Tuesday, May 5, 2009

A Delicate Balance

Someone is channeling show dog energy already. Archer is practicing for a few months from now - not sure what his hurry is ... but I like his enthusiasm!


Actually, everyone in the litter is impressively maturing. All of the puppies typically stop to stand four square, a dog that stands naturally four square is generally viewed as a sound animal.


Another theory is that a dog who is not the hurry up and go type, one always busy, moving, doing, chasing and playing is a sounder dog. The theory is that a dog who is constantly on the go lacks the ability to stand still because they are unsound.




I'm not sure I buy that. This idea does not allow for temperamental difference between animals. Rosie, from my first litter, drove me mad with her constant naughtiness and it was not through poor structure given her recent wins in the ring (a major in Utah today - Go Rosie! ). She is a very sound dog but she made me insane.


If no one stands out what does that mean? It either means that you have an exceptional litter, hard to choose the best or you have a mediocre litter.



I like to see a well rounded litter with no singular dog standing out from the rest. There is almost always a dog who catches your eye even in a top shelf litter, in this case it's Archer, but that is based upon my own preferences as a breeder bound by my parameters of type, movement, structure, temperament and sex. It does not mean he is actually the best dog. Best is in the eye of the beholder.




In the last litters all of the puppies were consistent quality throughout. Each puppy showed very similar faults and virtues - that made it easy to spot the genetics for which Halo was prepotent and the ones for which the sire was prepotent. This litter still shows Halo's prepotency but also the influence of Zuli, their sire in the differences I see from the last puppies. It's handy to know what to expect but genetics can throw you a curve ball.



It's a balancing act to find somewhere to meet in the middle. And life, as we learn, is all about balance. Unfortunately sometimes we get a little high centered ...

1 comment:

duke76 said...

Wow they are soo cute.. Make me want another...