Australian Shepherd Question

First of all, these are really two different breeds, so it is a crossbreeding(mixbreed) not a purebreeding. And, breeding two merles of any breed will result in a number of blind and/or deaf puppies in the litter. I really can't think of many good reasons to purposefully produce puppies with such serious health defects. Also, both of these breeds can have genetic health issues so any dog bred should, at a minimum, have an OFA rating on hips and elbows (by x-ray), an annual CERF eye exam, MDR1 testing and HSF4 hereditary cataract test. Minis also should have tests for CEA and PRA (eye diseases which cause blindness.) Breeding any dog without proper health screening is irresponsible and just adds to the population of unsound or unwanted dogs. Go to www.ashgi.org and read the articles on health screening.

That's two different breeds. You would not be able to register the pups.

Breeding Merle to Merle always creates a risk of blind and or deaf pups. Genetically I would never consider it!

I would NEVER breed two merles together! This would create double merle, and three out of four double merles are deaf and, or blind! Poor puppies :(