Blue Merle Great Danes

Question
My sister and her fiance are looking to adopt a dane. They found a puppy they like, but her fiance found some information online (http://www.all-about-great-danes.com/blue-merle-great-danes.html) stating that puppies resulting from the breeding of a blue merle are prone to health problems, stillborns, etc., and the father of the puppy they want is a blue merle. We could not locate any more information about this topic. Should they be concerned about the health of the pup because of the blue merle?

Answer
All merles are blue and they suffer no worse health than any other canine.  The merle gene is dominant over harlequin and the dogs are essentially the same, it is just that they can't be shown.  It is better not to breed from merles as they can throw whites which are deaf and can also be blind.