The Name Game Begins

I know, I know. It's been a while since I've spoken about the new puppy. I guess it's because there's still a part of me that wants to say no. I guess most puppy raisers go through a series of doubts. It's what I'm going through right now and I don't think these doubts will go away until the puppy is here. I've tried very hard to make them go away and I've been wondering if it means that I'm not ready for another puppy. I've decided that these are natural concerns (whether or not the puppy will mesh with my lifestyle, whether my social life will be ruined, etc.) and I've decided if anything life changing happens before the puppy comes then I can still say "not right now" and if some of my fears happen to be true then I can talk them over with Graham then. But, that's no reason to leave the name game until the last second. These are concerns and doubts that everyone has...right?

Anyway, on to the rules of the Name Game! First, before I give you the rules, let me tell you that there are three things that you can guess about my new puppy; gender, breed, and name.

The Rules:

1. To give a guess just leave a comment on this post (or any posts about the Name Game)
2. You have until the puppy arrives to get your guesses in (really, until I post about the pup)
3. You may guess only ONE breed and ONE gender over the whole game (if you end up guessing more than one each I'll only take your first guesses)
4. You may guess 5 names per comment (I'll only count the first 5 names in your comment if you leave more names)
5. You may only leave a comment once per week (that's one every 7 days and if there is more than one I'll only count the first one)
6. Each feature (name, gender, breed) is worth 1 point and whoever has the most points at the end is the winner
7. For an extra 1/2 point you can guess the colour
8. I will think of a suitable prize for the winner...

Now, since Guide Dogs uses quite a few more breeds than Guide Dogs for the Blind back home I'll make it easier for you. Here are the four breeds you have to choose from:

1. German Shepherd/Lab Cross (sable or black)
2. Golden/Lab Cross (black or yellow)
3. Flat Coated Retriever (black or liver coloured)
4. Lab (black or yellow)

And obviously you can guess either male or female.

Let's see...is that it? Oh no! There's one more thing that I have to tell you before this game goes live. The letter the pup's name starts with is "I".

Good Luck! The pup comes on April 11, 2012.