Suwannee Cockers
The Place for Natural Merles and Sables
PIPPIN
We don't get many black and tans as the gene for them is very recessive. So when we got an e-mail from a family asking us to let them know if we ever had a black and tan male puppy, we didn't really think that we would ever have one for them. And that seemed a shame, because on getting to know them we saw that it would be a great family for one of our puppies. But Sparkle and Max must have heard about that "special order" from a special family, because one cool January evening the fifth puppy born that night was a black and tan little male, and from the second that he was born there was absolutely no doubt as to where he was going to live.
Of all of Sparkle's puppies, Pippin looks the most like his grandsire, Dee-Lyn's Phantom of the Opera, even though Phantom was a black tri.
Pippin, shown here at one day old, was one of the smaller puppies in his litter of six, and he had a few white markings on his chin and on the tips of two of his toes. Often white on the extremities is not the result of color genetics, but, because as the fetus grows, the melanocytes settle in these "outer" regions of the body last. Thus many dogs have a white spot on their chest or chin or on the tips of their toes because they were born before the color could finish filling in those areas.
Pippin was always strong and healthy looking, although rather small, and he had gained some weight by the time that he was a week old.
At two weeks old Pippin was mostly still sleeping and nursing.
But by three weeks old Pippin had opened his eyes and he was starting to learn to walk.
At around four to five weeks old we start letting our litters go out into our specially constructed "puppy kennel" so that they can safely play outdoors, weather permitting. And by this age the puppies are mostly eating dry food, and their dam is nursing them less and less each day.
By four weeks old Pippin was looking very bright eyed and alert.
And by six weeks old Pippin was putting on height and weight.
Pippin was one of six in his litter, and here he is with his black and white brother named Gizmo. Gizmo now lives with his family in Tallahassee, Florida.
By eight weeks old Pippin was on his way to his new home.
And waiting for him at his new home was a big family of people and animals, including a little boy named Jordan who was just delighted with Pippin.
Pippin was starting to look a bit shaggy at nine weeks old, and black Cockers are known to have the heaviest coats of all of the Cocker colors.
But by nine weeks old Pippin was also really showing off his nice stance, and one can see that he has "smoked" tan points, which is really a Shaded Sable marking that is restricted to the tan pointed areas. It is thought that Sable and tan points are the same dilution gene, but somehow the Sable dilution is restricted to the tan pointed areas in tan pointed dogs.
By ten weeks old Pippin was looking as shaggy as a little bear, showing the beginnings of a huge coat.
Babies and puppies seem a natural match, but any interaction between babies or very young children with animals should be supervised by an adult. No problem here, and everyone is all smiles, including Baby Hannah.
Dogs are just nice to hang out with.
But Shadow the cat wasn't so sure that he wanted to hang out with Pippin.
And even a few months later Shadow and Pippin had their monents together.
But eventually everyone kissed and made up. And one can really see Pippin's smoked tan points in this picture.
Meet more cats in the household: the Siamese one is named Jazz.
And the striped one is named Ginger.
And the white one is named Snowball, and Snowball is 18 years old in this picture, so this is a family that really takes care of their animals. And both parents in this family were raised in dog breeder homes, and the Father has shown dogs in the past.
And even a friend's Dachshund named Molly visits the family occasionally, and Kaley loves to hold her. Their friend must like black and tans too.
By a very hot July in Florida all of that shaggy hair was gone, plus this clip shows off all of Pippin's "tan points," which is a term used to describe black and tan Cockers.
And by that July Pippin's Merle and tan brother named Zack had come to join their household too. Zack is also a black and tan, but his black areas have been diluted by the Merle effect, so he is called a Merle and tan. And like Pippin, Zack has two colors of tan points--an orangy darker color, and a paler tan color.
And by early in the Autumn Chloe the red Dachshund had joined the family, and Pippin seems to be saying "the more the merrier" and is very protective of little Chloe. Cockers come from hunting dogs and like to live in groups of dogs.
Pippin has grown up to be a very beautiful and flashily marked Cocker Spaniel. And we hear that he is very sweet natured too.
And now that Pippin is all grown up he is looking better than ever.
And this more recent picture shows Pippin at almost two years old.
And this is another picture of Pippin at almost two years old, and it really shows off his beautiful black and tan markings. We'd like to thank Pippin's family in Titusville, Florida for letting us use these pictures of Pippin and their family in their home.
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