I’ve heard people say things like,
“I bought my dog from a reputable breeder, but he is not show quality. The breeder kept the show quality pups that were eventually going to be used for breeding.”
At such a young age, how is it possible for breeders to tell which pups will develop faults and which will go on to become breeding quality dogs?
How accurate can an experience breeder be by examining a potential pup? Because puppies change as they grow.
Breeders who know their dog breeds well can spot dogs with potential for the show ring from the day they are born, if a breeder ends up with an exceptional puppy, it is quite likely they will keep it
They should have enough experience to be able to tell if they’re reputable.
If you’d been studying a breed 20+ years, you’d learn to spot faults too.
especially with breeders who have had years of practice and experience they can just see what dogs have potential and what dogs are better suited for pet only situations.
Educated guess.
We can’t tell *for sure*, but we can look at the structure and type and make a pretty reasonable estimation of which pups will turn out to be show and which will be pet.
Sometimes pups sold as pets turn out better than expected. Witness my first Basset, who’d been sold by the breeder as a pet and we showed him to his Championship.
And sometimes the one you keep for show/breeding doesn’t turn out as you hoped. The bite can go off, a foot can turn out, they end up over or undersized, or they just don’t mature the way you’d hoped.
Some times it’s easy to tell – mis-marked or wrong colour, for example. Structure can be assessed by competent breeders at specific stages in young pups. As can temperament, an important trait in all breeds. Some breeders keep all pups that they think have potential, until the dog gets large enough to assess again. Some breeders will sell/co-own to someone they know will show the dog.
they were probably professional. pros know ALL about that, depending on there characteristics, i don’t know how they do it, but they do.
An experienced breeder knows what to look for. They spend a LOT of time with the puppies and watch them very carefully to look for distinct traits and features as they develop the first 1-6 weeks after their birth. A breeder will usually see what they’re looking for by the time the pups are 4 weeks old.
They don’t know for sure that when they choose a puppy to keep it will be used for breeding. It’s kept as an “Up-and-Coming” until it’s old enough to do prelim and final testing on. In the meantime, they show it and finish it.
I got a finished CH from a breeder – she wanted to eventually breed him, but his prelim OFA was Fair, so rather than developing him any further, she gave him to me and he was neutered.
Golly…maybe they can SEE faults,virtues,weigh the differences..GRADE & CULL from vast years/decades of experience?
What is “such a young age”?
I can pick some faults when the pups are still wet,others when their teeth are in,when toplines & running gear firm up,both testicles come down ….on & on.
Until the adult teeth come in,you say “show PROSPECT”,btw. & even that’s pushing it a bit.
rotflmao……..the silly widdle T-D fairies fink dat CULL means KILL,doesn’t dem?? Aw,dey’s so doofy!!!
There are schools of thought that believe a puppy at 8-10 weeks old is proportionally and structurally identical to what it will look like as an adult…just in miniature. A lot of breeders evaluate (or have other knowledgeable breeders evaluate) their litters at this age and select the puppies most fitting the breed Standard at that time.
If a puppy has a major fault, you can rule that puppy out pretty early on. You watch the litter as it develops and keep an eye out for traits.
In my last litter, the little female trotted everywhere she went from the time she could walk. No bouncing, no hopping — just a smooth, ground-eating trot. That indicates the structure that moves an endurance sled dog 60+ miles a day.
It was no surprise that at 8.5 weeks, she had the front and rear angulation, and the proportions that I was looking for. So she stayed.
As others have said, sometimes your “keepers” don’t turn out. I have a beautiful male at home that I felt sure was his champion grandfather reincarnate when he was 8 weeks…unfortunately he never grew past 21″ tall, and his tail went tight when he hit puberty.
He’s a good lead dog, though — so he’s sticking around until I can find someone who deserves him. He looks so much like his grandpa that it kills me.
So you make the best assumptions you can, based on what you know about your bloodlines and your breed standard. Obviously, the longer you’re involved with the breed, the more you know.
Breeders should be operating off of a breed standard. You can find these for each breed of dog recognized by the AKC. For me, all my pups are pets first, then show dogs. I could NEVER sell a black & tan Staffordshire Bull Terrier or liver colored dog as a show/breeding prospect. These colors are breed disqualifications in the American Kennel Club. Remember the AKC was formed with the intention of showing a dog’s confirmation to later be used for breeding purposes if of good quality.
Judging puppies at such a young age is hard, even for the experienced eye. Truth be told, you can’t predict 100% what a dog is going to mature into.
Some breeders restrict breeding, limit registrations for good reason-as not to allow every Joe Blow to walk in buy a dog and breed it out in 8 months. I respect this practice of limiting registration for that reason.
Structure & tempermant are important when choosing a breeding dog. As puppies you can see who the confident ones are, the shy ones and the just normal puppies. Sometimes you can tell who is lean & narrow and who has more bone & substance. That all factors in.
Also it is HOPED that the breeder is breeding from a standard, and upholds it to every degree possible. If you are interested in breeding, or showing, just say so-some people will cut you short cause you’re new, others may see it as an opportunity to mentor & educate.
VERY VERY GOOD QUESTION.
There is a book called The Puppy Puzzle by Pat Hastings, AKC Judge. It will help you understand more if you like.
POTENTIAL is exactly it. You have the clear pet wuality pups, and then you have the show/breeding POTENTIAL. Some of those probably will not pan out either. Sometimes you may keep two to “grow out” only to later place both since they are not what you wanted. It just depends. But a good breeder of a certain breed will be able to grade their litter well. It comes from experience and having a good “eye” for your breed.
Breeders know their lines, and when you evaluate a litter between 7-10 weeks of age, they very often resemble what they will look like as an adult.