How did you ever choose!
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| I'm not fond of the one blue one brown eye thing either... just looks weird to me. But then again, I wasn't fond of blue eyes in oes either, but now, I'm trying to decide if maybe I would like one with blue eyes. My next oes is due to be born June 20th, and I know that I would like different markings than Dancer, and I know that I want a girl, but other than that I really don't know. I have to pay closer attention to temperment, type, body structure and of course health before anything else, but I really would like different markings than Dancer as well. I can't decide if I want a pup with more white and maybe blue eyes, or more black, on her head. I think the ones with lots of black are cute as pups but as they mature and their coat changes it makes it hard to see any white at all. I can't wait till I can go see them, but they won't even be born till late june, so it would be early july when i first get to go see them.
If you're just picking a pup for pet, I would just pick the one that steals your heart and seems to form a bond with you quickly. Whichever one you choose is going to be a member of your family, and hopefully your best friend, for many many years to come.... |
I know how exciting it is waiting for a puppy! Times seems to slow down. The problem is that I lOVED 4 different puppies. The one that found me has the two different eyes. I am not sure if I am comfortable with that. I really don't know. Is it true that you judge the dog's size by the size of their paws or is it part of the "other" myths that have to do with size? 
I have the four pictures posted all over my house to see if a decision comes to me. Sigh! |
| I've often heard people comment on the size of a puppies paws and relate that to the full grown size of the dog... and maybe there is something to it... that's how farmers often choose the best working dogs.... but I don't know if there's any real fact to it... |
Willowsprite wrote: .. that's how farmers often choose the best working dogs.... but I don't know if there's any real fact to it... I think that is how my parents chose me at the hospital.
Strangely enough, I think it's also how Joan chose me. Sorry I don't have anything constructive to add to this thread. All I can think of is "How great and yet how tough it is to have these horrible decisions!" Good Luck! |
| Haaa ha! Ron that is funny! At least Joan had the advantage of seeing you all grown up! I am having a hard time immagining what these little guys will look like when they are grown. This sure is a tough decision. At the end when I do chose I feel like I have abandoned the other puppies. I am sure they will have good homes, for the waiting list for the litter was out the door. But now I understand how people go get A puppy and come back with two. They just couldn't decide. Hmph. |
 You could come home with all four!
That would be me... "oooohhhh, they're all so cute, ok guys crawl into my coat!" |
| When we went to pick out our new puppy, after a year of false pregnancies and bad studs, we took our older dog, Norman, along to help. All of the puppies were amazingly cute. There were 14 in the litter all of them wiggling around in the welping pen! (Talk about overwhelming!) We decided we wanted another male so they took away the females. Then we had them take the giant puppy away because we didn't want a bigger dog. The puppies that were left were brought out one at a time and we played with them to see what they were like. The decision was so hard! We finally put each puppy down with Norman to see what would happen. Two of the puppies were really rough with him. One puppy cried like he was being murdered and the last puppy just walked up beside Norman poked at him with his nose and then laid down and snuggled up with him. That was it, puppy chose us. |
| My breeder gave me the choice of seven puppies- 6 females and a male. They were all in a barn and when I went in, all but one clambered over to me. They were so cute that I was having problems. To make it even harder, my sister and her husband had come with me and they each had their favs. The male was adorable- really big even at eight weeks but I'd already decided that I wanted a girl.
Anyway- the one who didn't come over straight away was sleeping. She woke up when her litter-mates moved away. She just rolled onto her back and yawned. Cute li'l pink tongue sticking out. She didn't even open her eyes- just rolled over and tried to get cosy again. I watched her and it was like she couldn't get warm enough so she woke up, came over to me and fell asleep on my shoe! So I picked her up, turned to my sister and said "This is her- too bad she hasn't one blue and one brown eye" (that was my particular preference- it is weird but I like it). So, the puppy yawned again and opened her eyes. Lo and behold- brown left eye, blue right eye. I squealed, I was so happy! On the way home, I was sitting in the back of the car with her. She was so good! Just lay (and slept!) on my lap. We stopped at a service station after two hours and I got out of the car leaving her there with my sister and her hubby. When I came back towards the car, I could hear Blue crying and whinging. She didn't stop until I got back in next to her. That was it- instant love. Even now, almost six months later, she still cries if I go away. |
| That's so sweet, I love hearing stories about how sheepies find their uprights! |
| Wow! Thats sounds so great! The puppy that I am considering also came up to me first, and layed down on my shoes. But again, she has the two different colored eyes that I think is a little freaky. And judging my her paws, she won't be a big dog. I really wanted a nice, large OES. Do I just forget all my preferances and go with her? She really chose me! By the way, we went to the North Shore Animal League today and adopted two 8 week old kittens! They are soooo cute! Running around the house like mad. Two boys, brothers that came from the same litter. Had to take both of them. They have Upper Respiratory Infection and a pink eye, so no one wanted them. We really didn't care. Took them and all 8 bottles of medicine they need. Brought them home and they look better already! So the sheepy is going to have two brothers! They are so wonderful! Thanks for all your feedback! Its good to hear your stories. |
Marley I am glad you made it through the stroms and had a safe trip here to St. Louis. When we got Drake he was the only male left to chose from but right before arrival time people who wanted the other male backed out and we could have changed our minds if we wanted. My husband wanted to consider it because the other male was larger but I had my heart set on Drake because he just seemed so much more alert then the other male who seemed laid back and would not have fit in with my very active kids. If you have narrowed it down to a couple then I would ask the Breeder about their personality and try to match it to yours. They probably spend alot of time with the puppies and could tell you how active or laid back they are. As far as the eyes go I prefer the brown eyes but the puppies personality would be more important then the eye color or size. Have the breeder tell about each puppies personality without actually telling you which puppy they are talking about, that might make it easier to decide (hope that makes sense). Finally, maybe you did not really make a connection with the puppy that had the brown and blue eyes could it be that maybe the colors of the puppy's eyes made the puppy stand out to you not puppy's personality? Good luck  |
| I would go by personality first!
