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WHO BROUGHT THE MERLES? |
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Fairies or Collies ? Two distinct colours - blue merle and brindle - have come to be regarded as exclusive to the Cardigan breed. The blue was never known in Pembrokes, although there was at one time a brindle Pembroke strain; it was eventually decided that this latter stemmed from a Cardigan cross, and this colour was excluded from the Pembroke standard of points. I have been told that gossips whisper that the "fountain" from which all present day merles have sprung was the result of a collie cross, and that fears have been expressed as to the faults that might be introduced into the breed as a result. In the first instance, it is almost certainly a fact that Corgis - Pembroke and Cardigan - were originally crossed, not only with each other but with Welsh Collies as well as other types of dog. The Pembroke and Cardigan crosses were comparatively recent and took place right up until 1934, when the Kennel Club recognised that there were two entirely separate breeds of Corgi and gave them dual registration. The other crosses occurred long before, but we see occasional throw-backs in most strains, and in Corgis of any colour. They are, if anything, less apparent in the merle lines than in some others. What faults would we expect to find from a collie cross? Long coats, long legs, very long, narrow heads, and small, pointed or pendant, ears are the likeliest. Long Coats Re-AppearLong coats, scarcely ever seen pre-war, made their appearance shortly after hostilities ceased and stemmed almost entirely from one well-known red/white Champion bitch; she had no known merle blood, but nobody ever suggested that she was derived from a close collie cross!The pre-war merles were all good looking, short coated and typical, but they came from Geler stock exclusively and Miss Wylie had lost the strain that produced them by the time she was ready to recommence dog breeding. For several years it seemed likely that the merle Cardigans had vanished for ever, but the colour suddenly cropped up again, dramatically enough, on both sides of the Atlantic. In California, a brother to sister mating (the pair being bred from solidly red and brindle stock) produced beautiful merles, much to everyone's astonishment and delight. Shortly afterwards a Mr. Jones, of the "Taxicar" prefix, bred a litter which contained a nice red dog with one wall eye. (There was nothing very odd about this that great Cardigan pioneer, the late Mr Griff Owen, showed a beautiful wall-eyed red bitch at the Crystal Palace in the breed's early show days.). Mr. Jones put a tricolour bitch to his dog "Minor" and the litter contained a beautifully coloured merle dog, Samswn Bach. There is, therefore, no mystery about Samswn's antecedents, even though he was not an especially good Cardie, being rather on the leg, and small and pointed in ear. Against this he had a perfect coat and a nicely shaped, triangular head. He was the first blue merle to be shown in this country since Miss Wylie's Ch. Geler Caressa and Ch. Geler Cledwyn. "At Last"
The
wall-eyed bitches were mated back to their merle sire, sometimes without
the desired result, but one thrilling day, Brithwyn produced two
well-marked blue merles, male and female. The dog was triumphantly
registered "Rozavel Blue at Last" but the bitch unfortunately
died. Blue at Last is the firm foundation from which all present day
merles in this country have come. Unlike Samswn he was ultra-low to
ground, ideal size, perfect coat, head with large rounded ears. His
mouth was not level, and he never passed on this fault, but because of
it he could not be shown. They are
free from the all too common faults in other strains - soft coats, long
narrow heads with insufficient width between the ears, and over-large,
flat, splayed feet. They rarely have these faults, even though they are
mostly inbred on Samswn Bach - the dog accused of having "collie
blood". I have before
me the pedigree of one of the best litters I have seen, and Samswn
appears in it five times. The puppies are typical Cardigans, with coats,
heads, legs, etc., to satisfy the most critical. We have already seen
three blue merle Challenge Certificate winners since the resuscitation
of the colour, as well as numerous other successful show specimens. Outcross ProblemThe recognised custom of breeding merles to either tricolours or black and whites gives best results, though tricolours and blacks/whites bred from merles may be mated with reds or brindles. Merle to merle matings should only be undertaken with an expert knowledge of the bloodlines and the stock, and under these circumstances can be outstandingly good, but cannot be repeated ad lib. There is evidence to show that the merles have considerable appeal, enquiries for them coming from many parts of the world and exports having gone out to Tasmania, Canada, U.S.A. and other countries most recently. In closing, let us remember that there is nothing new about the merle Cardigans. They were the subject of Welsh folklore scores of years ago, the story being that they were originally brought by the fairies one night. Well, the fairies took them away again in 1939, but hard-working breeders have brought them back, this time in such numbers and now so widely distributed amongst their keen admirers, that they are, we hope, here to stay for all time. Published in the CWCA year book 1962
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