Which one to go with?!? (breeder)

[Lizmo]

I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but don't worry about color or smooth or rough coat. It's really so not worth it.

When I first started searching for puppy-parents, I was sure I wanted prick ears, rough coat, and DEFINITELY not tri-color! And smooth coat? Not a chance! Over the years, one of my favorite dogs has turned out to be a tri smooth coat! And when they told me Blaze would probably be a smooth coat, I wasn't too pleased. But then they showed me in person one of their dogs that was a smooth coat and I fell in love! And over the years, Blaze being a smooth coat is probably one of the best things that I never hoped for in terms of wash 'n wear.

[Shai]

Having the breeder close enough to meet the dogs ahead of time would be a big plus for me (provided the meeting went well). Thunderstorm sensitivity isn't necessarily the same as sound sensitivity and I don't know how inheritable it is. That breeder #2's dogs aren't sound sensitive to gunfire but are raised and trained near a gun range is sort of a moot point...they are being gradually conditioned from day one to accept gunfire as a normal noise.

I guess what I'm saying is I would need to know more and preferably meet the dogs. If you really are that set on merle and want a dog from active herding trial lines, your choices are going to be pretty limited though so the east coast breeder may be your best bet.

[Michiyo-Fir]

Breeder 2's dogs are not sound sensitive in general as far as she said, not only to gunfire.

Breeder 1's dogs (2 of them) are sensitive to sharp sounds on TV too like things exploding or weird sounds (sirens) and that's what really worries me.

I guess I will see if I can try to meet breeder 1 and at least see her dogs before completely getting her off my list. She's not that close though at 5 hours away.

I think the more I think about it, the more I believe I like breeder 2 a little better. I know one agility person through the internet that has had 3 or 4 generations of breeder 2's dogs. A total of about 6 of them throughout the year. All of them except for 1 has lived till 15 years old and competed to around 10-12 in agility. So I know her dogs are long lived and healthy. Plus, because this handler is amazing, all her dogs have been able to get their ADCh. To me, that's a sign of a capable dog. I'm sure I can't handle at that level at all but I love to see others that could!

I don't really care about having a merle dog and I definitely don't care about prick ears, rough coat or anything like that. I just know I want a male pup and the thing I'm the most concerned with is getting a healthy pup that has a sound temperament and a good all around house dog.

One other thing that's bothering me about breeder 1 is that I can't seem to find anyone that knows her well except for person B that I mentioned previously. Person B does trial and seems like a reputable source of knowledge but she keeps pushing breeder 1's dogs on me. She keeps saying that breeder 1 is the one I should pick and is really steering me towards breeder 1. It's making me feel a bit iffy actually. The other thing is breeder 1 didn't even reply my email the first time. She only replied when I emailed a second time using person B's name as a reference...

I think I'll meet breeder 1 anyways and see how it goes but I'm leaning towards breeder 2 even if I have to fly in to meet the dogs or get a pup shipped.

[Shai]

Originally Posted by Michiyo-Fir

I know one agility person through the internet that has had 3 or 4 generations of breeder 2's dogs. A total of about 6 of them throughout the year. All of them except for 1 has lived till 15 years old and competed to around 10-12 in agility. So I know her dogs are long lived and healthy. Plus, because this handler is amazing, all her dogs have been able to get their ADCh. To me, that's a sign of a capable dog. I'm sure I can't handle at that level at all but I love to see others that could!

^now that sounds like a strong recommendation

Good luck

[Lizmo]

Originally Posted by Michiyo-Fir

I think I'll meet breeder 1 anyways and see how it goes but I'm leaning towards breeder 2 even if I have to fly in to meet the dogs or get a pup shipped.

That sounds like a good way to do things (I mean meeting #1, even if you may not be leaning towards her).

[RD]

Mind PMing me the names of the breeders? I am just curious.

Breeder 2 sounds better to me. A lot of border collies ARE sound sensitive to a certain extent, but if it's important to you to not have to work around that, then definitely go with a breeder whose dogs don't display those tendencies.

[PitBullLove]

Yeah, go meet her first. But I didn't know you meant they were sketched out by the TV when you said they were sensitive to noise. Personally that would rule it out for me. Unless she's practically deaf and she blasts the volume. Sooo I would personally go with breeder #2.