[Wafflezthegr8]

When I bought my corgi I was told he was red Merle. He has blue eyes and Merle marbling in his coat but for the most part he looks 100% red now that he is 2 years old. He got my pure pembroke female tri pregnant and she had 8 puppies, 2 tri, 2 sable, 3 red Merle and 1 blue Merle. I sent in a DNA test for both the dogs to see if they had any health conditions and I wanted to see how much cardigan my red Merle had in him. The results came back with 100% Pembroke Welsh Corgi. Everything I have read has told me that is impossible. How can I get these results? He has the Merle gene present in his results. I got the test done from wisdom panel and they have said they are 90-99% accurate. Can anyone explain to me how this could happen? Thank you.

 

[DaySleepers]

He's got another breed - maybe Cardigan, maybe something else - mixed in a few generations back. DNA tests can't test more than 3 or so generations, so they'll say a dog is pure even if their great-great grandparent was another breed, assuming all the more recent generations were Pembroke. The DNA tests shouldn't be taken as proof any dog is definitely purebred - that's what registries like the AKC that track breeding lines for many generations are for - but rather just a way of estimating what breeds are involved in recent generations. Merle is dominant so very easy to pass down through generations after it's been introduced by cross-breeding.

 

[Wafflezthegr8]

He's got another breed - maybe Cardigan, maybe something else - mixed in a few generations back. DNA tests can't test more than 3 or so generations, so they'll say a dog is pure even if their great-great grandparent was another breed, assuming all the more recent generations were Pembroke. The DNA tests shouldn't be taken as proof any dog is definitely purebred - that's what registries like the AKC that track breeding lines for many generations are for - but rather just a way of estimating what breeds are involved in recent generations. Merle is dominant so very easy to pass down through generations after it's been introduced by cross-breeding.

Ah, okay that makes sense I guess. Im a little bummed they couldn’t give me more information on his breed because he is part cardigan I just don’t know how much he has in him. I also looked at the woman who sold him to me’s Facebook and she has blue merles on her pages so I was expecting it to be more prominent in his results. He had some beautiful puppies and I wanted to shine light on his ancestry but now I won’t be able to really. At least the test confirmed he is all healthy. I was going to ask for my money back from the DNA test because it was starting to seem like a scam. Thank you for answering my post! 💕

 

[Deacon.dog]

Def. Another breed mixed in, avoid that breeder. A lot of breeders are mixing merle into their dogs because the color is pretty, and in high demand. Any breeder who introduces a color into their breed isn't reputable and 90% of the time isn't paying attention to health - just wants to pump out pretty puppies for money.

 

[LeoRose]

Yes, Cardigans have merle in them, but Pembrokes don't, which is why less than honest breeders will introduce Cardigans into their Pembroke lines, so that they can get a "merle Pembroke Corgi". If they register the puppies as Pems, and represent them as purebred Pems, then they are basically committing fraud. Some of them call the resulting mix an "American Corgi". Either way, they aren't AKC or UKC registerable, and any AKC registered dogs should have their papers revoked. (We know how great the odds of that are, considering all the "silver" Labs out there.... The only way they got the dilute genes into the breed was through crossing them with another breed, probably Weimaraner.)

 

[Wafflezthegr8]

Thank you guys I wish I would have known that before purchasing him. She told me he was CKC registered and she would give me the papers but never did. I do love him he’s a great pet dog but bummed he is essentially a mutt. He’s 2 years old now. I guess I feel like I am also that person, too. Since now I have let him breed with my female. Not that I ever offered paperwork or even remotely sold the puppies as purebred.

 

[LeoRose]

The only CKC that is reputable is the Canadian Kennel Club, which is the equivalent of the American Kennel Club. The Continental Kennel Club, if that's the CKC being referenced, was originally set up to get around the AKC's rule for DNA testing on Frequently Used Sires (dogs who sire more than three litters in a calendar year, or more than seven in their lifetime) and Limited Registration (any puppies produced by a Limited dog are ineligible to be registered). They also "register" dogs of totally unknown background with full breeding rights, as well as mixed breeds.

I would recommend that you have all the pups spayed or neutered before placing them (the cost of that can be the rehoming fee), and then having your dogs altered, as well (or at least one, so you don't have a oops litter down the line).

 

[DaySleepers]

I'm not against carefully thought through outcrossing to improve the health or temperament of a breed in some way, personally, but unfortunately there are a lot of people who just outcross to get 'pretty' or 'rare' colors they can slap a big price tag on. Merle is especially contentious in the purebred dog world because it's connected to health issues when two merle dogs are bred (one copy of the merle genes produces the distinctive splotchy color pattern - two can result in a deaf and/or blind dog). For this reason, many people are very against merle being introduced into breeds it doesn't already exist in, especially when it's just to jack up puppy prices or make 'cool' looking dogs, when health and temperament should always be the priority in an ethical breeding program.

I'm glad you reached out and are trying to learn! Dog breeding can be tricky waters to navigate, and a lot of people who aren't following great breeding practices can still talk a really good game and make it sound like they're reputable and responsible. What's done is done, but the important part is learning and moving forward.