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üAustralia has banned
the registration of merle Chihuahuas.
üCanada Disqualifies
merle Chihuahuas from the show ring effective Jan 1st, 2008.
üEngland has banned the
registration of merle Chihuahuas.
üGermany has banned
merle Chihuahuas from breeding and the show ring.
ü
South Africa and Mexico are currently working on similar
resolutions.
The Chihuahua
Club Of America is "appalled". Letter to AKC is available on the Club website:
Chihuahua Club of America
(Graham Foote has bred Chihuahuas for
over 40 years. His bloodlines are prized throughout the world. As an
international judge, his opinions and evaluations are eagerly sought
by show clubs, breeders, and exhibitors. Mr. Foote is also the
Chairman of the British Chihuahua Club, the equivalent to being
President of the National Club in the U.S.)
Hi Gloria,
By his letter I would imagine that Steven Gladstone is a close
friend of one of the people who are strongly pro merle in our breed.
He is probably genuinely concerned that if our Breed Standard is
changed to make merle a disqualification, the powers that be may
start to put pressure on other breeds with the merle gene to do the
same.
He is, of course, perfectly entitled to his opinion, but I
must admit that I am surprised that he gets away with using the AKC
letterhead in trying to influence the voting of members of a breed
that he has nothing to do with. I am sure that the AKC is a
respected organization and even although he has a small two line
disclaimer saying that his views are not intended to suggest
endorsement by any of the organizations mentioned, he does not
specifically mention the AKC as not endorsing his views.
The letter
is on an AKC letterhead and when he mentions his credentials he goes
on at length about being a board member of the AKC and the positions
that he has held within the AKC, also in a later paragraph after
saying that England, (I presume this means the British Kennel Club)
has banned merle Chihuahuas with little cause, he comments "We are
trying to have that poor decision reconsidered" I believe most
members of the CCA, will think that in WE he is referring to the AKC,
as trying to have the decision reconsidered and may indeed vote to
support what is after all their governing body. So the pro banning
lobby is likely to lose votes.
As Chairman of the BCC, I would be astounded, if whoever it is that
is trying to get our Kennel Club to change the ban on merle colour
in Chihuahuas, has any success. All of our Chihuahua breed clubs had
a free vote and in eight out of nine clubs in the country, the vast
majority of members voted in favour of the ban.
I believe our members voted in favour of the ban because we have
never had merle Chihuahuas in the UK, and believe that our breed
like most breeds have plenty of health related problems that need to
be bred out, so why start to breed in new health problems and put
our breed through unnecessary suffering?
We have had the breed in the country since early in the 20th
century, when they were mainly imported from the States. Practically
all our breeding stock was lost in the 1940s, following the second
world war, but a considerable number were imported from the states
again in the early 1950s, so our lines originated from the States
and over the years others have been imported from the States, yet we
do not have the merle gene in our breed. I think that in general we
accept the scenario put forward that this gene has been introduced
in the States by crossing with other breeds, otherwise it would
surely have shown up in our lines over the years.
Even if not in particularly large numbers, it does on occasions
appear to cause eye and hearing problems and I think all breeds with
the merle gene present admit to this. It therefore seems to me to be
cruel to let our Chihuahuas suffer to satisfy certain individuals
vanity in their preference for a particular colour. We do not have
the gene in other than a handful of Chis recently imported into this
country from the states and I think no truly caring breeder will
want to allow this gene to proliferate in the UK and this is no
doubt why the vote against it was so strong.
Going back to your original question of what I thought about Mr
Gladsone's letter, only he knows what is behind it, but one thing
for sure, it certainly is not the love of Chihuahuas.
Canine coat color
is determined by the expression of a specific combination of genes.
A gene, the basic unit of heredity, is comprised of a unique
sequence of DNA and directs the production of a specific protein.
Proteins are required for the structure, function and regulation of
the body's cells, tissues, and organs. Genes are located within
chromosomes. Dogs have two sets of 39 chromosomes in every cell, one
set inherited from each parent. The location of each gene within a
chromosome is referred to as its locus. While there is more than 99%
DNA sequence similarity between dogs, variations in DNA sequence do
occur in a small number of genes. Different forms of the same gene
are called alleles. Dogs can have two identical or two different
alleles for a particular gene. If both alleles are identical, then
the dog is said to be homozygous at that gene; if both alleles are
different, then the dog is said to be heterozygous at that gene. The
genotype of an animal is its genetic identity, as identified by the
alleles it carries; while the phenotype, or appearance, is the
expression of those alleles. Coat color in dogs is usually
controlled by a set of genes. These include the color genes, genes
that affect the pigment color of hairs, and the pattern genes, those
that affect the distribution of a particular color. At least 20
genes have been identified that affect coat color in dogs.
