How Do You Tell Them Apart? Good question! While each puppy develops it's own personality, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish one particular puppy from it's littermates. Over time, we have developed a simple way to tell the puppies apart in order to provide the new owner with weekly updates and photos. Once a puppy is selected for placement, we may shave a small area of the coat to serve as a mark of identification. For example, one may be shaved on the right front quarter, and the next on the left front quarter and so on. This helps us to tell them apart when it comes to updating the new owner with weekly photos on the web site. It is perfectly harmless, and a good way to ensure that the puppy that you have chosen or that we have chosen for you is the one you will take home with you. Once the puppies have grown and are getting around on their own, we will sometimes need to give each of them a small color-coded collar to identify them better. It all depends on the size and gender mix of the litter, but we always have a way of knowing who is who!