BreedQuest › Breeds › Dogs › By looks › Merle dog breeds

Merle dog breeds

Mottled, marbled merle coats — a striking pattern, and one with health rules worth knowing before you buy a puppy.

Every breed in this list (10)

American Leopard Hound

Rare

Short dense coat · merle 'leopard', many colours

Australian Shepherd

Uncommon

Medium double coat · merle, black, red

Bergamasco Sheepdog

Rare

Flocked (felted mats) · grey, merle-grey, black

Cardigan Welsh Corgi

Uncommon

Medium double coat · brindle, blue merle, red, sable, black & white

Collie

Common

Rough (long) or smooth double coat · sable, tricolour, blue merle

Dunker

Epic

Straight, hard, dense, not too short · diluted black and tan, or blue-marbled (merle) with pale tan and white

Miniature American Shepherd

Common

Medium double coat · merle, black, red, tricolour

Mudi

Rare

Wavy-to-curly · black, brown, grey, white, yellow, merle

Prague Ratter

Rare

Smooth or moderately long · tan-pointed black, brown, blue or lilac, plus yellow, red and merle

Shetland Sheepdog

Uncommon

Long rough double coat · sable, tricolour, blue merle

How this list is built

A breed is in this list when its own breed standard names this colour among its coat colours — read off each breed's coat line, which every card shows. Colours a standard mentions only as a marking, or rules out, don't count.

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