GETTING THE MOST OUT OF YOUR LITTER EVALUATIONS

Successful litter evaluations can make or break a breeder’s reputation. Even with eyes on the puppies for eight weeks or more, sometimes our bias can lull us into the wrong decision.

I’m the first to admit that I am a sucker for a beautiful face and an outgoing temperament. Sadly, those two qualities are not enough to carry a breeding program forward. So, how do we eliminate that bias and end up with the most promising puppy in the litter?

Follow these steps to help get the most out of your litter evaluations.

Do stacked shots every week, starting at four weeks. I start taking stacked shots this early for a number of reasons. I often have breeders who live far from me who are intersted in my best dogs and they are eager to see pups and watch them develop. Starting at four weeks gives them time on the grooming table or stacking apparatus, so they gain experience every week. It also gives a benchmark so that you can watch the pattern of development over the next four weeks. Ask yourself if the puppy gets stronger each week, weaker, or do they equally catch your eye from week to week? Another benefit of doing this is that it can make up for an off day. Sometimes, try as we might, we just don’t get the stacked shot we want. Taking weekly shots can help make up for that.

Evaluate every puppy in the litter. In order to get the most out of your breeding program, evaluate every puppy, regardless of cosmetic faults. This practice will help you to assess the overall quality of a particular pairing. Not all pairings produce what we hope for. Use the complete picture to make decisions going forward.

Take photos. Photos help to minimize bias. That cute face and silly antics that charm us so much can’t be seen, typically (there’s always that one puppy!), in a photo. But consider getting the most out of your photos by putting the images into a grid. It makes for a much easier comparison.

Get extra eyes on the puppies. It’s nice to have other breeders look at our pups to help us see what we may be missing. I’ve found it extremely helpful to get breeders of other breeds to help as well. We can have individual bias, but we can also have breed bias. Stepping outside of our regular networks, that may only be looking for certain characteristics, can help to highlight puppies we may otherwise overlook. It also helps us to see a fault that we’ve become used to forgiving. Select critical evaluators. Some evaluators just give overall impressions--pretty colour, cute pose, that one seems sassy! Those well meaning critiques don’t really help the serious breeder, though they can be great fun to receive. Select people who give good descriptions of what they like or dislike. Those people are like gold. For example, I have a good friend who breeds world class Afghans. Admittedly, she is a topline snob. My toplines can sometimes be soft, so I look to her to help me correct that in my program. Ask people that you wouldn’t normally ask. Their contributions may surprise you.

Watch and learn. As much as possible, sit with the puppies with your camera in hand. Do you see a pup trotting across the yard? Get that photo or video. My Afghan friend has started using videos for stacking. Then she takes screen shots of the best stack. For my purposes, I find those images a little grainy, but they are good to have nonetheless. Have an evaluation party. At eight weeks, invite a handful of breeders over for that important evaluation time. Be sure to include at least one breeder not of our breed. Do your stacked shots and then look at them together on a computer screen. Have them watch movement and assess temperaments.

The final selection. If you are looking to keep a puppy for your breeding program, be sure to ask yourself, honestly, what traits will best complement and strengthen your current line. If two pups are relatively equal, select the one that best matches how you wish to progress.

Use free editors. I like to use a free editor called befunky.com. You may have other programs that you are already familiar with. Be sure that all photos are taken directly on side profile, with the pups on eye level. The more consistent your photos, the more accurate your evaluation.

Whatever treat you like to use, consider storing it in the freezer. This helps to prevent spillage and helps the pup to hold that stack longer. I generally try to have several to choose from in case pups get bored with one. An easy cheat is to take single portion yoghurts and canned cat food. Put them in the freezer as they are, and when you are ready to take photos, just peel off the tops.

Have you ever noticed when a puppy will habitually move a rear leg forward, regardless of how many times you place it in the correct position? This often happens with slipped hocks. In my opinion, this is the least understood fault in our breed and can be one of the most debilitating. The hock drives the dog, and if it is faulty, it ruins movement, makes a dog prone to chronic hock injuries, and can even lead to broken bones in the hock. These specimens are best placed as pets. Be sure puppies don’t have any injuries that could be causing them to favour a leg or other body part. We know that our breed plays hard, even as puppies. A muscle strain can cause an otherwise nice puppy to look poorly built, when, in reality, it is lovely.

Consider how the pup hangs in your hands when lifting it. Once you develop a feel for how a stronglyconstructed pup feels in your hands, it gives that first clue that you may be holding your keeper. Poorly constructed dogs, typically, fidget and fight on lifting. Obviously, there can be many other factors that will cause this, but if it happens week after week, you may be dealing with a pet, as opposed to a show or breeding prospect.

Several years ago I attended a litter evaluation being done by another Ridgeback breeder. For fun, I had them blindfold me and I did the entire evaluation blind. They included one puppy twice to see if my evaluations were accurate. We all had some good laughs and I learned a very valuable lesson. Remember how I mentioned injuries

7 WEEKS earlier? Well, there was one puppy in the litter that had quite a roachy topline. I was very puzzled by this, as I knew the pedigree well and there just weren’t dogs with this fault in the background. As examined this particular puppy (though, at the time I didn’t know it was him, of course), I ran my hands down the inside of his rear legs. Well, what do you know! The inside knee on one side was swollen. He had a soft tissue injury to his knee. “Is this the pup with the roachy topline,” I asked. Sure enough, it was the pup whose topline was off. As the knee healed, and the swelling went down, his topline leveled out.

Even the very best puppies in the litter may not always end up being the best, or most competitive, or pass health tests, etc. on maturity. Be prepared to place young adults that are not meeting your standards.

Study puppy pictures. Develop an eye for a puppy. Remember that balance matters and a puppy with no angles at eight weeks, will not have them as an adult.

Be sure to keep all puppy photos so that you can go back and compare once the dog has reached maturity.

I had a puppy a few years ago that looked amazing at eight weeks. Then he fell apart. He looked horrible for about two years. And just like that, once he matured, I saw that same, beautifully balanced puppy that captivated me at eight weeks. That dog has gone on to become one of my best producing studs.

The moral of the story is to trust your eye, once cultivated, and be patient. Forget about that 18 month old that looks like a cross between a Plott Hound and a Spider Monkey. If you have evaluated correctly, you will get that beautiful dog back. I promise.