Friday, November 09, 2007

Eep.

Now I'm a little worried.

Statistically, in genetics, a merle-to-merle breeding will produce a 1:4 ratio of homozygous merle pups. Such pups are generally all white, or white with minimal colour, and often they are blind, or deaf, or both, or partially both. Sometimes they are born with no eyes at all. Breeding a merle dog to a merle dog is an incredibly irresponsible thing to do.

In Mona's litter, though we do not know who the dad(s) is, statistics suggest that of the 8 pups born to her (remember one died after birth; he was a grey merle), two are heavily white, and it's possible Daddy was a merle too.

Uh oh.

I have been purposeful in my resolve to not expect the worst. But now, all puppies have their eyes open. All of them except the two patterned white puppies that is. Mike and Marsha are still not granting an audience with their pupils. Since the eyes of homozygous merles can often be underdeveloped, I'm growing more concerned that this will be the case with these two cuties.

How's that for a depressing opener?

Here are the Brady Bunch at just about two weeks old:

That last photo of Mona is a nice one.

She is turning out to be a real cutie. She's getting silly now that she is more comfortable.

Speaking of silly

Poor Woo. Still depressed.

But not Tweed! Tweed is with "his" puppies. He's happy.



16 comments:

Janet said...

Gosh, I sure hope those two pups are just a little behind developmentally. Weren't they the smallest and weakest two? The litter's range of colors certainly does suggest a merle X merle breeding though. Poor Mona! Who'd do that to such a nice looking momma dog? Not fair!

The Border Collies said...

Especially when the animal control where I got Mona from also picked up this guy in the same area:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/
bcwoofs/1906836160/

*sigh*

Anonymous said...

Hey-I just wanted to say I love reading your blog, and have become rather addicted to the daily updates. My first dog was a border collie mix (loved him to death) and my current dog is a catahoula mix (love her the same) Your a genius with the camera, and your blog is a highlight in my computer/data/inputting day. Keep up the good work! I'm sure there are tons of us 3W&aW addicts that would have meltdowns without our daily fixes!
Cheers!
p.s., I'm sure Mona is mostly Catahoula, not like early discussion forum posters who were doubting you. :)

Anonymous said...

Oh no. Be positive. Maybe the dog on flickr was fixed, maybe he isn't the Dad, maybe he's a Catahoula, most probably a coincidence. The genetics for merles is interesting though. These 2 pups need more time to develop, I've seen dogs like these pups and they seem ok.

Great pic of RD.

Jen said...

I was thinking the same thing. :( The good news is, they have color around their ears... so that bodes well for their hearing.

Anonymous said...

You are a very good foster mommy and dog owner because you worry - you are likely very tired in part because you worry. Were there but more people like you in the world.

I hope - like the rest of us - that your worst fears are not realized. I'm also certain that even if they are, between a sweet dog mom, uncle Tweed, cookie uncle and of course you, the pups will have the best start possible. And, you pick new homes well.

Rossie said...

I've got my fingers crossed for Mike and Marsha.

I've never seen Tweed looking so cheerful! It's adorable. OMG, I just called Tweed adorable...somebody help me.

Anonymous said...

Fingers crossed that you are wrong about the little guys. Will now be watching your blog with some trepidation.

The picture of Red Dog made me melt.

ACB said...

*sigh* Red Dog makes me all warm n fuzzy. He looks like a good snuggle buddy on a chilly day....must resist the tongue! I heart Red Dog!

Mona and Tweed are both looking very perky and happy! So glad to that poor Mama dog with a smile on her face....Tweed...I do think perhaps he's got sinister plans afoot.

My son wants to name his next Webkinz Mr. Woo. I shall post a photo when this occurs. Best of luck with the pups - hoping they're just lazy!

Stanley said...

I hope that you are pleasantly and thankfully surprised at the pups progress, especially the two little white ones.

Goober love & smooches for all at Casa de Woo Pup,
Stanley

dp said...

Does Tweed think the puppies are old enough to hump yet, or is he giving them some time...gaining their trust...

Anonymous said...

I'll be keeping everything crossed that the 2 remaining pups will have their eyes open soon and will prove to be healthy.

Are you keeping Mona by any chance?

River

The Border Collies said...

River asked:
Are you keeping Mona by any chance?

No, not at all. What makes you ask? I'm not in the market for another dog at the moment, and even if I were, Mona would not be what I was looking for. She is a lovely dog for the right person, but she is not my cup of tea at all.

The Border Collies said...

dp said:
Does Tweed think the puppies are old enough to hump yet, or is he giving them some time...gaining their trust...

Tweed realizes they are too small for humping, so he's still in the canine version of "offering them candy" stage :)

Anonymous said...

She is a lovely dog for the right person, but she is not my cup of tea at all.

She's sweet, well behaved, no quirks...and aussie-merle - no wonder you don't want her. Keep twisting Kim's arm and you'll be able to stash on of the puppies with her.

Weren't Mike and Marsha the two who nearly didn't make it when they were pulled from the shelter?

They've got a lot of colour for a double merle so it's possible they could have normal hearing and sight. Paws crossed!

The Border Collies said...

She's sweet, well behaved, no quirks...and aussie-merle - no wonder you don't want her.

She is also Labby, low drive and goofy - definitely not what I'm looking for in my next dog!