To get a Blue merle or not

When a good breeder does a breeding they are looking to improve on some aspect....there are no perfect confirmation dogs out there! So, you do the breeding and there is a couple of pups in the litter that the breeder might want to "run on" for a time to see how they develop, especially if the parents are not related (outcrossed) therefore possibly maturing at a different pace than what her own line does. After some time, the breeder decides that the pups are nice but not what she was wanting from that litter. They may still be show quality but the breeder decides to sell them as pet puppies. Many of the dogs I ran on and sold could easily finish in the breed ring but didn't improve what I already had so they were sold. I didn't like to sell to show homes, with the exception of a couple of people that I trusted, so these lovely pups went to homes just to be loved or to play performance in. Ask the breeder what drew her to these pups and why she decided to sell them. It is important that the breeder was working with them, getting them out and socialized, teaching basic lead work and table work while she was running them on. Colour is preference only. Temperament and health are much more important.
 
Perhaps they have a confirmation problem--going to be too small, too big, etc. You could ask her why she is selling those two. If she breeds to show, it's probably just they don't measure up to show standards. I've had three shelties. One sable and one a blue merle--both were oversized. Just more of them for me to love. My current boy is a tri color, he's a shade under 16". From my experiences I think color is just not an issue unless you are wanting a particular color. We wanted a Blue Merle with two blue eyes. We found our Randy and he was perfect. My sable boy Cooper was perfect, and my tri boy Casey is perfect. Some people prefer females, some males. I prefer the males. I've only had one female, a mix breed beagle/border collie. She was a bit moody and had her moments--just like us women.
 
I always said that someday I would have one in every colour!

To me, personality is the main thing but I admit that I'm kinda vain about looks, even in non-show dogs. I like attractive dogs! So if the markings don't seem right, then I would probably turn off. I've seen stunning Merle's and I've seen not so much. I will always lean to the stunner. Terrible, eh?
 
BarbV said:
...To me, personality is the main thing but I admit that I'm kinda vain about looks, even in non-show dogs. I like attractive dogs! So if the markings don't seem right, then I would probably turn off. I've seen stunning Merle's and I've seen not so much. I will always lean to the stunner. Terrible, eh?
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I don't think that looking for a specific color is "vain" or "terrible" at all. It seems that whenever someone suggests here that they are looking for a particular color, a fair number of posters will chime in with, "this trait is more important" or "that trait is more important (usually personality)". The obvious presupposition is that the color is the only criteria the poster has for a new companion. For me, personality, health, age (I want a puppy) fitness for at least some level of participation in doggy sports are priorities (and a given). As such, given all of that, color is the primary variable left and the only element that I am likely to mention when discussing my search. None of that means that elements other than color are/are not important. Plus, just as an aside, (even though I do not give much weight to contrary opinions of others once I make my decisions), I do find it a bit off putting when someone supposes that color is the only motivator in a searcher's list of criteria.
 
To me color is an "oh, by the way". But my favorite sheltie of the heart was a sable. I have always been drawn to them mostly because they are familiar. I have also had tri, bi & now a merle. For some reason merles never appealed to me as much. That changed when I got Bailey (with help from this group). She is the most fun & smile making sheltie. Her personality is the thing that I love most. Everyone notices her because the merle is so uncommon here. Any shelties get noticed where I am because there are so few of them. I have 4 now & wouldn't trade any. Pick the sheltie with your heart unless showing is important to you. Then I say still pick with your heart and your head.
 
I have no issue with someone wanting a specific colour and patterning when choosing a dog. I am considering another Terv. I would prefer a female, black masked with a good layer of tipping. For sure, temperament is the most important followed by physical soundness but if given a choice of pups with those two things, I will look at the darker faced pup. I won't even look at a litter if it is out of Tervs with little to no tipping on the body coat unless it is present in the background of the parents and apparent in the pups. I am going to live with this dog for many years, one would hope. I had better like the look of it. It also has to have a lovely face and expression but that's the breeder in me. I really am turned off by a masculine faced bitch.
 
Calliesmom said:
you weren't the only one who had no clue....
I was sure that another sable was coming home to Lexi and Bentley- I was immensely surprised to see the pic of the little biblue boy:yes:
in a short while, there will be the sheltie rainbow in Ohio:winkgrin:
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I'm really enjoying starting to just read all these posts around the forum. So grateful for all you gals and guys and your experiences!
 
All good points with one caveat, not all breeders to confirmation. Spitfire's breeder did agility. As far as I know no confirmation yet Spitfire's brother was a confirmation dog and other than being on the small side for a male Spitfire seems to have good form (well except his brain LOL). But otherwise spot on get a pup that has the personality you desire as much as possible, a good foundation is easier to build on.

EDIT: Oh and both Sca and Spitfire were supposed to be Blue Merles with dark eyes.... would take either of them for the world
 
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