ѵNFGnINiUJUJGGӏFoI Q&A
WITH DIANE ANDERSON, CATHY DRUMMONDS, LIZ FUJIKAWA, CHRIS GABURRI, ANN LAPP, JERE MARDER, MARILYN & KRISTI MARSHALL, DALE MEYER & JOYCE WETZLER
predict what will be the makeup of the puppy. As a breeder, I would prefer a show developing puppy. In my line it usually turns out to be the better special. M&KM: We evaluate the puppies at birth, again at eight weeks and then at six months and by that time we are fairly confidant that the puppy has a promising future. DM: I can recognize a puppy’s merit at 8-12 weeks, but don’t feel confident until they are about 8-12 months old. JW: With my own stock, I could feel confident between six to nine months. They all seem to grow all together and they held their type. What you saw was what you got only it was a larger picture. 5. Judges: Does a mature-looking puppy catch your eye more than those growing up more slowly? LF: Of course that substantial puppy with bone/body and coat always catches my eye. But one has to remember that OES go through so many growth stages and some lines mature faster than others. At eight weeks, pup- pies are balanced looking, then they go through growth spurts. I actually want to see a leggy looking puppy at four months, if they still look balanced, they usually end up too long in body as adults. And then at eight months— many times, I just have to look away and make myself remember what I saw at eight weeks. JM: Whether it is a puppy or not, you want it to be balanced and square. The puppy should be free from legginess, but should not be free from leg. The standard still applies to a puppy when judging. The only thing is a puppy may carry a dead brown puppy coat in which brown is not acceptable in an adult coat. Yes, puppies go through dif- ferent stages, but we must evaluate and judge them on the day. M&KM: I have judged sweepstakes and I look at the overall quality of the puppy, not the maturity. DM: A structurally sound dog will look that way at eight weeks. Hair hides a lot, so many times one might think their dog is better than he was at a younger age, but in reality it is the same dog with more coat. Things that I notice change in our dogs are head, body and bone. Most often you can take a picture of an eight-week old puppy and again as an adult dog and it really is just a blown up version of that puppy. If you are a good groomer/trim- mer, you can even fool yourself into believing the dog is better than it is and vice versa. JW: No. A mature puppy does not catch my eye more than one that grows more slowly. I would be looking for breed “THE STANDARD STILL APPLIES TO A PUPPY WHEN JUDGING.”
“THERE ARE MANY LINES IN OUR BREED THAT TAKE AS LONG AS ONE YEAR OR LONGER TO FULLY MATURE.”
DM: Breed type. Without breed type, it is not an Old English. The standard describes a sound dog with a capacious head, fairly long neck, rather square dog with a rise over the loin and well coated all around, with an elastic move- ment that covers ground. Knowing what is grooming and what is real comes only from experience. JW: The first thing in my mind when I am judging the old English would be breed type. They need to be a square compact dog free from legginess. 4. Breeders: At what age do you feel confident in a puppy’s future? CD: Six months. LF: I’m pretty sure about my choices at 8 weeks and the adults usually end up better than what I predicted. I’m continually analyzing from birth until my decision day. CG: When your litter is born you evaluate every day but at six to eight weeks you begin to pick the ones off the bottom to place. By 12 weeks you feel pretty solid about having a really good prospect for championship quality, a good time to look hard at structure and soundness. After that age sometimes you have to stop looking as they go through some growth that can throw their balance and head structure off for a while. I also like a dog to not look like a miniature adult as a young dog. These dogs usually end up too “stuffy” for me. I like my dogs to have some elegance to them with a fairly long neck and a well laid back shoulder. I usually start to get excited as they get closer to one year of age and I see it all coming back together. It can be a fun process. AL: There are many lines in our breed that take as long as one year or longer to fully mature. Other lines in our breed can be confidently judged earlier. Since we cannot keep them all, the first puppy evaluation is around 12 weeks, then at six months and 12 months. Generally, the final evaluation with confidence is not until 18 months to 24 months. Note: evaluations include health clearances that often cannot be completed until the dog is 24 months. JM: I like Pat Hastings’ Puppy Puzzle and evaluate my litters at eight weeks of age. There are a few unpredictable qualities that are unknown like height, coat color and texture. But, if you know the pedigree it certainly helps
216 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , A PRIL 2017
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