Page 73 - K9News_Issue12_July2020

past commonplace. When they breed a litter it
is usually with a view to keeping the best bitch
with which they can continue their breeding
programme and, most will only, consider running
on a male if it is outstanding.
We all know that puppies in most breeds go
through ugly teenage stages when they grow
out of proportion but usually they regain their
previous form. However I am convinced that
many breeders make hasty decisions where
male puppies are concerned. Given that they
have a sibling dog and bitch, when a caring
potential pet owner calls looking for a male
companion, do they hastily let go a dog puppy
because it is going through the “ugly duckling”
stage, whereas they would hold on to a similar
bitch always knowing that if it does not turn out
as they hoped they will still breed from it?
Many breeders of my acquaintance have
admitted to me that they have let dog puppies
go in haste, only to have them brought back by
their owners at a later stage for grooming or a
simple assessment and they have realised that
they have let something special slip through the
net.
The selection and retention of puppies is a
complex business and it is imperative that
breeders know their bloodlines. Different lines
develop differently and, as an example, when
I was building up my small Beagle kennel I
worked with two very successful lines. However
my life was not made easy as I knew full
well that puppies from the one line tended
to come on in general substance as they
matured whereas the other line started off with
chunkier puppies that tended to fine down. The
head development in the two lines was also
dramatically different.
A male that turns out to be less than outstanding
is unlikely to demand much stud work so is
very much a passenger as far as the breeder is
concerned. A bitch who is a near miss, on the
other hand, can be upgraded if bred to the right
stud dog, so as a consequence most serious
breeders tend to focus on the bitches they keep.
The old mantra “the strength of a kennel lies in
its bitches” does indeed hold water.
K9 NEWS DIGITAL / JULY 2020
Gone are the days when breeders can afford
to run on whole litters to the age of six months
or beyond, as they did in the past, to ensure
that they keep the very best. Nowadays surplus
puppies need to be placed in caring pet homes
if they are obviously not going to measure up.
But how can breeders be sure? In the majority
of breeds with which I have been involved I
have always believed that you should evaluate
puppies at eight weeks of age when usually
they will demonstrate the same balance and
proportions that they will when fully mature. It is
then best to forget them until they get to twelve
months or so. That requires a lot of self-control
when you have a male puppy that seems to
be all legs and wings, bum-high and wobbly
in front! Only the steely determination of the
experienced breeder will empower them to stick
with that puppy until it is fully mature. This is
why I believe that some potentially excellent
males get side-lined into pet homes before they
have reached their true potential.
I have discussed this matter with several
breeders across different breeds and reluctantly
they agree that they are far more lenient and
forgiving of growing bitch puppies than their litter
brothers and several have in fact quoted case
histories of “the one that got away”.
There is also the question of what is required
of an embryo stud dog. In most breeds the
dogs that produce are those that are overtly
masculine and have “something to give”. I
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