That said, they are all nice puppies! We are only doing two show homes of each gender and so we were looking at which two (of each gender) were likely to most easily finish a championship.
The puppies share a common breed fault, and that is a straighter shoulder than we would like to see. It is hard to get good shoulder layback in a berner, and a straighter shoulder is definitely a Cadi fault as well. We did not get a ton of reach/drive in any puppy but again, this is something we can also say about Cadi.
Remember that what I wanted to improve was better coat, less leg, more breed type, better tail set -- I am happy to say that we did accomplish these things. I did not want to lose Cadi's strengths -- lovely topline, nice front and rear, lovely head and great personality -- and we also accomplished this goal, especially with the four puppies we are designating as "show" puppies. And so I would say this was a successful breeding so far -- we will have to see how the puppies fare over their lifetime but we are off to a good start.
The two boys we have picked to go to show homes are Whitby and Hudson. The two girls who will go to a show home are Jamaica and Sydney. Deciding which of the two from each gender will be one and which will be two is not going to be easy as each has some wonderful attributes and none have any big glaring faults. But decide we will, although it will likely not be until Friday.
We are working on editing video and will post to YouTube later today. In the meantime, here are some pictures:
This is Sydney.
This is Jamaica.
This is Whitby.
This is Hudson.
Cassie took some pictures, including the next three -- this is Jamaica and Ireland.
Four cute puppies hanging out.
This is all eight eating together. They are now having one meal a day that is kibble and two that are homemade.
Making decisions is hard, isn't it? I wish that choosing one puppy did not have to mean not choosing another :( But whichever puppy I do not choose will be loved and happy with Barb in Colorado and so that is consolation to me. I hope that your day is full of easy, obvious choices and that all of us can look forward and not back once decisions are made...
Thanks for visiting and feel free to weigh in with your opinions!
Criticizing these pups is definitely looking for a needle in a haystack and I'm surely no expert, but Sydney's back looks longer that Jamaica's, which seems to make her neck look less substantial. I'm not sure what is desirable - I first assumed Jamaica's shorter back makes her more square and thus more athletic for jumping, turning, etc. But does a longer back give any more freedom of movement and reach, or does reach all come from the shoulder?
ReplyDeleteI went home yesterday feeling sad that you have to choose which of your babies to keep. One cannot pick a favorite child. I decided we needed to look at these decisions another way. So all of your kids are going off to college and you have to pick what school would be good for them. Luckily they have all been accepted to fine schools(homes). One kid might need a quiet nuturing liberal arts school. Another might need a school with a strong theater department where he can be the big man on campus. Perhaps another one of your children wants to follow in your social work footsteps, and another would do best staying at home while furthering her education. So still lots of big decisions but really just choosing the best place for everyone. And remember you have such charming, intelligent, friendly, and beautiful puppies that they will thrive whereever they go.
ReplyDelete