evaluating newborns

J

JessicaR

Forums Enthusiast
So I have been rereading my Sheltie Talk and Another Piece Of The Puzzle books and they both talk about doing an initial evaluation of puppies while they are still wet. (from birth) That got me thinking... how many of you breeders start looking at potential show puppies at that age. if you do, other than size factor, how accurate do you find it to be? What exactly do you look for in a pup that young? I know the books say that angles are obvious that young, and the Sheltie Talk book talks about evaluating the head. Of course color is obvious, markings dont change too much from birth. What other key ages do you start looking for certin things, and what are they?

What I would love to do is just look at tons of puppies at various ages and see how everything starts to come togather, or falls apart for the show potential pup. I know that it is impossible to something like that in person. First there isnt that many show breeders of shelties near where I live and second there is probably even less that would allow a stranger to come look at their babies.

Would it be possible for people to be allowed to post pictures of their litters from birth up, just for the purpose of education, not pups they have for sale, older litters that are already been placed? With descriptions of what they like and dont like about that particular pup. Would their be any breeders willing to do this if allowed?

All I want is to start learning evaluations better from people that has been doing this for awhile. We all know every puppy is cute and special but I want to get down to the nitty gritty and see what makes a champ!

Thanks for reading my long request! :biggrin2:
 
I don't start doing any serious evaluation until about 6 weeks. I am not good enough to evaluate the head on a just born puppy and get anything useful from it. Given I'm doing performance events also, I'm looking at structure, temperament, boldness, ability to problem solve/figure new things out, drive, and speed. By then, that is all starting to come together and give me an idea of where each puppy needs to be.
I haven't bred many litters, but have seen most of the pups, whether in person or pictures, as they have grown up, and with the exception of coat (which I have gotten the least coat twice now :/ ) I've done a pretty good job and have managed to keep the structurally soundest puppy with the drive and speed I want.
I think they can seriously start to go off around 4 months old, and then it is a wait and see game on whether they will come back together or not.
 
interesting, I know they say you can tell right after birth if they have a nice "blocky" head, personally I dont evaluate until atleast 6 weeks of age, and even than sometimes cant fully make up my mind until 8 weeks....but by 10 weeks or so they do sort them selves out if it is close between 2...

If you are on FB there is a great group on there and that would be an awesome question to ask and see the feedback, alot of people on there have been breeding forever!
 
The ones I have loved, have been from minutes after they are born. I knew with Tansy right away that for me, she was going to be special. I never looked back. I just held my breath and watched her grow. And she certainly didn't disappoint. The males are a killer. I have had some stunning dogs that I knew were going to be really nice, only to have them have a size issue or not have all they needed :wink2:
You know it when you see it. Go to different breeder's websites and look at their show prospects, sometimes they will also post "wee baby pictures" of dogs that have continued on the path to be a great showdog.
 
I apologize in advance for the off-topic comment, but I just searched for 'sheltie breeders' on FB and the result looks nothing like Shelties. :lol:

Check it out. Don't worry. It isn't porn.
 
I hope I dont offend anyone but I dont know how anyone pics a pup when they are teeny tiny, I cant tell what they will become. I also think they dont look like a doggie that young.
 
Well in the litters I have seen I know you can see the potential but you never know for sure until later. That is my beginner view. I am getting better at picturing what they will look like as adult the more I see. So I think people who are quite experienced with shelties can probably tell from an early age if a certain puppy is one to watch or not. Of course, final judgement comes later.

But I can tell you, we had one puppy that from the day she was born(and I do mean the second she was born) was a pet. The head instead of being "blocky" was quite tear drop looking. She ended up being cute in her own way but definitely not what we where going for.:no: I looked for a goo head picture of her as a 1-2 day old, but I don't think I could being myself to take one.

I have a few pictures of Birch as a baby in my albums. Here is one at 2 weeks. and then I posted a couple more recent below. 1st one is end of July(10 months)and 2nd one is 7 months.

http://www.sheltieforums.com/album.php?albumid=412&pictureid=4859

I think his head plans from the side have pretty similar look.
 
Last edited:
Thanks everyone! Love the picture of Birch, Dr. Shelley he is so cute!

I figure the only way I am going to learn is by looking at lots and lots of puppies and adults. I like the pictures in Sheltie Talk that shows pups at different stages, I just wish they were in color, and that there was more of them. :biggrin2: I try and go to shows to watch when I can and really want to go to the specialty show that COSSA has this February. My biggest problem is I am shy so I have a hard time going up to people I dont know and talk to them about their dogs.
 
I'm not a sheltie breeder but did westies and belgians for years. I can look at the head of a newborn westie and tell you if it has a strong head or is going to be long muzzled or narrow skull accurately. I can also see in the wet newborn what kind of coat it will have, it's earset, pigment and tail set. The rest of the body has to wait until it is older.
The Belgian is a bit more difficult. While I can see if it will have a nice length to it's muzzle, I can't tell if it will be down faced. That's about all I can see but I didn't breed very many litters so wasn't able to compile the kind of data that I did on the westie.
I would imagine that an experienced sheltie breeder would be able to see some things at birth besides colour and the would be waiting to see if the rest of the dog matched up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top