Suwannee Cockers
The Place for Natural Merles and Sables
BANKS VON LACY
Having a Cocker litter containing Merles is always exciting, because one never knows what one will get. And when Banks was born the first thing that we noticed about him was how absolutely white he was. But at his birth we had no idea that he was actually a hidden or "Cryptic" Merle, because until he was about two weeks old and he opened his eyes, we had no idea that he had one bright blue eye. And that blue eye, along with his partially pink nose that never colored up--called a "butterfly" nose--were then two visual clues to his hidden genetics.
Banks had a family waiting for him since before he was even conceived, and they wanted a puppy "just like Max." But as none of the puppies had Max's coloring, they then chose Banks. But we have to say that Banks is very unique also, as we have never had another puppy like him, and that is one of the really fun things about the Merles--each is unique looking--while still being the merry little Cockers that we all love and cherish.
From the time that he first stood up we were very impressed with Banks' natural stance and "stack," and he was still naturally showing his stuff at ten months old. And Banks has a classic Spaniel "look," and one can just see him tromping through the woods in high style with a bird in his mouth. Of course with all of that white one could hardly avoid seeing him anywhere.
Banks was one of seven puppies in his litter, containing five partis, two solids, five boys, two girls, and three Merles. His dam was our solid silvery-Buff girl named Darlin, who has since been retired from breeding, and our Sable-Merle male named Max. This picture was taken just a few hours after the litter was born, and all of the puppies seemed very strong and started nursing immediately.
Banks was a very strong puppy and never had any problem crawling to find his place to nurse. Here he is shown at one day old.
At three days old Banks was looking very plump and sleek.
At one week old Banks had lost some of his intense pink areas on his extremities and some hair was slowly growing in those areas.
Darlin was a wonderfully attentive MaMa dog, and here she is nuzzling little Banks, who was about two weeks old. Dogs enjoy having puppies and taking care of them just as much as humans enjoy having children, but a dog only has about two months of pregnancy and then perhaps another month of nursing, and then the puppies are eating on their own and dependent on their owners for further care.
At three weeks old Banks was starting to walk, but he still slept a lot.
But by four weeks old Banks was looking very bright eyed and alert.
This picture shows the five boys in Banks' litter: one solid black, one chocolate Sable, and three Merles. When the puppies are between four and five weeks old they start going outside in the daytime, weather permitting, in our very large "puppy kennel" that is paved and has a roof and provides a very protected play space for them.
The first day that this litter went outside into the puppy kennel was a bright and sunny February day, and Banks didn't lose any time exploring the big dog house.
Here Banks is running around out in our large puppy kennel, having a grand time leaping and spinning around.
These are the three Merle males in Banks' litter, none of which actually looked like a "regular" Merle, as each had very different markings. The puppy to the lower right is our little blue eyed dog named SunCatcher's Zaffre Zecchino--our pick of this litter--and the dark puppy at the top is an almost solid black Merle with one big blue eye and one big brown eye who has small spots of Merle scattered throughout his coat, and quite a few white markings on his head, neck and legs. The puppy to the lower left is Banks.
At six weeks Banks was growing steadily and having a grand time playing out in the puppy kennel.
And by six weeks Banks was already showing off his beautiful stance.
By seven weeks Banks was starting to look all fuzzy, and you can see from this picture that he had no Merle markings.
We examined Banks quite thoroughly at seven weeks, but he looked the same as he did as a newborn--like a black and white puppy--but the one blue eye and the partially pink nose told us that he was most probably a hidden or Cryptic Merle. But if he had had two dark eyes and a dark nose--like many of our Merles--then we would not have had a clue that he is a hidden Merle, and this is the reason that it is so important that Merles be identified on their registration papers correctly.
At eight weeks old Banks was ready to go to his new home, and these are the last pictures that we took of him here.
And at eight weeks old he looked whiter than ever.
By four months old Banks was quite an old hand at going on car rides.
And of course a mostly white dog always needs his baths!
But all of that riding and bathing makes a puppy all tuckered out, and a big laundry basket makes a mighty fine doggie bed.
We love this picture of Banks at six months old, and it really shows off his two differently colored eyes.
Banks lives in inland Central Florida which can get very hot, so by his first Summer he was sporting a very stylish short clip.
And by his first Halloween Banks was also sporting his own "costume." Banks lives with a Rottwheiler, and the two dogs get along just fine, as Cockers like to live with other dogs.
This picture was taken when Banks was about ten months old.
Now that Banks is all grown up he does have one grey spot on his left shoulder that could conceivably be a Merle spot, but this spot was not apparent when he was a newborn or a puppy, and Merle spots are suppose to be immediately apparent on a newborn puppy. So this spot could also be a Maltese blue dilute spot--but we're just not sure. We love this low clip on Banks, leaving a little "skirt" along his sides, as it shows off all of his small spots.
Banks has matured into a very striking looking dog, and we want to thank his owners for sending pictures of him to us as he has grown. Banks lives with his family and a Rottwheiler in the Orlando area of Central Florida.
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