Westminster

[Romy]

Originally Posted by Spiritwind

If you read his other articles on Double merles (he has several on there), as well as some of the comments made below each article he is also making claims that regular blue merles are less healthy with higher chances of deafness and other issues, compared to sables and tri-colors.

I've wondered this about colobomas. Have you ever seen one in a non-merle collie? It would be interesting to know whether it's genetic, or if it's a developmental defect due to the merle gene.

[Spiritwind]

Originally Posted by Romy

I've wondered this about colobomas. Have you ever seen one in a non-merle collie? It would be interesting to know whether it's genetic, or if it's a developmental defect due to the merle gene.

Oh I have absolutely seen colobomas in all colors. The last coloboma I had in a litter was probably about 51/2-6 yrs ago. He was a rough tri male (from a sable x tri breeding and there were very few merles in the pedigree). He had a very small "pin point" (as some people call it) coloboma in one eye, that the optho said based on location wouldn't get worse and should not affect vision in that eye much. He actually lives with my mom, she took him a few months after her old collie had to be put down several years ago. I actually didn't end up keeping anything from that litter. He was the only one with a coloboma in the litter.

I know of a tri stud dog that has a small coloboma...

And several years ago the last couple Collie litters a friend of mine had ended up with some horrible eye checks. They were tri x sable breedings.. and she got some colobomas as well as a couple puppies with detached retinas in one eye each. It really was a mess. That was about 7 yrs ago.

When I first started in Collies, there was a breeder I met up north who had a lot of normal eyed dogs. She almost always bred normal eye x normal eye. I have to tell you she got some of the worst eye checks from those breedings... she always got colobomas and even some detached retinans in there.

Being VERY new to collies at the time (at that point, I had collies maybe 2-3 yrs, and they were very pet quality, though I didn't know it) that really scared me. Obviously her dogs may have been normal eyed (carriers) and were carriers for much worse eye checks.. and produced it!

[AdrianneIsabel]

Originally Posted by Red Chrome

LOL Maybe...but I don't think she will appreciate the hairspray as much as Judge did. I think he likes being "pretty" and that includes his toenails painted. Which I did paint black to make them look nicer in appearance!

I have a force dryer at home for fluffing and de-shedding.

Yeah... Sloan finds grooming of any sort to be offensive, I won't be that mean to have you do it, maybe just some teachings. lol

[Red Chrome]

I'll show you how for sure! And then video you trying it with Sloan! lol lol It is actually not that hard once you get the hang of the basics.

[lizzybeth727]

Originally Posted by Spiritwind

I love blues... love the tris.. but a good dog cannot be a bad color. If I had to choose, sables would actually be my least favorite (don't tell the dogs, 6 of my 8 are sables)...

*whispers so Keegan doesn't hear* me too, LOL. Before he was born his breeder asked me what color I preferred, and I told her that sable was my least favorite of the four. We were expecting all four colors in his litter, but there ended up being no tris at all. And Keegan was the only smooth so that made my decision for me.

Of course I think Keegan's color is quite lovely, LOL, and the sables are growing on me. But I do hope to have a tri one day.

Originally Posted by Romy

Keegan's breeder told me that of all the colors, tricolors are the most difficult to find homes for. Pet homes gravitate toward flashy blues and the "Lassie" style sables. It's probably that accursed big black dog syndrome. Personally I like all the collie colors. Maybe some day she'll talk me into one. lol.

I think tris don't really look like collies to a lot of people. I mean, sables are obviously collies because fo lassie, and people recognize blue merles as related to aussies and so it's not difficult to convince them it's a collie. But tris - especially smooth-coated tris - I imagine are confused with other breeds even more than the others.

[Spiritwind]

Originally Posted by lizzybeth727

I think tris don't really look like collies to a lot of people. I mean, sables are obviously collies because fo lassie, and people recognize blue merles as related to aussies and so it's not difficult to convince them it's a collie. But tris - especially smooth-coated tris - I imagine are confused with other breeds even more than the others.

You know in the original Lassie, the book, not the TV show, Lassie was actually a tri-color (well black white and tan). If they had used a tri for the movie and TV shows, you know Tris would have been what people think of as Collies today.