The beautiful yellow coat color has become rare in the Australian Shepard breed and was purposely almost bred out of the gene pool due to the mistaken belief that the yellow Aussie carried a genetic defect causing deaf and blind puppies. Instead, it was the undetected copy of the merle allele, unrelated to the yellow allele, that caused these defects. The Australian Shepherd Health and Genetics Institute affirms, "There is no health issue associated with yellow. They are as sound as any other color."

 

The gene responsible for a yellow coat in Aussies is found in the E locus and is inherited recessively ("e"). The yellow coat color can result from mating any two Australian Shepherds of any color who carry the "e" allele recessively. If both dogs pass the recessive "e" allele, a yellow puppy is born. When two copies of the yellow allele are present, expression of the E locus gene obscures the dog's body pigment, including the tan point pattern and coat merling, if present.

 

Because the expression of two yellow alleles visibly obscures a merling coat pattern, breeding a yellow with a "hidden merle" allele to another dog with the merle allele can lead to blind and deaf puppies. With the historic lack of genetic testing, breeders avoided mating dogs with the yellow coat color, and yellow Aussies became a scapegoat for what was, in reality, breeding two dogs with a merle allele. Advances in genetic testing have protected this beautiful coat color from being excluded from the Aussie gene pool.

 

Genetic testing has become standard among reputable breeders for many common diseases, traits, and colors, ensuring the healthiest combinations in breeding dogs and protecting against unintentionally breeding two merles.

 

At Aspen Mini Aussies, we have verified that Honey, our yellow dam, does not contain a merle gene and is safe to breed with any coat color. She and her puppies are as safe and healthy as any other coat color and pattern.