I think you are misreading what I'm trying to say.



I'm not saying that the pattern *causes* a deformity or abnormality.



I'm saying that a deformity or abnormality can be the cause *of* the aberrant pattern. Every "piebald" corn to date (this does not count the pied-sided, which seems to be completely tied to the diffused gene) has had a spinal kink in the white patch. The white did not cause the kink, the deformity in the spine caused the white.



Understand?



There's something in a lot of dogs with a merle coat called 'lethal white'. Its the reason why two merle dogs should not be bred together. A lot of the pups never make it to birthing, or die shortly after. Those that live and have the lethal white combo are predominantly white, typically with blue eyes. They're very often deaf and/or blind and have other health conditions. The genes that cause those conditions also have an effect upon the coat color.

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