Merle or B&W Collie/male or female? HELP pls! Questions

OK for my research cos I really love Collies.

Say you could choose between Blue Merle puppies with blue eyes or traditional black and white with brown eyes male or female available in each colour.

What would you choose and why? (assuming the Merles have been sight and hearing tested already and have no problems)

Is there a difference in temperament? anyone on here had both Merles and B&W's?

I've never had Merle but love their beautiful Blue eyes.

I have a 11 and half year old mostly Black BC crossbreed who has been an only dog all her life but is used to my friend visiting with her female dog (all her life, my friends dog is 1 yr older)

It would also be my first time of managing a two dog household! Would opposite sex be easier? Would my dog be more jealous of a younger female than a male?

I heard opposite sexes will tolerate each other better than two of the same sex?

Advice please??

Thanks

It's classically marked black and white for me. Occasionally I see a nice blue merle (both my Gem and Jack have blue merle mums) but I still prefer the b&w.

Definitely not keen on red merles though.

Looks wise a black and white, preferably male.

My preference is for B&W males, but having said that I choose by the puppy, breeding & health tests & not colour/coat length

I have 1 tri(rescue)female rough, one classic B&W male smooth, one white & black female medium, one split faced male rough, one mottled B&W female semi rough BCs

In the past I have had B&W classically marked males & female & one tri male all roughs.

There is no such thing as a BC of the wrong colour LOL

I'm not suggesting any colour is 'wrong' ..I've just been looking at pics.

I find in the classic B&W dog I seem to prefer it if there's not too much white on the face. ..but I also saw a slate Merle with beautiful blue eyes that looked very similar to a lightly coloured husky/wolf.

I've never had a blue eyed dog and deciding whether to stick with a favourite mostly black dog (same as my current dog) or go with something completely different this time.

Some reports say Merle dogs are more mad and hyper, also been told they are more nervous so was just wondering if there was anyone who had owned both

I am really not a fan of the colour merle in any breed. It seems to be a bit of a fad at the moment.

Much prefer a classically marked black and white.

I prefer black and white, as to sex, have both so can't comment.
Just a note on blue eyed dogs, some other dogs seem to spook at them, also be prepared for loads of people asking if they are blind.
we have 2 collie bitches one blue and one brown eye each, people frequently ask if they are blind in the blue eye, or the other question how did they get it (the blue eye), ordered off ebay of course.

Of course, it works both ways.......my friend has a blue merle collie with brown eyes and there was a stunning black and white collie with brilliant blue eyes up for rehoming recently. I know quite a few b&w collies in the agility world with at least one blue eye.

We have Blk&wht and Tri.

I always like the Merle some are gorgeous, I always wanted one but I have been put off by my friends one. he is so intense .........yes I know that isn't his fault but hers, but she reckons he is harder work than her other BC's (Blk&wht) so she has got him 'too fixed' on her if you get my meaning, on walks it drives me mad as we are almost tripping over him.

Its abit like ....liking a name till you met someone with that name who is a spoilt brat

What do you mean by "some other dogs seem to spook at them"?


I am tempted to find a little guy mostly black who looks like it could be Inca's son, purely for sentimental reason's after she had passed on...not as a replacement but in the same way a breeder may keep a pup from a dogs last litter, so they have the son or daughter of their favourite dog etc

OK due to her age a young puppy would probably be more like her grandchild in our equiavalent years..lol!, but she's still young (at heart) lean and fit, I reckon I'd get alot of people stopping me to ask if she'd had a puppy!

a lovely coloured blue merle for me with brown eyes!

They are unsure of them, so back away, bark, lunge, etc just in ther same way they would spook at anything they find different and are unsure of.

Just my experience of blue eyed dogs I get in classes, what I obseve and what the owners tell me.

oh rite.. I didn't know that!

I had been thinking of a smaller breed altogether mainly cos of issue of getting snowed in every year these last few winters and worrying about a bigger dog not getting enough exercise for those few weeks a year. .. Our weather does seem to be odd with parts of UK having snow already in October/early Nov (friend in Dorset said they had snow) and of course been a wheelchair user it makes it difficult to get out.

I've registered with dogs trust, they did home check, I'm watching their site... but keep finding myself drawn to the bigger collies, well.. Inca's size. (bigger than jack russells or cockers)

Most of their's have behavioural issues or can't live with another dog and I'm wondering whether to follow my heart and go with getting a pedigree border collie puppy. It sometimes seems like giving up on a dream incase I can't get out or incase he cut his paw outside and I happened to be just in powerchair and like Inca he was too big for me to carry home.

... but my heart seems to be with collies! Would I be really happy with a smaller dog even if it looked like a collie puppy all its life? :? (but wasn't... papillon cross or something) .. if what I really REALLY wanted was to own a proper pedigree Border Collie at least once in my lifetime!

I must say that colour would be the last thing I`d be concerned about.
You will adore your new dog and he or she will be the most beautiful dog in the world of course.
I`d be looking at health and genealogy if I were getting a pup.

Just for preference I prefer a nice rough coated black/white male collie. I am not really a fan of merles and have never had one (nor have any great wish to). As for blue eyes, how about a nice black, white and tan with one blue and one brown eye? We have two



We also have a lovely "classically" marked black/white pup with one blue eye



Whereabouts in the UK are you? Morgans Dog Rescue in Cumbria always have some lovely dogs in, and they are mainly border collies or their crosses. Recently there was a border collie x JRT pup. Will try and find a pic.

oh rite Thanks.. I'll look them up next. I'm waiting to hear from a breeder at the minute, but the pup may have already been sold.

EDITED TO ADD: I just looked them up on FB and they have a pregnant collie and some more collie pups due. My problem is I would be unable to get to them and whether one of their staff maybe willing to bring one to me after xmas day. I am in West Yorkshire though.

I live on my own anyway so there's only me and Inca here I just go out xmas afternoon for dinner and back early evening which may still be too long to leave a young puppy really if it was delivered before xmas day.

I have a tri bitch and a dark blue Merle with brown eyes that have blue stripes. Can't say I've noticed any difference personality wise, they are both fruit loops. My Merle is exceptionally bright and ridiculously easy to train ( agility ) but I think this is more due to his breeding than colour.
Next pup for me would be blue Merle

Inca was as nutty as a fruit loop too and used to charge around garden in a cute odd way her back legs seem to be tucked right under her as she ran rather than stretched out as you'd expect!

I used to live in flat with communal garden and 2 next door ground flats had back doors into garden also. She went into one neighbours house and helped herself to a sandwich he'd left on his coffee table when he'd gone to loo, another time a neighbour had come in with her washing ..Inca ran out to greet her (or so she thought) as soon as woman put basket down to pet Inca , she grabbed the womans knickers off the top and ran round the garden with them!!

Luckily for Inca she was so small and cute at the time she got away with alot stuff she maybe shouldn't have but fortunately we never got evicted!

We have our own garden now so the only knickers he maybe running around with would be my own...my neighbours' knickers are safe next time around!!

I have a black and white Sky, a red and white Sunny and A spilt face blue Merle with 1 brown and 1 blue eye Mistral and I love them all

Mine is black and white but i have seen a gorgeous silver grey and white but then i love all types of Borders