The wall-eye is very common in OES and I think you would get used to it! I forget that Presley has two different color eyes. Brittney has two different colored eyes as well - actually one of her eyes is half brown / half blue! Presley's are much more noticeable - one being very light blue the other very dark brown! I keep Presley in full coat - so her eyes are often covered by her fur! I don't think you can accurately judge their size yet either - Presley was very small (10 lbs at 12 weeks) and has grown to be my tallest (too tall for the standard) OES. You also don't want them to be over-sized - that can contribute to health issues down the line (hip problems, arthritis, etc.). Just adding my two cents.... Kristen |
Puddy also has one blue and one green eye. I actually read somewhere (it's been a while) that it is actually a sign of good breeding  Of course I do not believe everything I read on the internet. Besides Pud having two different color eyes, I have to Aussie's that have different color eyes. Boo has one blue and one green and my sweet Maggie Mae has one half blue/brown and one brown.
I have also found that you just get used to the different color eyes. To me it just adds character. As if a sheepie needed any more character than they already have. |
| I've never heard of an OES with a green eye. That's different.
The "merle" gene in both the Aussies and the OES attribute to the one blue/one brown (if I'm not mistaken). Anyone involved with breeding would know more - but it is important in breeding programs to select sire/dam with consideration to eye color (two merles often produce puppies with birth defects such as deafness and blindness)! Deafness is very common in Aussies and OES - particularly in poor breeding programs - because they don't consider these things. In OES, two blue eyes and a lot of white coloring could indicate hearing problems. I don't think the wall-eyed says anything about the quality of breeding - Presley is wall-eyed and is not from a quality breeding program. Kristen |
Oops  Pud has one blue and one brown. My Aussie is the one with the green eye. It is common in a red merle aussie, for them to have the green eye. My red merle is a pup of my blue female. What is strange, both parents had blue eyes or a combo of one blue and one brown and both were blue merle. |
| If you are getting a pup for a pet, just go with your heart. We each have some thing or some action that we personally find endearing, a yawn, a wiggle, whatever speaks to our heart. Bottom line is you can rarely go wrong with an OES. They have so much love to give and do, over and over again.
I wouldn't be concerned with the feet size. Maggie, my 9 year old is about 80 pounds and has little tiny feet. We call her mountain goat feet. Baily is about 22 weeks and has huge mitts so who knows. Lorraine |
| I love hearing all the stories! I think you are all right, and I am going to go with the little girl who sat on my feet. She is adorable!!! I am getting over the one blue and one brown eye thing. I am going to ask the breeder about the personality traits as they develope. The puppies are only 3 weeks old, so their personalities are not developed yet. So, now its down to two puppies, in case the one I fell in love is a not right for our family! |
| My breeder chose Merlin from the litter of 9 males and 2 females. My preference was a female but they were already spoken for. Ironically I was just thinking of this yesterday, which one I would have chosen? I'm glad she chose for me based on personality and experience as I would have had a tough time choosing for myself.
The first time I laid eyes on him it was instant love. |
| Hi
Just my thoughts as a breeder. I would research my breeder and choose one I trust. Personally that would not be anyone that lets people in to look and and choose puppies at three weeks as the chances aof the puppies catching a germ and getting sick is very high. Also the personalities are not formed yet at three weeks. I have people that have purchased dogs from me and tried another breeder and refuse to buy from anyone else as my dogs are 1)gorgeous, 2)have wonderful temperaments and 3) I know how to match people and puppies. If the person is experienced I will let them choose of course but I will always let the person know which ones are best for the purpose they are looking for. I also breed for show dogs and you can not tell the conformation well enough to choose puppies untill 8 weeks. At that point my pups have had 2 rounds of shots and people are welcome to come and look at them. Until then they may look at pictures as I update them. If you have ever lost a pup, particularly to parvo you can understand this.. I have a friend who raises sGSD's and had some one come to look at a 16 week pup and did not realize they had just stopped at the humane society to see what was there and she lost 6 puppies after he walked through her kennel and pet her pups. It was horrible and as an aside very costly both in bills and losst pups, but the worst was the suffering of the pups and the vet say another one did not make it, so many times. As to your pup I would choose the one who's personality most fits your life style. Especially if all you neeed is a pet and not a working or show dog Carrie |
| Unless youa re showing I would pick personality. One blue one brown eye would be strange to begin with but in a couple of weeks you would wonder why you thought that, it would so normal to you by then. HAving a puppy come to you means they are hopefully going to be people friendly, that would mean allot to me. |
| Hi everyone.
Wow do I agree with Carrie. Moms and pups need to be protected until 8 weeks and that's only with all shots given. Even at 8 weeks I would strickly limit access to need to know. Although puppies haven't really developed personalities at a early age I have noticed that they carry traits that they show even before their eyes are opened (if one watches close), that they carry for life if they are not dramatically altered in some way. Pretty neat I think. For the record, I love pretty walleyes, a brown and a blue. I haven't owned any but I did have my first walleye puppy and he was georgous. It is different to get used to but you see so much more expression in their eyes when they are blue. Zach |
| I agree I wouldn't be picking a pup at 3 weeks, they are barely coordinated to do anything. I let people mostly friends and family "look" at the pups after they were 5 weeks, but mostly 6-9 weeks (after first shots) for interested buyers and interaction with them then I questioned them about what they were like and hopefully helped them in deciding which was a good pup. Letting them know personalities are still changing.
Remy has one blue and one brown, I love it, and we get so much attention it is fun to take her out. I would want to wait until I could see how the pups play with each other, how they interact with the mom and with you. If you decided you wanted a female, and this is the breeder you want, then it should be done on a first deposit/first pick situation...waiting until they are older. Also a first to greet you puppy could be a sign of a dominant pup...altho you won't know until they are alot older. Pups change their pack status throughout those final weeks, and it's hard to tell. Tag started out being so passive, slept alot, stayed with the girls...then when he turned 7 weeks his behaviour changed, he became more aggressive in play...choosing to wrestle and fight with Remy(mom), he'd hump the siblings, and cuddle up with me, or anyone that held him...I chose to keep him, to make sure he was well socialized and never become overly dominant. We are starting lessons this week, and he knows in this house he won't be alpha. In another house with small kids, he could easily take over, and when he grows into his massive paws, he could be too much dog for the wrong family. Good luck, and we look forward to seeing the pictures. |
| Long lasting thread! Just my 2 cents:
Basil was one of 13, 12 of them tried to chew my toes off (never wear sandals), he sat back. He won! As for bi-colored eyes.......our dear Crumpet and her sister were both bi's one blue on a black patch, one brown on the black eye patch. Just on a whim we took the blue........what a great dog!!!! Right now Jack the black guy is a bi-color....everyone else sports browns. I agree with earlier post, in a few weeks you won't even notice. As for age: I really like to see the pups stay with Mom and littermates up to 8-10 weeks because from weaning on they start learning their puppy manners from Mom and littermates. Early socialization. |
| I think the blue eye brown eye thing is a a uniqueness of character and individuality!!! When I got Tasker I really didn't have much choice....... There were 10 puppies and they were WAY MORE than I could afford. I was soooooooo dissappointed and I told the breeder that I guessed it wasn't in the cards for me. She must have felt sorry for me because as we were getting ready to go she told me that she did have one puppy that she didn't think she should ell because it had an "objectionable" characteristic...... he ha !A teeny tiny spot of brown on his butt!!!!! Objectionable MY BUTT!!!!!! She gave me a real "deal" on him and I had to promise to neuter him (which I was planning to). Best deal I ever made, the brown dissappeared with his puppy coat and he's the most wonderfullest dog I've ever known.
As far as size goes he was average to small size for the litter and now weighs 97 lbs so I think the paw thing is a bunch of hooey
But no matter whihc pup you pick 6 months from now you'll be madly in love and that will be the perfect pup for you!!!! |
| My dog had a right blue eye and left brown. It seemed that he would sometimes stare at us with that "evil" eye, but then again between haircuts you often saw neither eye clearly. Most people never realized he had different colored eyes until it was pointed out specifically. |
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