If I'm lucky, English Shepherd puppy breath coming soon...

stafinois

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#1
But, not for me. My in-laws. But, I'd get to play with her a lot.

Their Border Collie died 3 weeks after Harry did of a weird illness. They didn't do a necropsy. I wish they had, as her death was very strange.

Anyway, FIL wants a new pup. He was looking at BCs, but he wasn't finding any cheap BYB dogs in the area. I think he can understand why well bred dogs cost more, but my MIL is being a butthead about him spending any money on a dog. She can buy all sorts of stupid crap, but this just isn't important to her.

I pointed out that English Shepherd breeder that is near us, and they have one pup left. Parents are PENNhipped and tested for the MDR1 mutation. Pups are only $500. But, they found some cheaper BCs in other parts of the state. I pointed out the importance of health testing and why you want it, and then pointed out that they are going to spend a ton in gas to drive to pick up the cheaper puppy that isn't tested, making there not be much of a discount. My MIL is kind of hung up on the puppy not having as much white on its face. You know, the important stuff :rolleyes:

So, I gave them the info on why this puppy is a much better choice for them. We shall see if they take it. You can lead a horse to water, but can't make them drink.

In my puppy news, I have rejected the Smooth Collies because I am just not finding breeders that health test and have dogs with structure that I like. I talked to a Malinois friend that had Smoothies, she told me that the Collie community is many years behind other breeds. I really see that. Little if any health testing, even MDR1! People talk all about it being a problem in the breed, but not many seem to be bothering to do anything about it. There is a freaking DNA test! I know it's widespread, but they could at least TRY to start making some breeding decisions on its presence. So, thanks but no thanks.

So, I'm on a waiting list for an ACD pup, and I'm just not feeling it. I need to cancel that order.

In the meantime, I've been talking to friends with Dutch Shepherds, and it looks like I will be getting one of those. The pups are at least a year out from now, so it's going to be a long wait. So, I'm really hoping that my in-laws get a decent pup so that I can maybe offer to train it and hold me over until mine comes.

:dunno:
 

oakash

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Oooooh that's exciting! I hope they decide to go with the health tested pup, and that way you can take pictures and I can get my English Shepherd fix through you :p
 

Aleron

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Hope you have a English Shepherd relative soon :)

I was kind of surprised you opted to go for a Collie after a Mal for the reasons that made you change your mind. I had a wonderful Collie who was fun, drivey and all around a great dog. From time to time, I have thought I wanted another one. Then I start looking and it seems so hard to find what I would want in the breed that I've become pretty "eh" about them at this point. I still often suggest them for people as family pets because IMO they are well suited for that.

All that said, there is this one breeder...

Nirreterrit Smooth Collies - beautiful smoothie without working ability is like sports car without motor
 

Sit Stay

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WOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Although, this will not be good for my puppy fever. Quinn's 1/2 bro that I wanted so bad is leaving for Washington in the new few days and even though realistically I didn't want a pup from this litter and I don't want a pup for a few years, I'm super bummed ):

Which breeder? Feel free to PM if you don't want to post publicly :)
 

stafinois

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Hope you have a English Shepherd relative soon :)

I was kind of surprised you opted to go for a Collie after a Mal for the reasons that made you change your mind. I had a wonderful Collie who was fun, drivey and all around a great dog. From time to time, I have thought I wanted another one. Then I start looking and it seems so hard to find what I would want in the breed that I've become pretty "eh" about them at this point. I still often suggest them for people as family pets because IMO they are well suited for that.

All that said, there is this one breeder...

Nirreterrit Smooth Collies - beautiful smoothie without working ability is like sports car without motor

Yeah, that's what I had in my head when I started looking, but it's not what I found. Sadly, I can't afford to import!! Every Collie I've ever been around was such a lovely dog, but I guess I just didn't look at them very carefully. I started looking around, and most of them are stick straight front & rear, long in the loin, and have terrible muscle tone. There were a few that weren't so bad structurally, but no health testing. So, I decided to look elsewhere.

