They have arrived!

[retiredhappy]

Oooooooh, PUPPIES!!!! I'm with Ava, want to love them, kiss them, cuddle them and then give them back. My thing is to rescue older dogs but wish they could bottle puppy breath.

[bluepinecones]

Knew there had to be puppy pictures somewhere. Thanks, Tina.
Have you picked a favorite yet or maybe just decided to keep them all.

[BirdbyBird]

Haven't made a decision yet. They all look great so far and have wonderful temperaments. At seven weeks they are just now beginning to get up on their feet and move smoothly. The boys because they are a little bigger still have some puppy wobble to them. The evaluation puppy party is Friday!

[mitch5252]

...The evaluation puppy party is Friday!

..
I do believe some of us need a further explanation of an "Evaluation Puppy Party"...

Like - is there cake and coffee? Or wine? Party favors?

..

[Getupngo]

Ahhh ... puppy breath! Love the pix ... I also vote for the pup-in-the-bowl shots. You clearly have your hands full.

[BirdbyBird]

Mitch, remember you asked...sorry if TMI (Too Much Information )

The evaluation system I have participated in goes by the title "The Puppy Puzzle" and its authors recommend it for all breeds. Nothing totally replaces a breeder watching the ongoing development of a group of puppies, especially their movement and temperament but it does help shine the light of other's opinions on the quality of a litter of puppies were the owner/breeders may have favorites or "kennel blindness" ....as in can't see structure faults or less attractive features in one pup over another. When all are "cute" it can be difficult to make decisions.

The evaluation should be scheduled within a day or two of when the litter turns 8 weeks old. If anyone remembers watching puppies or children grow...they go through some pretty amazing awkward stages. At 8 weeks most puppies have some balance and proportion to their bodies that is more likely to reflect what they get to as adults. (No promises just trying to increase the odds.)

Because of the difficulty looking at a puppy and imagining the adult some show/breeder will keep several pups to watch as they mature and grow through puppy hood and then may place an older pup, if a bite goes out, or the proportions and angles don't come together as well as they had hoped. For most of us keeping multiple puppies to show is not practical or financially reasonable. Mostly it isn't always as good for the pups, who want to loved and get the individual attention in a forever home. ANother example, the pick of the litter in Izzy's litter was the Blue Roan boy. The owner of the stud dog like him enough to buy him back and showed him. He won a Puppy Sweepstake at a Specialty Show out on the east coast as a youngster but as he continued to grow she thought his back was too long and she placed him in a pet home. She was after "Best in Show" and Specialty winners.... and could afford to buy and keep the best.

Anyways back to the question. The litter is taken to an environment that they are unfamiliar with....like someone elses home. The breeder or whoever is caring for the pups everyday does not participate but only gets to watch and take pictures. Everyone else has an evaluation sheet. If folks have never participated before there is a video of each section to watch before examining the puppies on that area. The group individually evaluates each puppy on each area and the individuals write their evaluation from 1-5 on the feature. Some of the areas of evaluation have to do with temperament, shoulders, stability of knees and hocks, topline, head structure, ribs and chest, teeth and jaw, eye placement..... you get the idea.

It is interesting that in the two "parties" I have participated in, though we may have disagreed on our opinions of different features the dogs ranked 1st, 2nd, etc, was usually the same. The breeder also gets feed back as to the difference between the pups. If someone had a very active breeding program (my 5 litters in 25 years does not quality. ) they might be drawn to keeping one pup over another because their breeding program might need improvement in that particular area.

Cindy, the owner of the stud dog is hosting the party for the pups at her home outside Columbus. The first time she used the system to evaluate a litter, the group definitely made her look and re-evaluate "her" puppy choice. The last litter she had, the group process confirmed her pick of the litter for her. It is not for the faint of heart. You have to be willing to hear both the pluses and the minuses of each pup. You might find out that out of what you think is a promising show litter you have wonderful quality pets.

All of the pups are spoken for at this time. Personally I am thinking that there are going to be some stunning English Cockers going to forever homes and making wonderful, sound, healthy companions....which is what good breeding should be about. Not so much about the show ring as to their function in the rest of life....a healthy, well tempered, beautiful companion ....to swim in Mitch's pond.....

[OutandAbout]

Mitch, remember you asked...sorry if TMI (Too Much Information )

..a healthy, well tempered, beautiful companion ....to swim in Mitch's pond.....

And to leave their "trash" all over.

They certainly are adorable. Thanks for the info on the "party".

[mitch5252]

And to leave their "trash" all over.

..
OMGosh - I have no idea what I did with that ball...Tina, I hope you weren't counting on getting it back! I can always give them one of my dryer balls.

And thank you for the party information.


"What time is it?"




nah, I'm just kidding. That was interesting...
..

[Bethers]

And that evaluation party is completely different from the one used by the humane society I was with ... although we had different ones for young and adult dogs ... ours was mainly to test the dogs with different age groups, other animals, how much exercise they need or demand, etc ... but a test it is. We had folks wanting to adopt dogs and we wouldn't let them as they didn't fit the profile the dog needed.

Tina, they are all adorable. My preference, of course, is that they all go to homes to be loved and not shown, but hopefully if to be shown, that they get to a home like yours where that's not the first priority - you give love first and your pups all know that.

Absolutely adore the pictures in Dennis' bowls.

[Redwahine]

My last two dogs were past/retired show dogs that were no longer wanted/needed. Dustin was a English Cocker Blue Roan (almost a clone of Stuart) that the 1st owner decided showing was too much work, money and bother. Then he was sold to a woman who was trying to have a baby and thought this ex show dog would be a good for the baby as a pet. but she couldnt handle him. That's when he became my forever dog till 2010.

Tyler was a bench champ and would have been a prize stud until they discovered his low thyroid problem. A trait the conscientious breeder was trying to breed out of English Setters. So, he was with a family that bred English Mastiffs until I took as my now forever pet. Because he was such a well trained show dog and stands and looks beautiuful for the judge. But he wouldn't sit. It took me forever to teach him to sit.

Those puppies sure are cute. Lets us know the out come of the party. Which one is pick of the litter.

[BirdbyBird]

Because the puppies are English Cockers the "matching" up between prospective buyers and the typical traits, exercise needs and grooming needs of English Cockers is part of the interview process. The best calls are from folks who have already owned an ECS.....much less explaining of what owners should expect and be willing to handle.....

[IrishIroamed]

PUPPIES!!!!! Best smile makers in the world.

[Bethers]

Red, I had a dog that wouldn't sit - could, but wouldn't. I was talking to my vet about it one day and he did some different checks on him - and discovered that he had a hip problem that caused him pain when getting into a sitting position. I no longer asked him to sit. He'd stand or lie down, and I felt so guilty about all the times I would force him to sit. Poor boy.

Tina, I knew you did assessments of families, etc ... I loved when families told me (us actually at the humane society) that they didn't understand why we felt we needed to ask lots of the questions we did - but couch potato families need a couch potato dog, etc etc.

[grammynmaggie]

What sweet puppies .....don't we all this love puppies!

[JoanE]

Tina, are the pet puppies neutered as a prerequisite to adoption? BTW, my Maggie was a breeding bitch and had many champion pups before I acquired her.