[prairiemommy]

Hi, I'm new here. We are currently looking for a collie puppy to add to our family. Last night we went and visited with 3 from a litter (the others have been adopted or are being kept for showing purposes by the breeder). All three were males. There was one puppy that the kids liked the best - and surprisingly they all agreed!

At any rate, on to my question. I did ask about CEA when we were there and the breeder said that all her dogs/puppies are tested and they don't breed any that have bad eyes because what they are really going for are show dogs without any flaws. Okay, sounds great.

When I got home, I checked their website to show the kids the pic of the puppy they liked best and under the puppy's pic it says "mild eyes" as opposed to "normal eyes" which is what it says under the other two brothers that we saw. What does "mild eyes" mean? Is it bad? I do plan on phoning the breeder to ask this question but I can't until later today so I thought I'd ask here first.

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

 

[agility collie mom]

Does the breeder guarantee the puppy? Are you planning on breeding or just want a pet? If just a pet mild eye anomaly should not be a problem. My male's eyes are perfectly normal however my female's are not. They are both just pets so it is really not a concern except if there was a chance for detached retinas (which she does not have.) Here is a link with information.
http://www.barkbytes.com/medical/med0033.htm

 

[prairiemommy]

Thanks so much for the info!

What I gathered from that link is that there is a small chance that there might be a small problem but it is still very unlikely. And that the breeder should know already if there is a slight retinal detachment (and technically shouldn't be selling that pup if there is). Is that correct?

I am pretty sure the breeder guarantees the pups but I will make sure to ask today. This puppy would definitely be only for a family pet - we just want a loyal and happy dog to keep us company!

Is there anything else I should ask the breeder when I call later?

Thanks so much.

 

[agility collie mom]

Thanks so much for the info!

What I gathered from that link is that there is a small chance that there might be a small problem but it is still very unlikely. And that the breeder should know already if there is a slight retinal detachment (and technically shouldn't be selling that pup if there is). Is that correct?
Yes you are correct. A good breeder would not sell a pup with this problem.

I am pretty sure the breeder guarantees the pups but I will make sure to ask today. This puppy would definitely be only for a family pet - we just want a loyal and happy dog to keep us company!

I would also ask about this:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1592&aid=412

Is there anything else I should ask the breeder when I call later?

Thanks so much.

I'm dying to see a picture. What color sable/white, tri, blue merle or white factor? They are just wonderful family dogs!

Thought you might enjoy this link!

http://dogstime.blogspot.com/2009/03/rough-collie-rough-collie-is-breed-of.html

 

[prairiemommy]

Here are some pics:

http://www.laud-dogs.com/tawny.html

He's the puppy on the fourth line down on the left side. He's a little guy - smaller than his brothers but the same size as his sisters were. He was very cuddly and the kids just laid down and let the dogs love them up. It was awesome. The parents were there too and they were so calm and nice with my kids. The mom was annoyed with her puppies jumping on her but she never got short-tempered with them at all - she just had this look of, "Oh please take them all home with you! I'm done!".

We are going to see this one other puppy hopefully next week sometime:

http://www.mts.net/~scrick/puppies.html (second one down)

The kids really, really like the little one though. We are all very, very excited at the thought of getting a collie. This is the culmination of months of research on what breed would fit our family best and we're finally at the "almost bringing one home" stage and the kids are just thrilled!

Do you do agility with your dogs? My son is desperate to try it with our new dog once it is old enough.

Thanks again for all the links and info!

 

[agility collie mom]

The puppy your family has chosen is a real cutie. Looks like he is a white-factor sable and white! He looks fat and healthy. Mom has a sweet look about her.

Yes I do agility with both of my collies. Rio is more advanced. He is my tri-colored male. My instructor calls him the big jumpin' dog because he jumps 24" in class. He can jump as high as 32". But his favorite is the weave poles.

Savannah my blue merle female is in her third attempt at beginning agility. Her focus is not quite there yet. But she seems to really enjoy it. She did ralley o too. We may take another class in that. It seems to help with her focus.

How old is your son that wants to do agility? Is there a local 4H around you. Some of the clubs will do dog agility for kids, which I think is great!

 

[Rough_Collies2008]

CEA is very common in Collies(85-95% are affected or are carriers). It is good that they are testing their eyes.

If a dog is affected it is important to know what type of abnormality is going on. Some use a grading system, which I like. I, personally, would stay away from a dog with more then a Grade II. If the puppy you are looking at is mild, that is just fine IMO. I would not be scared off.

I was trying to find my older males paper, with his report...but I seemed to have placed it elsewhere. I forget the name of what he had listed, but it was something that goes away with age(did a lot of research on it, and looking around prior). It was something I was not concerned about, and he is perfectly fine now.

here is a short description on CEA:

http://www.colliehealth.org/eyes.html

ETA: Agility Collie Mom, I have that same jump! Riley loves it!

 

[agility collie mom]

CEA is very common in Collies(85-95% are affected or are carriers). It is good that they are testing their eyes.

If a dog is affected it is important to know what type of abnormality is going on. Some use a grading system, which I like. I, personally, would stay away from a dog with more then a Grade II. If the puppy you are looking at is mild, that is just fine IMO. I would not be scared off.

I was trying to find my older males paper, with his report...but I seemed to have placed it elsewhere. I forget the name of what he had listed, but it was something that goes away with age(did a lot of research on it, and looking around prior). It was something I was not concerned about, and he is perfectly fine now.

here is a short description on CEA:

http://www.colliehealth.org/eyes.html

ETA: Agility Collie Mom, I have that same jump! Riley loves it!

Yeah. I made it with PVC pipe and fittings. Piece of cake.

 

[Rough_Collies2008]

Yeah. I made it with PVC pipe and fittings. Piece of cake.

Really?! I never would have known, I guess it is not the same one! Mine is also PVC, but I am not talented enough to figure out how to make one. LOL I just had to put the pieces together!

 

[txcollies]

The PVC ones are easy to make.

Just stay away from detached pups, and you'll be okay. Mild and even Coloboma aren't much to worry about, and shouldn't cause any problems.