Merle Coat Color Patterning
The merle coat
color is characterized by patches of dilute pigment in combination
with areas of full pigmentation. Therefore, the merle gene acts to
lighten whatever coat color would otherwise be expressed. However,
unlike other dilution genes, the lightening effect is not spread
evenly over the coat, but is expressed as patches of diluted color
scattered over the dog�s body. If the basic color of the dog is black, the effect of
the merle gene is a soft gray, often referred to as �blue�. If the basic color of the dog is red, the effect of the
merle gene is a pale red. The merle coat pattern is characteristic
of a number of breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club,
including the Shetland Sheepdog, Collie, Border Collie, Dachshund,
Australian Shepherd, and Cardigan Welsh Corgi.
Genetic Inheritance of the Merle Gene
It is only recently
that investigators at the Texas A&M University (reference: PNAS,
2006, 103(5):1376-81) discovered a mutation in the dog SILV gene and
found it to be responsible for the merle coat color patterning in
dogs. The merle gene (M) is inherited in an autosomal fashion. In other words, the trait is not linked to gender and can be
passed on from either the mother or the father. The gene is
incompletely dominant, or a gene that has intermediate expression. A
heterozygous dog, carrying only one copy of the merle gene (Mm),
expresses the characteristic diluted coat color pattern. A non-merle
dog (mm) is normal in color, while a homozygous double-merle (MM) is
predominantly white. Punnett squares can be used to determine the
expected coat color of offspring when breeding dogs of known
genotype (i.e. coat color genes have been identified). In the
example illustrated, a non-merle dog (mm), indicated in the vertical
column, bred to a heterozygous merle (Mm), indicated in the
horizontal column, will give rise to offspring with an expected
frequency of 50% merle (Mm) and 50% non-merle (mm). Dogs that carry
the merle gene but do not show the characteristic merle phenotype,
are known as cryptic merles. These dogs may give rise to merle
offspring. It is suspected that the DNA sequence of the merle allele
in the cryptic is shorter than the allele expressed in the typical
merle dog. The harlequin coat color pattern in Great Danes is
produced through the interaction of the merle locus and the
harlequin (H) gene. In harlequin Danes, the merle background color
is diluted to nearly white with fully pigmented black patches.
Health Problems
Associated with the Merle Allele - BOTH heterozygous merle (Mm) and
homozygous double merle (MM) dogs may exhibit auditory and
ophthalmic abnormalities including mild to severe deafness,
increased intraocular pressure, ametropia, microphthalmia and
colobomas. The double merle genotype may also be associated with
abnormalities of skeletal, cardiac and reproductive systems.
Genetic Testing for the Merle Gene
With the recent
discovery of the merle gene, a genetic test is now available that
allows for the identification of the merle allele. This technology
is patent pending (U.S. Serial # 60/708,589) and available
exclusively thru GenMARK, the DNA technology service of VITA-TECH
Laboratories LLC. By testing dogs for this genetic trait, it is
possible to:
allow identification of merle dogs to prevent
undesirable merle to merle breeding
classify harlequin Danes as single or double merle
03|06|09
-
World Bans Merle Chihuahuas
but CCA voted down merle DQ following ballot interference by AKC Board
member. The ballot to only disallow exhibition of merle color; but
other countries refuse to register any dog out of merle parents.
Should another vote be taken or this this just overreaction to the BBC
and U.K. Vets?
AKC Defended Board Member. Steve Gladstone, Judge, AKC/CHF
Director, who interfered with Chihuahua Club ballot on merle color DQ.
AKC communications with Gloria Lambert, internationally respected
Chihuahua breeder. Gladstone fires off at Denver Show in 2009, is
he a loose cannon as readers are saying?
Judge, British Chihuahua Club Chairman Graham Foote, on merle
color gene, including Merle Gene Fact Sheet. One of the hottest
international, genetics, and ethics issues in dogs, ongoing coverage
2008 and 2009.
Gladstone Letter to CCA Members. Here's the letter on AKC
letterhead used by Steven Gladstone, who interfered with Chihuahua Club
Of America ballot to DQ merle color, using his AKC and AKC/CHF Board
positions.
Chihuahua Breeder Rebuttal on disqualifying merle colored
Chihuahuas by G. Curran, who defends genetics, breeds, shows, and wins
with the color and thanks Gladstone for his letter to Chihuahua Club Of
America members.
