We've been studying the standard and looking at pictures of dogs and talking about them together... that way we've got two sets of eyes working together. We have been discussing ways to offset faults (not doubling, finding one that is really strong where the other has a minor fault) to do the best we can. We've been noticing common faults that really stand out in poorly bred dogs.
Do most (good... GREAT) breeders keep or even HAVE pictures of relative dogs? not only the parents of a certain dog but grandparents and litter mates of the dog, the parents and grandparents?
During our "yorkie time" tonight we're going to research and discuss how to evaluate the personality and quality of a puppy... We'll try to read as much on it as we can but I feel that a lot of that is simply going to come from experience. I love looking at puppy pictures and seeing the dog change over time. The puppies look sooooooo much alike but the adult dogs have marked differences, is it a total guessing game as to what the adult will look like or can you start to see changes that clue you in? I know people sell "show quality" puppies, I want to be able to recognize one.
While I work on chemistry and physics homework this week, Hubby's homework is to find us a breeder friendly vet that is CLOSE to us. I think it will end up being Paris's (our springer spaniel) vet but we're going to "interview" all of them to make sure. The vets I assisted are all 45 mins away and I need someone MUUUCH closer than that.
... putting the pieces together...!!! |