How do you pick a puppy for conformation? After 30+
years, I
have
arrived
at a few rules. We all make mistakes when it comes to evaluating even
our
own litters, so it is really tough when you have to select a potential
winner at a young age from someone else's litter.
Size. At
10 weeks,
a puppy is already two thirds of his
adult height.
If you measure a pup at exactly 10 weeks, and multiply by 1.5, you will
have a very good idea of his adult height. To end up at 10.5
inches,
a pup will be 7 inches tall at 10 weeks.
Head. The
head changes from
birth to adulthood in much the
same
way the human face does. The face of an infant is small relative to the
cranium, especially the nose and jaw. Thus the puppy will develop more
length of nose, a flatter forehead, and a stronger jaw as it matures. To
have a reverse scissor at adulthood, the puppy usually has a tight
scissor
bite until it loses the deciduous teeth.
Neck. Necks grow - or
rather they become defined with age.
This
has to do with the development of the shoulder.
Shoulder.
The front assembly of the
canine is not attached
in the
same way as the human. Humans have the collar bone or clavicle which
runs
between the shoulder and the breastbone. The clavicle attaches to the
shoulder
at the acromio-clavicular joint, and attaches to the breastbone, or
sternum,
at the sterno-clavicular joint. This rather flimsy arrangement leaves
the
major part of the attachment of the upper extremity assembly to
muscles,
but does supply some mechanical (bony) rigidity to the
apparatus.
In canines, there is no collar bone. The front assembly literally
floats
on its muscular and ligamentous attachments. This arrangement suits the
need for maximum cushioning and flexibility of the front end of a
predator
which must catch its fast moving prey. The human needs more stability
because
his main implement is his hand, and he does not need the impact
cushioning
because he does not run on all fours. In all very heavy
quadruped
animals
where the front has to bear a great amount of weight, the shoulder
blades
are quite upright - consider the conformation of the elephant. The
young
puppy is heavy in proportion to his muscular strength. Thus in the
first
months of weight bearing, the shoulders tend to be upright - the
position
of maximum support.
The front end bears at least
65% - 75% of the dog's weight. Thus the
shoulder
in the canine starts out rather short and upright, for maximum strength
in weight bearing, and only later, as the animal uses its running gear
for several months or even a year or more, do the muscles mature and
define
the adult shoulder placement. The shoulder muscles develop by
responding
to the stresses of gait. Certain faults of conformation can interfere
with
the functional maturation of the shoulder. For instance, a rear end
which
is tipped up, causes a concave back, which forces, among other
things, an abnormal distribution of the animal's weight. As a
result, the shoulder tends
to
remain in the upright, infantile weight bearing position. The
bottom
line: shoulders usually get better angulated with maturity,
provided
the animal is not extraordinarily heavy, nor has a very flat pelvic
angle.
Rear.
The
rear end
normally is slower to develop than the
front.
In all mammals, development and control proceeds from front to rear, or
cephalo-caudal direction. The puppy often has poor rear control even as
late as 6 months. He tends to cow-hock at times, and to appear to have
too much angulation. While most breeders think it is impossible to have
TOO much angulation, indeed in puppies, it is probably well
to
take
the one with the angulation, even if he appears to not have very good
rear
control. As the rear muscles develop, the rear will firm up, and much
of
that angulation will disappear. If you chose a puppy which
seems to
look like a perfect little adult, he will probably be rather straight
behind
when he matures.
Proportion.
This is where I
think a lot of breeders make a
big mistake
in choosing a Lhasa Apso. Remember that carnivores are born blind and
helpless.
Nature does not want them venturing outside their den, so she deprives
them of legs that can do anything but crawl to their mother's teats:
they
have disproportionately short, useless legs. Large herbivores, on the
other
hand, are born fully equipped to run (away from carnivores) almost at
the
moment of birth: disproportionately long, functional legs. With
maturity,
the legs of carnivores become longer in proportion to their heads and
bodies,
while the herbivores do the opposite. If you pick a 10 or 12 week old
puppy
which has the leg to body proportions you like in an adult, those
proportions
will change, and that dog will be too leggy and out of balance as an
adult.
Nothing ruins the "type" of a Lhasa as much as a Tibetan Terrier
outline. Bottom
line: legs grow!
Coat. Pick the puppy who, by 10 weeks has a coat with a high proportion of good hard straight hair. Avoid the very downy, fluffy type that you can "blow apart". Also avoid a coat with noticeable marcel like waves or curls close to the skin, or one which looks like fine lamb's wool. Don't turn down the one which has a sparse looking coat, so long as it has long hair on the face, top of the head and fronts of the legs. These dogs often end up with the very best coats.
Temperament.
This is a really
tough one, because Lhasas
are so changeable,
but I try to keep the one who looks around when startled by a loud
noise,
but does not crouch or run. I like a puppy which can relax easily when
held, but who then wants to get down and play. I like the puppy who
will
approach strangers quickly, and who is curious to investigate any new
strange
people or objects.
Movement.
Since movement has as much to do with temperament
as structure,
a puppy who is constructed properly, and has a confident attitude will
almost always move properly. When you watch him move, he should have a
strong purposeful gait, and hold his head well. His tail should be well
up over the back by 8 weeks, and should rarely be seen down. Even at 8
weeks, he should have a level topline.
Balance.
The overall picture
of a "keeper" puppy is
more complicated
than picking the "outstanding" one. (- You know, - the puppy that all
the
(non-breeder) visitors to your home immediately designate as the "pick
of litter".) This one is often the largest, and the most
dominant
pup in the litter, and his body language says, "I'm the boss!"
I usually do not want to keep that pup.
First, with
the
limited
time I have to educate a pup, I do not want the job of convincing him
he
is NOT the boss. Secondly, he is usually the one who will go
oversized,
or too leggy. Many breeders look at a pup as a small adult, but those
proportions
change. Instead, when I evaluate the 10 to 12 week old
pup,
I look for the smaller pup with a relatively long body, but a good
length
of neck, and a well carried tail. I do not want to see adult
proportions
of leg to body length. Shoulders will become more
angulated,
rears less angulated. Heads become proportionately smaller
and
longer,
bodies become proportionately shorter, and legs grow.