Gender - I prefer bitches.

In English Springers it's always colour - I'd never have a liver one. Isla was supposed to be a boy, but all the boys were liver so I went for a girl.

It does depend though, Oscar was supposed to be a girl but I changed my mind as I felt having two bitches might lead to trouble. Had there only been girls I might not have bought a pup regardless of colour as it would've been the wrong choice in the long run.

Gender first. I wanted a boy. Then I looked at colour. I wanted a chocolate roan. Got into contact with a breeder who had one boy left who was chocolate roan. He was ours!!

Hocus says he hopes you think he was a nicely marked one!

I would choose gender over colour.
I would have liked another colour instead of a black and white and actually enquired about a red and white before I got Hocus but it just didn't feel right. In the end I went for a colour I hadn't planned on having but wanted a pup from that litter as I liked the way they were raised.

Well for one of my (current) breeds, colour is not an issue as of course it is "Hobson's Choice"

Gender was what I chose my youngest on, and the bitches were removed from the litter so that I could make my choice between the 3 males.

I certainly would NEVER have chosen him on colour as he was as far away from what I had in mind (at the time) as he could be. Fortunately he did turn into the dog I DID have in mind (that was due to my inexperience with the difference between GSD puppies and adults)

I have always been lucky enough to be able to have MY pick of the litter and I that is what I have had for my last 3 dogs.

That will occur in my next dog too.

The statement that "the dog picked me" always amuses me as of course what happens is that when someone goes to see a litter, the boldest one comes out first and "picks" the first potential buyer, and so on.

So, if you had a litter visited by 6 people, invariably the same dog "picks" a potential owner.

I conducted a surreptitious study on this over 12 litters of various breeds over a year and, with two exceptions, this happened every time.

I did not factor in "exceptions" to the study at the time and if I repeated it, I would eg time of day, activity levels, differences between potential purchasers etc.

Hmm well when I was on a waiting list for Syd I wanted a brown male Dobermann and when the litter when born didn't have a brown male so I walked away, I could have had a brown female or a black male and I didn't want either so found another breeder who had loads of brown males available as 10 out of the 12 born were brown males.
With Rio I was waiting for a brown female and exactly the same thing happened again, only one brown female who went to someone who had been waiting well over a year, I could have a black female but I walked away again. Found another breeder and went on her list and luckily when they were born there was one brown female available for me and one for her to keep.
With Tucson I walked away several times when the litter didn't produce the longed for fawn female Pug. I just want what I want and don't see any reason not to have it.

For me it can only be gender as the Bernese do not have a variety of colours to choose from.

For me probably a good thing as I find it hard enough to make up my mind about gender or did this time around. I was seriously thinking on a girl but at the last minute decided boy which was a good thing as there were only boys anyway.

Yes true in a way with puppies (although Ben was by far not the boldest, usually one of the girls came forward when people came past - but he just charged up to me - I know its was just luck and timing rather than anything else - but his wasnt even the litter I was going to look at - I was looking at a litter of older collies not a little unknown cross)
With Mia it was just her photograph that stood out in my mind even after seeing many many fotos of other just as desperate (just as pretty) dogs needing rescue

He was he made me doubt whether to keep him or Rave (not just on colour but temperament too), but in the end gender won!

Possibly that applies with pure-breeds but it did not happen with either of my rescue mutt pups. Little One was not a planned adoption and she definitely was not the one that came out to greet me as none of them did. They were all outside in the yard and I just pointed to her and said if that is a girl then I want her.

With Pereg I had been emailed some photos but when I went to the Shelter there were five almost identical heads all stuck into a bowl of food. I was fairly sure I recognised the one that had drawn me there from the photos, just asked for "that one" to be picked up and handed to me - she was a girl and I brought her home. And when I looked at the photos again once she was home, yes, she was the little girl I had gone for.

So who chose who?