Merle Dog Names

Merle is a unique coloring for the canine coat. The color merle is defined as “a bluish-gray color, mottled with black,” and “marbled coat with darker patches of specified color.”  The “merle” can have blue, red or brown as the dominant color with other colors mottled into it, making it appear quite dark or deeply colored.  The pattern in the coat can be mottled, speckled, splotched, freckled, spotted, variegated, striated, marbled or dappled, creating a beautiful creature to behold to be sure, and there are some dog breeds in which this coloring is considered acceptable or even desired.   Our pop culture spotlight for today is one such merle colored dog.  

His name is Bluey, and he is an Australian Cattle Dog who has a blue-merle colored coat.  He also has the dubious honor of being a holder of a Guinness Book of World Records title - the oldest dog in the world!  Born June 7, 1910, in Rochester, Victoria, Australia, owned by Les and Esma Hall, he lived 29 years and five months, and is said to have herded cattle for over 20 years before it became necessary to have him put to sleep!   While several other dogs purport to have more longevity than Bluey, the claims remain unverified - so Bluey continues as the record holder.  

The Australian Cattle Dog, also known as a Blue Heeler, is a herding dog who got the “Blue Heeler” designation because they are trained to herd livestock by nipping at their heels. They are a hearty breed, as herding breeds generally are, with normal lifespans of about 13 to 14 years.  Because of Bluey’s age as well as the age of “Chilla,” a mixed Labrador and Australian Cattle Dog who lived 32 years and 12 days (unverified), a study was embarked upon to ascertain if there was any consistency to the longevity enjoyed by these two dogs.  They looked at 100 dogs in a survey that resulted in a mean agedness of 13.41 years with a standard deviation of 2.36 years.  This data netted a hypothesis that, while the Australian Cattle Dog does seem to have a lifespan of nearly a year longer than other dog breeds in the same weight and size class, the situations involving Bluey and Chilla should be considered a departure from the norm, uncharacteristic of the typical lifetimes of the breed in general.