Dappled Dove at Aviary (Katy)

photo by Chris Jones

Working Sheepdog

Blue merle and Tan

D.O.B. 12th April 2010

BVA Hip scored 3:4 Elbows 0:0

DNA Tested: TNS 'normal', CEA/CH 'carrier', CL 'clear',

While looking for a black/white dog puppy from ISDS trial/working parents (not for us, for a friend!), we happened across a small, short coated, un - registered, very heavily marked, blue eyed, tri merle bitch pup, out of un-tested parents. Now, I am not a merle fan! Especially dark/heavily patched ones. Nor do I like blue eyes, I like a lot of coat and bone, and to personally know the immediate dogs behind a pup. I am very fussy about health tests.......

So, obviously, 'Katy' came to live with us!

Her dad (Jaff ISDS 282892) has done pretty well for himself at Sheepdog trials, her mum is a working farm bitch.

Katy has just settled right in without any fuss, and made lots of friends already, she is very easy going, but with boundless energy and loving her early training too. She is the most serious little puppy, she's very very smart and watches me all the time when I am working with her.
For me there is just something special about this little dog :-)

She is about 19" at the withers, but she holds herself quite low (slinky dog!) and so looks smaller than she is!

Katyweasel is now 18 months old, she has filled out (a little!) and grown some coat (but not much!). She is still my little speckly shadow, and I cannot imagine being without her :-) She is so funny, such a clever little dog - the things she thinks up for attention you wouldn't believe! At classes she regularly jumps on top of the pipe tunnel and runs up and down it, she jumps from the ground to the top of the dogwalk if it makes anyone laugh, she spins and dances - and just because someone will call her for a cuddle if she makes them laugh! Such a character, I am very proud of my KW :-)

Having fully health tested Katy, the DNA tests came back pretty much as we thought. CL and TNS would have been unexpected (but not impossible by any means), CEA/CH is very common, and with untested parents, the statistics were only a 25% chance of Katy being clear. Katy herself is in no way affected by this, but if bred to another carrier (or an affected dog) she would produce puppies affected with Collie Eye (for which there is no treatment). This means if we ever decide to breed from her, she can only be mated to a DNA tested clear (or genetically clear) dog.

10 weeks old!

For more pictures of Katy click here