I had missed your previous advice re Picking a show puppy! Very good stuff
there!
I recently whelped a litter that has produced two lovely puppies - I think.
Interestingly enough the male, who is a black and tan, presented himself to
the World and all I could say was Look at that head! I now wait for the
rest of him to present itself. The little female - she presented as
beautiful and time will tell.
It is a fascinating thing breeding and is definitely a wait and see game.
A bit like showing!
Helen Duggin
EmilySprings
----- Original Message -----
From: "JEANIE MONTFORD" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2001 6:17 AM
Subject: Re: [CKCS-L] Picking a show puppy
> 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
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
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