Glenn,
After having had the breed for nearly 30 years now, I would LOVE to know a
foolproof way of selecting the right puppy from the litter! VBG Cavaliers
change as they grow more than any other breed that I have experienced. Many
swans end up as ducks!!!!
Some time ago we had a discussion on this subject and below is what I wrote
then
"Unlike JoAnn I never look at them wet - sometimes because the whelping is
in the middle of the night and I have a hard time staying awake let alone
assessing puppies! I like to look at them when they get up on their feet
and at about 8-9 weeks.
My pet ones go at 9 weeks so sometimes I have to decide
then. I watch them playing in the house and like to see them moving and
playing on a paved surface. I just sit and watch. Inevitably the eye will
keep coming back to the same puppy - it will be the one which "carries
itself" who moves with head up and with a level topline.I know this isn't
very analytical, but you just "know". I think you can tell quite a lot
about the structure of a dog by looking at its outline or silhouette. If
all the bones are properly placed and in the proper proportions, then the
topline will be level and the pup will cover ground with each stride. I
like them to be true up and down by 8 weeks. I don't think rising toplines
get better, they get worse and a bad front is a bad front.
You can pick the smooshie faces by 6-8 weeks in my line. When I first
started, Caroline Gillies (McGoogans) told me to look for the muzzles the
same width across as the skull, so that the head should be a box. ( This is
as a newborn or tiny baby - not an adult of course! VBG) I really
dislike pinched muzzles in babies or any suggestion of down face or roman
nose. A friend has a good phrase for a puppy whose muzzle goes narrow - he
says the puppy has "lost its face".
In my line I can tell by 4 months which pups are going to have coat, they
have already started to grow feathers on the back of their legs and down
their bib.
One thing I'm really keen on is to have other people look at the pups -
not Cavalier people but breeders of other breeds who I admire for their
stock and who have the "eye". They don't need to know the Standard in
detail or in fact hardly at all, but 99 times out a 100 they will pick the
best puppy. They also bring me firmly down to earth when I start fooling
myself and my glasses turn a light shade of rose!"
<<<<<<While one has great markings
its a little straight in the front. The one with the best movement and
angulation has a little more white than she would like...>>>>.
Go for the structure over the markings.
Jeanie Montford
Elvenhome Cavaliers
Sydney, Australia
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