Are spots on a black tri aussies nose permissible?

[strawberywine755]

Does anyone know if spots on a black tri aussie permissable in show and if I were to breed her should I not breed her with a merle? Does this indicate merle in her to closely? Should I breed her with another black tri instead or a red tri?  I don't want any "deadly merles".

[Senghe]

You won't be breeding her till she's 18 months to 2 years old, so there's plenty of time to see if her nose goes totally black. If you know what colours the dogs in her pedigree are, this will give you a far better indication of what genes she is carrying than anything else.

[ZooCrew]

the breed standard would state whether spotted color is permissible on non-merle dogs.

Senghe is right, your pedigree should show if your dog carries any merle in her at all.  It looks like you will need to do a bit more research before any breeding is done, so I would hold off until you have all the answers you need.   

[Leah...]

spots on the nose is called a butterfly nose, and it does not mean that the dog has too much merle in her. i would breed her to a dog with a strong history of black (or liver for reds) noses. if you really want her nose to go black, and you don't think it will on it's on, feed her dried kelp everyday. read your breed standard before you breed (and don't breed until you know it by heart) the akc australian shepherd breed stanard says "Nose--Blue merles and blacks have black pigmentation on the nose (and lips). Red merles and reds have liver (brown) pigmentation on the nose (and lips). On the merles it is permissible to have small pink spots; however, they should not exceed 25% of the nose on dogs over one year of age, which is a serious fault."

hope this helps! Leah