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Originally Posted by brass2e  I appreciate your comment about coat length and being "up on leg" as I am just cruising the postings looking for info about this. I have a 6-month-old pup who will be about 6.5-7 lbs and I am a newbie. I was wondering about longer legs, is it common for larger dogs to have longer legs? My understanding is that if the legs are longer that the coat must go to the floor. Are there many yorkies in the ring that are taller? I have seen some that appear to have longer legs when I look at photos of other champions. I would welcome any input. |
I am a total newbie at this but I will share with you what I have learned during my short time in the ring.
A taller dog is not necessarily large. In a large dog, everything is bigger--the feet, the head, even the density of the bone. Most of the leggy dogs I have seen, including my dog, are tall but still have very delicate features. They look like an average dog but only on stilts, if that makes any sense. I once ran into someone with a 8-9lb Yorkie at a pet store--my dog and he were the same height but my dog looked TINY next to him.
Most of the specials out there are tall dogs; the neck and leg make them look so elegant and regal.
IMH(umble)O taller dogs take longer to finish but they look amazing once they are in full coat. It takes a very long time to grow coat to cover the legs. Right not my boy is 21 months old and his coat is barely touching the ground. When he was in the puppy classes he would be in the ring with shorter dogs the same age, with the same amount of coat (however, because they were shorter it looked SO much longer) and he looked like baby huey--gangly, lanky and very disproportionate. It also takes time for their chests to drop which helps with the front movement. Taller pups sometimes kick their legs out in an egg-beater fashion. Once the chest drops the front movement turns into a very smooth stride.
If you are planning on showing your dog start now with weekly conformation classes. Find a mentor and have him evaluated. Start oiling and wrapping. Enter a few shows for the ring experience and the socialization to the noise. Go to every B-match you can find. Train like you are entered in a specialty the following weekend. Once his coat is long enough and you think he is ready then actively show him.
Again, I am not an expert by any means. I am merely speaking to my experience of ALMOST finishing my dog
I am very fortunate to have been taken under the wings of some incredible women who have taught me SO much and yet I learn something new all of the time.