having said that, there is a color factor known as "clear red" where the merle is masked but not visible. Those dogs will also have red noses . . I think they lack the ability to produce black . . sort of one step back from an albino wherein they produce pigment, just not black (maybe where the Foundation BMC guys got the idea for their so-called red albinos?). I acquired a leopard cow dog a year or so back and got mildly curious about this stuff. If you have any questions or can't find the answer on anything to do with merle, brindle, albinism or other color and inheritance factors in dogs . . . I suggest you google or contact Dr Sheila Schmutz. She is a PhD at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada and considered among the world's foremost experts on canine coat color genetics. Nice lady and you can find her contact info on her website.

Some of the yellow dogs of Bob Owens and Skoalbandett will occasionally throw red nosed pups. I've never been interested enough to try and prove it out . . but I believe those to be carriers of a recessive "clear red" factor tracing back to the Lewis Woodruff/Coffield Ranch leopard dogs in their ancestry.

[mike rogers]

   it is not hearsay it is a fact , it's the mearl gene that causes it and you can have a solid black dog born deaf due to it  . some solid dogs are called ghost mearls . it is when you have a solid or dog with no white at all carrying the double mearl gene .

X2 on that.....

[stevloft]

I'm suppose to be picking up a pup Sunday and one of its litter mates is deaf. The dog is solid white with two small grey patches on its shoulders. Two glass eyes..  my pup has the most color but its neck is white and some of the face but the rest of the body is grey and black

[halfbreed]

   I saw a pic of that pup on that facebook thingy , my first thought was that it would be a deaf one . check it out good before you buy it .  clap your hands around it and all that kinda thing  . I garranty it is a double mearl and carrying the deaf gene and could throw you some deaf pups down the road  .

[T-Bob Parker]

Why even bother with it? You already know a littermate has a full on case of deafness, so just skip on that litter, or possibly even that breeder all together and get something that's more genetically sound.

Just friendly advice, you may take it or leave it.

[Goose87]

I had a solid white 3/4 cat 1/4 treeing walker and he was deaf as the day is long. He was one of the hardest baying dogs I've ever seen. He was eventually " sent down the road ".

[Hog_Hunter_57]

There are some dogs that are def and some are blind because of white around the eyes and the ears. That being said it does not mean that every dog in the litter is def. Or that a litter mate is going to have a problem. There is a guy name johnny wager that has a line of ring neck catahoulas that are white and not def or blind his dogs are some of the hardest hunting cats I have seen. But his dogs are not dubble mearls he will breed two solid black dogs and she will throw all white and some with white with some black spots.

[Corey]

Why even bother with it? You already know a littermate has a full on case of deafness, so just skip on that litter, or possibly even that breeder all together and get something that's more genetically sound.

Just friendly advice, you may take it or leave it.

That would be good idea, but he would have to avoid every breeder that had a Merle color dog whether it was cat, aussie, leopard hound, collie, and farm Shepard's. Oh and dotsons lol.  It is very much genetic but is also directly connected to the  mutated Merle gene, in most cases double Merle but in some as Mr Whitten mentioned the ghost or "Cryptic Merle".

http://www.fairmatecatahoulas.com/merle-gene.html

[J. Tallina]

My wife had a mostly blind and pretty much deaf Aussie one time that was mostly white they called it "lethal white."

[AnotherRunner]

Always watch the white ones. I had two out of my litter that were real white with pink noses and pink around their eyes. Both were deaf but not blind.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[SaltyhoggerJr]

The land owner of a ranch in south texas that my buddy hunts on has a solid white cat with double glass eye, course he's a house dog but he still looks cool.

[barlow]

Does anyone on this board have, or know of anyone who currently has . . a living example of a ghost merle or a cryptic, invisible, anti, non-leopard merle. I've heard and read internet chatter forever about them but I've never seen one and never met directly anyone who could show me one.

If anyone has a living dog that is solid black with absolutely zero leopard spotting or streaking, etc . . but who is a merle and can produce merle pups when bred to a non merle dog of the opposite sex . . . I would travel just about any distance to see it. Albino/white or red with no black pigmentation is the exception. Only looking for currently living dogs with reproductive ability. Specifically black dogs. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[Freedom-Fighter00]

I have a primary all white Catahula. My Flacco has a black patch on his head and one on his back.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

[Freedom-Fighter00]

I have a primary all white Catahula. My Flacco has a black patch on his head and one on his back.

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk