Offended a Breeder

Tara O. <boxertara RemoveThis @netscape.net> wrote:
>Why buy a chocolate when you really prefer the look of a
>yellow?

The reason for doing so is because your criteria for health
and temperament should be far important to you than color
is.

Now, I'm not saying that the following is true of Labs as
I can only really speak to Briards. But in my breed, I've
seen a number of prospective buyers give as one of their
three or four criteria "clear red tawny." Now, I *know*
the lines that are producing clear red tawny; they are
largely being produced by breeders whose breeding programs
put that color above anything else. Personally, I think
I am much happier with my tawny-with-an-overlay (a color
that many in my breed consider EXTREMELY ugly) than I
would be with most all of the clear reds I've seen.

JFWIW,

Dianne

"Tara O." <boxertara.TakeThisOut@netscape.net> wrote in message
news:bhofsk$1hqq2$1@ID-92443.news.uni-berlin.de...
>
> Maybe I'm being obstinate but I think that its perfectly reasonable to
want
> a specific color, or shade within a color, if you have already done the
> legwork of selecting a quality breeder with quality dogs.
>

I happen to agree. If you aren't looking for a puppy SOLELY by color, which
is a problem of many uninformed puppy buyers, and you are patient enough to
wait for the right puppy of a color you prefer, then I don't see the
problem. In labs, for example - I like would not want a "dudley" colored
yellow, because I find it very unappealing. In my breed, shelties, there
isn't one particular color I wouldn't want, but some markings that I don't
care for - very wide white blazes on the face, for example, or very solid
grayish merles without a lot of dark or white. That doesn't mean that if the
perfect puppy for me came along I would automatically reject it, but if I
had the choice I would seek a puppy with markings that I prefer. I probably
wouldn't approach a breeder stating "I want X marked puppy" because I know
that would probably turn them off, though. I'd reserve that for later, after
I had determined if this was possibly a breeder I'd consider buying from,
and if the litter potentially had the color I sought (no reason to look for
a blue from a sable litter, for example!) Then, if there were any
possibilities in the litter I'd evaluate them on all the points, color being
one of the last issues.
However, it can't hurt to be flexible. I ended up with my big, brown monster
dog in a similar way. I planned on a small brown girl, told the breeder I
was looking for a small brown girl, and met the litter which had some small
brown girls in it. Over a course of several weeks, evaluated the puppies and
ultimately did not like the small brown girls for various reasons. I could
have moved on and sought out another breeder at that point, if I was
dedicated to holding out for a small brown girl! However, a large brown boy
ended up being exactly what I wanted, even if I didn't know it when I
started my search. He's now turning out to be an awesome agility dog, has
started flyball lessons and learned the box turn in one class, is a
potential therapy dog, and is overall simply a fantastic member of the pack.

Christy