Merle is a marking pattern in canine coats that appears as a marbling of color in a solid coat. the merle gene displays incomplete dominance. cscs individuals display a solid coat cmcs individuals are merle and show patches of fur with a lighter, mottled effect cmcm individuals are "double merle" and show patches of fur with much more pronounced lightening another gene, fgf5, also influences coat phenotype and determines whether dogs display long or short coats, with short coats being dominant to long coats. part a determine the proportion of offspring phenotypes that would result when two merle dogs mate, if one dog is true-breeding for the long-coat trait and the other dog is true-breeding for the short-coat trait.