I think you're right, it's just in the other picture, she looked like she had MUCH less pigment, and the eye is so hard to get a good look at from the side like that. I'm happy she's not a DM and just high white! She's a CUTIE too, lol.
I think you're right about that too, looking back from puppy to adult pictures makes it stand out more to me. At first it just looked like super heavy ticking, but I think the shoulder and the eye patch are a give-away to being merle.
It IS interesting that the definitely merles don't have ticking in their white though lol.
The high white pup, I think for a dog to get piebald, they have to inherit a copy from both their parents, so that gives a slight clue as to who her father could be, at the least.
Isn't there a gene in BCs, Aussies, ect that controls whether or not the dog has a "body splash" of white? Is that the piebald gene being expressed? I think Jones has that gene, I'm pretty sure Eve (RD's Eve) has it. I know there was a conversation about HW before, I think it was said it's responsible for Color Headed Whites in Collies as well?
Someone correct me if I'm wrong please.