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Wondering If My Dog Is A "Lethal White"

by Laurie
(Weirsdale, FL, USA)

Sam's mother with litter-1

Sam's mother with litter-2

Sam, left side

Sam, right side

My puppy, Sam has a lot of white on him. He has no hearing or vision problems that I can detect, but he does have an ongoing demodectic mange issue. My vet has him on meds, but it seems to be getting worse. His check-up is tomorrow and I'll see what she says about his lack of progress.

He's 8 months old and seems normal in his energy level, intelligence and love of life. His father was a blue merle, and his mother was red & white. I have a couple pictures of the mother with Sam's littermates. (there were 11 puppies!) I'm not sure if she's red or red merle. I understand that if both parents were merle, Sam would be at risk. I will include a few pictures, of Sam, and his mother with the litter. I have no pictures of the father, and the breeder never sent me any. I contacted him a few times with no luck.

I appreciate any input from more knowledgeable Aussie lovers. Thank you,

Laurie

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Comments for Wondering If My Dog Is A "Lethal White"

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white
by: Gayle-- Big Run Aussies

Some pups just have too much white on them without being from double merle parents and they are just mismarked pups. The pups in the litter looked like they had color, but it can be difficult to tell sometimes if the parents are truly solid colors. You might want to look on the ASHGI website.

Is My dog a lethal White?
by: Anne

Hi Laurie,
If your aussie was from two merles than it is a Double merle. By the pictures it looks as if your puppy has merling around his ears and eyes. This is not a lethal white. The merle on your puppy's body, from the picture, looks to be very light merle.
A lethal white has a lot more pure white on the body and usually has a lot of white on the head especially around the ears and eyes. Your puppy does not have that so you are good.
You can read more about Lethal whites here
http://www.lethalwhites.com/
The only real way to know if your puppy has hearing loss is a BEAR test and for loss of sight is an appointment with a Registered Canine Opthamologist Veterinarian.
When you got your puppy did the breeder give you any paperwork as to health clearances on the parents? Did the breeder give you registration papers on your puppy. If so the color of the parents should be on the registration papers.
Hope this helps and if you need anymore information. please e-mail me and I would be glad to help.

Anne Calmes
Gold Ring Aussies
Louisiana, USA
goldringkennel@aol.com

Sam's coloring
by: Laurie

Gayle, thank you for your comment. That's very reassuring. I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

That goes for you too, Anne. Your info was very helpful. Unfortunately Sam's breeder turned out to be not reputable. He promised to send registration papers but every time I called, he came up with new excuses. There were no health clearances or puppy shots either. Guess it's another example of "you get what you pay for".

I will visit the websites you mentioned. Thanks again!

Laurie

Note from Anton: Laurie, if this breeder appears in our Breeder Directory please let me know. Contact page here.

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