I train with a lady who owns several (4) boarder collies and one of hers is reddish brown. Two of hers also have bent ears. From what she says you don't know if the ears will be up or down until the dog is about 8 months old. In my own dog, Dixie is very think in coat. Most Goldens have lots of undercoat where Dixie doesn't have any. That doesn't mean she is not purebred. It just means she is thin in coat. Some humans have thick hair while some have thin hair. It is all genetics related. I wanted thicker coat in my puppies so I bred her with a dog who had a lot of coat and I got a litter of puppies who all have nice thick hair (unlike their momma).

AKC registrations does not imply that your dog will be breed standard. In fact the majority of pure breds are NOT. In a good quality breeding, you are lucky if one makes the cut for the perfect breed standard for conformation. I kept Dusty from our litter because he showed the most promise. I will start to show him for Conformation when he is 18 months old. I did not want to get involved in the puppy classes since he is my conformation dog and I need to learn more about this aspect of showing first. Although I think he is very handsome, there is no guarentee that a judge will agree.

Most show people pray for that one that will be able to make it to breed champion. It is no different for humans. We all pray that our child will be something special to break the mold. The next Einstien or perhaps something out of the ordinary mold. Not too many humans are 100% breed perfect. In fact, just like dogs, most of us are not.

I personally know a guy who has 5 dogs and claims all of them as dependants on his federal tax return. He even has Social Security Numbers for them all. I guess we will all hear stories of inproprieties in different areas of life. While I do not agree with falsifying AKC registrations or dependants for tax purposes, I do realize that in a unperfect world, these things do and will occur. I do not think that makes the entire system corrupt. Only the people who cheat and lie are corrupt. To imply the entire AKC process is corrupt because of what some unethical person chooses to do is like saying the whole class cheats because someone in a classroom cheats for a better grade.

The bottom line is have fun in agility and enjoy your dog. Don't worry about her color or her thin coat. If she gets cold in the winter put a coat on her. Don't look at her short comings, rather look at her strengths. Love her and let her love you back unconditionally! She is yours and you are hers.

Please forgive me for getting on my soap box! I sometimes get carried away.