 Barked: Fri Dec 21, '12 9:18pm PST |
 | |  | | I also have a white and red heeler. He is an unregistered purebred but lacks the gene that causes the ticking pattern on heelers. Heelers are born without ticking and develop coat pattern as they age. If a "regular" or "normal" coated heeler lacked the ticking gene all the ticked areas of coat would be white.
"The Australian Cattle Dog, the coloration that is called "Blue", and "Red" by the ACD and ASTCD
breeders/owners, is really the extreme piebald pattern that is also affected by the ticking gene; giving
the coloration a blue appearance. This allelic pair is also responsible for the "color headed" white dogs. Often
times, along with a colored head, there will also be a colored spot near the tail (called the caudle spot)."
From the website:
http://www.hnrworkingkelpies.com/ACDGenetics.html
My understanding is that "piebald" puppies can occur in almost any breeding of ACD's that carry the correct set of genes to cause lack of ticking, but most breeders (not all obviously) see this as a fault and do not want potential buyers to see this as poor breeding or incorrect practices (though it's fluke genetics), and don't typically keep white puppies around. They are sometimes euthanized or taken to shelters.
My dog is from working stock (bred for purpose/attitude/drive) not necessarily breed standard and has a red sire and a blue dam that both have regular ticking. He was the only pup in the litter that did not develop a ticking pattern. He also presents with a full mask and a caudle spot |  |  | |  |
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