Breeding
for an all white Cocker Spaniel
First let me make clear I'm using some dogs of other breeds to illustrate
colors. These animals may not be the correct color genotype, but are representative
of the phenotype to be aware of. I would like to thank Carole and David
Presberg who own and maintain the website BC_Museum
(Border Collie Museum) for allowing me to use some of their pictures.
If you're not committed to breeding Cocker Spaniels for the long
term, and an all white in particular.
You might as well save yourself the time and not read any further.
I've put this together, because this is what I think would be the logical
procedure.
This process could take a long time( over multiple generations for sure
and maybe partial restarts ) with no guarantee of complete success
.( if this doesn't exite you stop here)
I would recommend using solid colored dogs from the start because:
If you use extreme piebald, you run the risk of deafness in succeeding
generations. (if you do use piebald dogs at least make sure they are color
headed)
Use of a merle may 'muddy the waters', and an unexpected blue fleck
in an eye or tiny body spot will destroy your credibility as a breeder
of all whites.
( this not even considering the homzygousity problems )
If you breed merle cockers or have merle in your pedigree beware of cryptic
merle (phantom) (search
google cryptic merle)
Brown, although adding another layer of dilution, will lead to puppies
with less and less pigmentation around the eyes, on the nose and paw pads.
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