Research has been carried out on a Genetic
problem that Koolies have, this is deafness and or blindness in
white pups, caused by the Merle Gene, we have discovered that breeding Merle
to solid does control this problem and advise new breeders to look at
introducing a solid into their breeding programs to insure safe resulting
litters.
listed here are some sites that hopefully throw some light
on the mystery of Genes and their effects. Just click on the underlined headings.
If your Koolie is grey, fawn or very light in color the
Dilute gene may be the cause, this fact sheet showed me that
mojo and charm both carry the dilute, it is a
recessive(weak)gene and can be bred out of a bloodline, Diluted
color does not effect the health or working
ability of Koolies
The Collie is an ancestor of the Koolie and the Border, this is
the Borders research on coat color.
It is important if you
are serious about breeding the Koolie to try and understand a little of
genetics, I know, some of these sites you have to take a cut lunch and
an interpreter, but if you only understand a little, it could save you a
lot of heart ache.
Breeding the Koolie is
a mixed bag of hopes at the best of times, breeding in ignorants can
be harmful, continuing to cull healthy pups when genetics proves
it is not necessary is criminal. Most new breeders know little or nothing about the
backgrounds of their Koolie, playing it safe is playing it smart.
As I discover more
sites I will update this site and if you come across any good sites
share them with us, then we can all succeed in preserving the Koolie
breed.