Husband says no more Belgian herding dogs, but I got him to agree to Dutch Shepherds. Ha.
 

Aleron

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Yeah, that's what I had in my head when I started looking, but it's not what I found. Sadly, I can't afford to import!! Every Collie I've ever been around was such a lovely dog, but I guess I just didn't look at them very carefully. I started looking around, and most of them are stick straight front & rear, long in the loin, and have terrible muscle tone. There were a few that weren't so bad structurally, but no health testing. So, I decided to look elsewhere.

Husband says no more Belgian herding dogs, but I got him to agree to Dutch Shepherds. Ha.
LOL not sure how different that is ;) Better be careful or he'll say no shepherds of any kind!

I was at a judges ed with the Belgians a few years ago and when the judges got to the Belgian ring one thing they asked was "how important is the head type vs. everything else in this breed?". Turns out, they had just come from Collies and were told judging with collies is to be done 75% on the dog's head type. That means structure and everything else should only be a very minor consideration. And seeing a lot of the collies at shows, you can tell that is the case.

I hear ya on not being able to afford an import. I'm not even sure they would be willing to send dogs so far away, not everyone is.
 

stafinois

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LOL not sure how different that is ;) Better be careful or he'll say no shepherds of any kind!

LOL! My husband isn't very dog savvy. They have a separate entry in dog breed books, come in a different color, and are from Holland, not Belgium. Totally different! :p

The thing is, he hated Harry, not Belgians. Harry was sharp, insanely reactive, had no off switch even when he died at seven, and was a VERY dominant dog. I got him pre-husband for protection and French Ring. His foundation was TOTALLY different than what I would do for a family dog now. To be honest, I think that we were damned lucky that he was good with our daughter and didn't kill the cat, all things considered. But, he did try to herd the cat (my husband's baby) around and only tolerated my husband because I did. I guess I can't totally blame him for not being in love with the red furry maniac.

The Dutch will be coming from a good friend, or out of a litter sired by my friend's male with a female that is similar in breeding and temperament to her dogs. I met her through her AmStafs, and she and I have very similar tastes in both those and furry law dogs. I'm pretty confidant that she will choose a social pup that is a working dud out of the litter. I don't have access to Ring or Schutzhund anymore, so I'm just looking for an obedience dog and awesome companion this time around.


I was at a judges ed with the Belgians a few years ago and when the judges got to the Belgian ring one thing they asked was "how important is the head type vs. everything else in this breed?". Turns out, they had just come from Collies and were told judging with collies is to be done 75% on the dog's head type. That means structure and everything else should only be a very minor consideration. And seeing a lot of the collies at shows, you can tell that is the case.

I hear ya on not being able to afford an import. I'm not even sure they would be willing to send dogs so far away, not everyone is.

That makes sense. I had just met all of those nice Collies over the years, and assumed that I could fairly easily find dogs that had nice structure and health testing. I mean, it's not hard to find in other breeds that I like! What a disappointment :(
 

stafinois

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Well, they are going to go look at the puppy tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed that they fall in love with her.

My MIL wants a BYB Border Collie that is $200 less in another part of the state. By the time they drive there and everything, that puppy would probably be more expensive.

Argh. I should go make an entry in that Friends & Family Dog Dumb thread.
 

stafinois

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Well, they bought her. She comes home next Wednesday!

Here is the litter page: COPPER X MAGGIE ~ 2011

14 pups in the litter! Holy cow! The one that is theirs is the one named Ivette. Be prepared for lots of English Shepherd puppy pics :)
 

Sit Stay

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They do come in natural bobs but it's can be uncommon depending on the area. My breeder posted asking if people would still take an ES with a natural bob, but the consensus seemed to be "eh, if it was the PERFECT fit but their tails are so awesome!" though LOL.

She is so freaking cute! I want one! You'll have to post lots of pictures :)

eta; OK, I really want Irving!
 

Lizmo

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I was curious about the tails, too. Interesting! I didn't know that.

Those are awesome looking dogs - even cuter pups!
 

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