Quoted from Vita's post:
"cowpony said:
... collies or Aussies. These breeds have a high incidence of a mutation called MDR1. The effect of the gene is to goof up the liver's ability to metabolize commonly prescribed medications such as ivermectin. The effects can be lethal if an affected dog invests one of these medications.
Pay close attention to that. It's no joke. If this pup has Merle ancestry and the owner never bothered to get them DNA tested for the MDR1 gene and the pup has it, using worming the dog with Ivermectin will quite possibly kill it. "
THIS IS very important. I love Collies. My current one is a Blue Merle that was properly bred (only 1 merle parent) however MDRI is an issue that if your pup has Collie in the background anywhere, MDR1 can be a heartbreak as it's deadly. That's why you do not cross breed dogs & pass them off as purebred. MDR1 has to do with the blood brain barrier. So your pup gets dihrea & like most pet parents you check to make certain no xylitol is present in the imodium or pepto to treat the pup but your pup may not be able to take these items due to the touch of Collie, Aussie, etc... in the genetics. If the MDR1 affects the pup there is several things.
Here's a list:
- Ivermectin
- Selamectin
- Milbemycin
- Moxidectin
- Loperamide
- Acepromazine
- Butorphanol
- Vincristine
- Vinblastine
- Doxorubicin
- Paclitaxel
- Apomorphine
The following list is dr
Here's the link to the article that gives a LOT more information
MDR1 – Multi-Drug Sensitivity - Coxwell Animal Clinic
Bottom line for me if they are passing merles as purebreds, I'm out. If they upfront said, "we have merles, x-number of generations we crossed to a (fill in the blank) to get the merles then did the work to take them back to poodle, well I'd give them points for honesty. There are breeders working on the Collie breed currently & they are outcrossing however they are not selling their dogs in a con-man game. They refer to their pups as farm collies & will tell you they are outcrosses & why, what their goals are. They do have goals & a purpose due to not being able to find it in the current spectrum of the purebred dogs. I don't have heartburn with this so long as the breeder is HONEST & upfront. Then I as a puppy purchaser can determine if I'm okay with this or not.
The problem with the merle in Poodles is there are a lot of people who have been sold on a conman game & they believe it. When I was seeking a pup, I came here. I figured I could not go wrong asking people on the Poodle forum. I am glad I did. I was skeptical about brindle, sable, & merle as I couldn't find enough information to make me feel comfortable. So when in doubt don't. That has been my mother's advice all my life & it served me well.
I was recently contacted by a Standard Poodle breeder I'd contacted during my search. She had a litter perfect for me. I looked at what she sent me & politely declined. She questioned why. Well I told her as kindly & honestly as possible. This did not go over well. How dare I say her dogs are crossbreds, she'll sue me if I slander her dogs, blah, blah, blah. We ended up having a pretty fair discussion as her drama doesn't get her far with me. I sent her a few places & told her if she could prove to me that her dogs were purebred, not crossed, I would buy a puppy. (okay that's literally putting my money where my mouth is because I don't really need another pup right now unless s/he is someone I can pursue some competition stuff I'd like to try. She set out to prove it. I didn't hear from her for awhile. She contacted me ahead of the female's heat cycle hoping to secure me to a pup. As per our agreement I got pick of the litter if she could prove the pup purebred. By the time I called her the pups had been born, if the breeding took. Genetic testing created a mess for her. Her purebred, show quality Standard Poodles had a rather high amount of Australian Cattle Dog which accounted for several things I saw in her dogs. She was a mess & was currently in talks with the breeder her merle came from.