Description
Merle can affect all coat colors. The merle forms of brown and black are usually called liver (or red) and blue, respectively. Dogs who are recessive red can still be affected by merle, but the patches are either hardly seen or if the dog is a clear recessive red, it is not visible at all. Combinations such as brindle merle exist, but are not typically accepted in breed standards.
In addition to altering base coat color, merle also modifies eye color and coloring on the nose and paw pads. The merle gene modifies the dark pigment in the eyes, occasionally changing dark eyes to blue, or part of the eye to be colored blue. Since merle causes random modifications, however, both dark-eyed, blue-eyed, and odd-colored eyes are possible. Color on paw pads and nose may be mottled pink and black.
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