MAY 2026 UPDATE TO PUPPY CHOOSING PROCESS
PLEASE READ BEFORE SENDING A DEPOSIT!!
Choosing collie puppies is more difficult in some ways than other breeds, and easier in others. Oftentimes a litter (such as my current one) has two coat types and multiple colors, which complicates everything. However, in my experience collie temperament is very predictable (look at the parents!!), and pretty much every collie pup can adapt to most homes with no issue, which makes things much easier than with some other breeds.
Where issues arise is with folks wanting to wait a long time to choose a pup based on personality and then wanting to come visit and assess personality themselves. This is a natural instinct, and I certainly don't blame people for wanting to do so! However, I honestly feel that it is not helpful. Experts (such as myself!) agree that it is pretty much impossible to get an accurate read on a pup’s personality from one visit. Any specific pup may be tired, hungry, just woke up, about to fall asleep, or just feeling shy or bold at that moment. Also, pups develop at different rates and some mature faster than others. As the breeder who is with the pups 24/7, I can tell you a lot more about the temperament than you can determine in a brief visit. Couple this with the fact that they ALL have good temperaments, and you can see why this system is flawed. Folks are trying to see minute random differences between a group of wonderful babies who would all be a great choice.
Another issue is that I am having concerns about disease from having so many visitors. For this reason I would like to limit visits to one visit per family, in the 5-6 week period.
The new choosing routine is not set in stone but here are the main points –
- When I take deposits you must specify coat type as this determines how many deposits I take. I would prefer further specificity if possible but if you are flexible on color and gender, within your chosen coat type, that works as well.
- Starting with the first person on the list, you may choose your pup based on color and gender within the first few weeks. If we didn’t get a pup that works for you, I can refund your deposit at this time or hold until a future litter if you prefer.
- First person on the list may also choose to wait based on personality. In this case, depending on what colors we get, I will decide on two to three pups to hold back.
- We will then go on to the second person, who can also choose early based on color and gender, or decide to wait.
- Buyers who choose to wait come by at 5-6 weeks if they are local, and then let me know the order of their preference for the remaining pups. (If you are not local I will try my best to help describe differences in personality that I have observed.)
- I will make the final puppy assignments of the “choose based on personality” group by six weeks of age.
- If anyone is not happy with the pup they were assigned, I can hold your deposit to the next litter. I am not refunding a deposit in this case.
I will be tweaking this going forward but hopefully this is a good baseline!