M E R L E . . . P A T T E R N

as it's known in the Rat Terrier Breed

Where to start ... where to start! This is probably the most controversial pattern of any as it is associated with the Rat Terrier.
Many are going to say that a Rat Terrier with a MERLE pattern is not a true Rat Terrier but I'll have to disagree.
The Rat Terrier evolved in the 1970's through the 1990's from the crossing of the Chihuahua, Toy Fox, Italian Greyhound and the Beagle.

The MERLE pattern does exist in the Chihuahua and is at the time of this being written (*2006) recognized by the AKC therefore making it a logical conclusion that it would exist in Rat Terriers.
There are FEW of them around apparently because few breeders crossed the Merle Chihuahua with anything to produce them.
We might want to note that one parent MUST be Merle to produce Merle pups.

	This is a BROWN/TAN MERLE Chocolates have BROWN noses There is ABSOLUTELY NO BLACK on a Brown Merle (*Some registries label these as Chocolate)
	This is a BLACK/TAN MERLE Black/Tan Merles have BLACK noses This is of the SOLID body color
	This is a RED MERLE RED Merles can have black or brown noses (*Reds can have BROWN noses but Browns can NOT have Black noses)
	This is a BLUE/TAN MERLE Blue Merles have BLUE noses This is ABSOLUTELY NO black on a blue merle
	This is a FAWN/TAN MERLE Fawn Merles have Brown noses This is ABSOLUTELY NO black on a fawn merle

We need to keep in mind that a BLUE Merle in Rat Terriers is not the same as a BLUE Merle that is commonly known in the Australian Shepherd. Australian Shepherds do not have as many colors as are associated with the Rat Terrier therefore they do not have to worry about the TRUE genetic code associated with them.
BLUES in Rat Terriers have ABSOLUTELY NO black on them.

While MERLE Rat Terriers may be few and far between they are in no way "RARE".
I would describe them as "UNIQUE".
A Merle is easily reproduced. All it takes is for one parent to be merle to produce on the average of 50% Merle patterned offspring.
NOW to produce the dilute colored ones requires either a lot of luck or knowledge of genetics and how to apply it to your breeding program to produce the colors that you would like.

Just in case some of you do not know the difference and are confused, a color and pattern are two totally different things. Color is the base color of a dog. Pattern is the form/shape/placement of which the different colors take place. Patterns are DISTINCTIVE visual appearances.

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