Merle Pug Puppies in New Zealand
Merle creates a distinctive marbled or mottled pattern over a Pug’s underlying coat colour, meaning each merle Pug can have her own unique markings and appearance. At Le Epitome Kennels, our merle Pug programme is being developed through carefully selected female lines alongside our established chocolate, tan point, blue and fluffy coat genetics.
Our active merle breeding females are Cinnamon, a chocolate cream merle carrying blue, tan point and fluffy coat, and Leela, a black and tan merle with blue and chocolate colour possibilities. Leela’s complete colour genetics will be confirmed through DNA testing before future breeding decisions are made.
Our upcoming merle females include Cookie, a chocolate and tan merle fluffy Pug who will complete DNA and health assessment before entering our breeding programme. Cookie already brings together our chocolate, tan point, merle and fluffy coat lines, while Cinnamon and Leela provide further possibilities for developing chocolate merle, chocolate and tan merle, black and tan merle and other carefully selected merle Pug lines.
Merle requires careful breeding management. We keep merle on the female side of our programme and do not undertake merle-to-merle matings. Our policy is that a merle female may only be paired with a DNA-confirmed non-merle male. This avoids the increased health risks associated with puppies inheriting merle from both parents.
Colour remains only one part of every Le Epitome breeding decision. We also consider breathing, physical health, temperament, structure, movement, genetic diversity, family history and the overall suitability of each proposed pairing.
Explore our coloured, merle and fluffy Pug programme , our chocolate Pug lines , our fluffy Pug programme , or learn more through our dog colour and coat genetics guide and French Bulldog and Pug health-testing programme .
What Is a Merle Pug?
A merle Pug has an irregular marbled or mottled pattern across its underlying coat colour. Rather than producing one uniform shade, the merle pattern creates lighter and darker areas that can vary in size, placement and intensity across the dog’s body.
Because merle modifies the colour already present beneath it, merle Pugs can look very different from one another. The pattern may appear over chocolate, black, tan point, fawn, cream or other colour combinations, depending on the genetics inherited from both parents.
Some merle Pugs have bold, clearly defined patches, while others have a softer or more subtle pattern. Eye colour may also vary, although coat pattern and eye colour alone do not determine a dog’s health, temperament or breeding suitability.
Learn more about how colour traits are inherited in our French Bulldog and Pug colour genetics guide .
Leela our Black & Tan Merle Pug
Cinnamon is a Chocolate Cream Merle Pug
Cookie is our Chocolate and Tan Merle Pug
Meet Our Merle Pug Females
Our merle Pug programme is built around carefully selected females. Keeping merle on the female side of our programme allows us to plan each mating using a DNA-confirmed non-merle male and avoid merle-to-merle pairings.
Cinnamon — Chocolate Cream Merle
Cinnamon is an active breeding female and an important foundation of our merle Pug programme. She is a chocolate cream merle carrying blue, tan point and the long-haired or fluffy coat gene. These traits give Cinnamon the potential to contribute to several future colour and coat directions when paired with a carefully selected, genetically compatible male.
Leela — Black and Tan Merle
Leela is an active black and tan merle female carrying blue, with chocolate also present or possible within her genetics. Her complete chocolate status will be confirmed through DNA testing before it is relied on for future mating predictions. Leela gives us the potential to develop black and tan merle, blue-based merle and chocolate merle combinations through suitable future pairings.
Cookie — Upcoming Chocolate and Tan Merle
Cookie is a developing chocolate and tan merle female being considered for the future of our programme. Before entering the breeding programme, she will complete the appropriate DNA, physical-health and temperament assessments. Her final colour genetics will also be confirmed so that any future pairings can be planned accurately and responsibly.
Each female is assessed as an individual. Colour potential alone does not determine whether a dog enters or remains in our breeding programme. Health, breathing, temperament, structure, movement, reproductive suitability and overall quality of life remain central to every decision.
How We Breed Merle Pugs Responsibly
Merle requires more careful breeding management than many other coat traits. A merle dog must not be paired with another dog carrying merle, because puppies that inherit merle from both parents can have a higher risk of serious hearing, vision and developmental problems.
For this reason, all merle dogs retained within our breeding programme are female. A Le Epitome merle female will only be considered for pairing with a male confirmed through DNA testing as non-merle.
Keeping merle on one side of our programme creates a simple and consistent breeding structure. However, it is the genetic status of both parents—not whether the merle parent is male or female—that provides the important safeguard.
We do not rely on coat appearance alone. Some merle variants can produce very little visible pattern and may be described as hidden or cryptic merle. DNA results help us confirm that a proposed sire does not carry a merle variant before a mating is approved.
Merle testing is considered alongside the wider compatibility of the proposed parents. We also assess inherited disease results, breathing, physical health, structure, movement, temperament, reproductive history, relatedness and genetic diversity.
Learn more about our wider French Bulldog and Pug health-screening programme and our dog colour and coat genetics guide .
Possible Merle Pug Colours and Coats
Merle changes the way a Pug’s underlying coat colour appears rather than creating one single colour by itself. The puppies possible from any mating therefore depend on the colour and coat genetics inherited from both parents.
Through Cinnamon, Leela and Cookie, our developing programme may eventually produce combinations including chocolate merle, chocolate and tan merle, black and tan merle, blue-based merle, cream merle and other related colour patterns.
Cinnamon also carries the long-haired or fluffy coat gene. This creates the longer-term possibility of selected fluffy merle Pug lines when paired with a suitable male carrying compatible coat genetics.
Not every mating can produce every colour or coat type, and appearance cannot always confirm the complete genetic picture. We use DNA results, pedigree information and the known genetics of both parents when planning and describing future litters.
You can explore our wider coloured, merle and fluffy Pug programme and our chocolate Pug lines .
Future Merle Pug Puppies
Our merle Pug lines are part of a developing, multi-generational breeding programme. Merle puppies will only become available when we have a suitable female, a compatible DNA-confirmed non-merle male and a proposed mating that also meets our wider health, temperament and breeding standards.
We cannot guarantee that a particular mating will produce merle puppies, a specific sex, exact markings or a particular colour combination. Litter size, pregnancy outcomes and the traits inherited by individual puppies cannot be known in advance.
Families interested in a future merle Pug are encouraged to join our waiting list. Placement is based on household suitability, puppy temperament, timing and overall fit rather than colour preference alone.
View our upcoming and available puppies , or apply to join the Le Epitome Kennels waiting list