Where Do Pets Come From

by Tina Barber

Where do Pets come from?  I have written several articles related to this subject in past SSDCA Newsletters, but due to popular demand I will try to go over the basics again.

 First of all, each litter produced is nothing more then an attempt (by the individual breeder) to “create” a certain “type” of puppy.  Each breeding is carefully planned with high expectations that it will produce the desired results.  Yet each breeder knows that if he/she is lucky enough to accomplish that goal, even in one puppy, there will still be lots of pets in that litter as well.  How can one tell the difference, when most pups look almost alike?    You must professionally evaluate the entire litter, then make your specific selections. 

 Here is an example of a possible litter evaluation:

Ch. Lovely Lady was bred to Ch. Super Stud with the hopes of producing some great future show/breeding hopefuls!  At 8 weeks, the breeder (along with one or more experts) has done an intense LER.  The (highly condensed) results are as follows;

1.  Blue Boy has huge bone, but he is a bit low stationed.  His head is broad, but he needs a bit more stop, his ear set is a bit low too.  Movement is good, and he is clean coming and going!  His temperament is outstanding!  He is loving, yet confident and playful.  No signs of shyness, yet still extremely intelligent! Although he does not seem to possess much aptitude for Sch or SAR, he will nevertheless make an excellent obedience prospect. 

2.  Green Boy is the biggest and heaviest!  What a tank! He has huge oval bone, with a massive broad rear, usually a sign of strong hips!  Beautiful head with an excellent stop and good ear set!  Yet is slightly East-West, and needs more shoulder angulation!  He also has no wither, and although he has an excellent croup, he is just a bit short coupled.  His temperament is very sweet and soft with no play drive at all, although he was a bit noise sensitive and panicked in the maze! 

3.  Red Boy is a bit smaller then his other brothers, but structurally he is almost perfect!  His side gait is effortless, with front reach and stifle to die for!  Although not extreme he has excellent head measurements, with a pronounced stop and nice high ear set. His front angulation and shoulder lay back are almost perfect! He scored well in all of his temperament tests, was rated as a very confident and outgoing, yet submissive puppy that will be easy to train.  

4.  Black Boy tested out as having a very high pain tolerance, although he too is very submissive yet outgoing.  He earned the best overall score from the maze, as well as the ball, tug, can and other tests. He was then given a special SAR test that he passed with flying colors!  He was not so lucky during the conformation test.  He was rated as having inadequate bone and a “bitchy” head. Although certainly not a “runt” he was probably not going to grow into a giant. 

5.   Purple Boy is the happiest puppy in the group!  He has a “super sweet” personality, always trying to please whoever will pay any attention to him.  He passed all of the intelligence tests, but showed no interest in the can (to investigate strange objects) or the ball (to retrieve) or the tug (prey drive) instead he tried to lick the kitten that invaded the test area!  His structure could not be “faulted’ although there is nothing “spectacular” about his conformation or movement. 

6.  Tan Boy is very burly and square, with a hook tail.  His ears are also set a bit low, and could possibly have a problem standing.  Otherwise he is only 1 lb. lighter then Green boy! His confirmation, other then his tail and faded muzzle is extremely pleasing.   With a perfect front, and excellent rear, his movement is flawless. He will be very soft and submissive, although also very easy to train.  He lacks the confidence to “take charge” of a situation, and will always prefer to follow other pack members instead.  

7.  Orange Boy is the darkest, with the most impressive broad head.  He has a perfect ear set, and ideal stop.  His front is to die for, and he is the only one with an adequate wither!  His topline is ideal, and his movement effortless!  His deep thigh and perfect stifle are a dream come true!  On his submission he only rated a 2, and on the pain tolerance he went all the way to ten indicating that this one will need an alpha handler!  His prey retrieve and drive were very high, although his intelligence (maze, can, etc.) tests ran closer to average. 

 In order to avoid much repetition, I have condensed the female pups' description. 

8.  Pink Girl looks just like green boy, only with a faded muzzle.  Her temperament is very sweet and loving, and she showed no problem with noise sensitivity.

9.   Lavender Girl is almost a carbon copy of Tan Boy, without a hook tail!     Although she does have a faded muzzle along with that huge head!  

10. Aqua Girl takes after her Red Boy brother, only with even smaller bone.   She is structured very nicely, but she has an overly cautious temperament.

Now that the LER has been completed, let’s start the selection process

Obviously this is an awesome litter of puppies!  They are all big and healthy, but as you can note above, there are variations in each one.  The first question the breeder must deal with is simply;  Did I get what I was looking for in these pups?  A more important question is;  What are my future goals for my breeding program, and what part will this litter play in those plans?  After contemplating on the 3 “BIG ones” many breeders will end up with a variety of different answers.