Eventually, as the joy of having a new litter of English Cockers begins to moderate, we all desire to pick, sort, grade, or evaluate the puppies. In this article I will cover some of this evaluation process as it has evolved for me over the past twenty-three years and sixty litters. Because most pet puppies move to homes by nine weeks, I have limited my comments here to the first eight weeks in the puppy’s life.
Despite protestations from other breeders who claim one hundred percent success, I have never subscribed to the “pick ’em wet out of the sac” school of puppy picking. Usually at this time I am much more interested in thepuppies arriving in the world safely, and in the bitch whelping with theminimum of distress. There are, however, a few observations that may be madeas the pups arrive. I generally feel I can get some idea of a long-ribbedpuppy whose rib extends well back. Long necks are fairly recognizable then- before the pups take on too much food. The lovely “pansy” face (look closelyat a pansy flower and locate the eyes, nose and smile) of a broad, deep head with lots of “mush” and cushioning is also recognizable at this time.
At birth, of course, for breeders of parti-colours, markings are always exciting. The last variable I observe is weight. Since 1960 there has been a fairly definite increase in birth weight of my puppies. In those earlydays I generally felt seven to eight ounces were good-sized puppies. Yet,nowadays, a litter of five or six usually weighs in at nine to fourteen ounces.I have not observed, despite years of keeping records of weight and growthrates, any SIGNIFICANT correlation between adult size and birth weight.
OBSERVATIONS: 0 – 3 weeks. I do little to select pick of the littercandidates at this age but prefer to concentrate on the growth of healthypuppies. Weighing daily and maintaining a careful record of gain is an instantwarning of a pup which may be in trouble. I expect a minimum one ounce increasedaily after the first forty-eight hours and usually see gains of about twoounces. In addition, this handling and close monitoring of puppies helpsme keep on top of tails and dewclaws healing (we remove these before thepups are twenty-four hours old) and toenail clipping to prevent painful eyeinfections or discomfort for the dam.
The main observation I have found useful at this stage is to identify a certain “feel” to a puppy which is strong and thriving. When you pickup such a puppy, he fights and squirms; he is solid with a substantial riband firm strength.
3 – 8 weeks. This is the very rapid stage of development and dramatic changes. Pups are starting to be fed, eyes are open, first clumsy attempts to stand progress to deliberate movement, and genuine play begins. At this stage I spend a considerable amount of time watching and observing. Invariably, a pup will catch my eye by a brief flash of style, outline or alertness.Often I find that it is the same puppy I keep picking out. He is the oneto make special note of and remember. Gradually heads begin to lengthen andas fat and wrinkles disappear I start checking for length of head, balanceof muzzle and head, good depth of muzzle, width across the bridge of thenose and fairly large, well-opened nostrils. I find that looking straight on at a puppy at nose level gives a clearer idea of muzzle quality and under-jaw.Avoid too narrow an underjaw – those lower incisors need room to come instraight.
I pay little attention in the early weeks to height or length of legas most pups this age appear short. Be alert at this point to the shallowpup lacking depth of rib at the elbow as he may appear deceptively up onleg. The big-ribbed, study pup with sternum to the elbow can sometimes lookdumpy but later proves to be more balanced.
Coats begin to change at this age – any tendency to curl can be recognized now and it is possible to spot the very flat, smooth-coated pup that will have a glorious flat coat that is so easy to care for (but may also be the despair of the handler who complains he can never get enough coat for show!).
I begin to evaluate at five to six weeks by stacking pups. Usually this is done on the kitchen table on a firm, secure bath mat. Much time is spent handling, playing, and posing the pups. This early training is extremelyimportant in later show training sessions. In these early play-sessions Itend to look less for specific details of the conformation and more for overallgeneral impression and balance. I try to identify the balanced pup with ashort back, pleasing length of neck, gently slopping topline and correcttailset at the croup. Please note that firmness of topline at this age isunlikely to disappear later, although it could definitely come later if itis not.
I pay particular attention to rears when doing this stacking. Do avoid the pup that is tight or narrow when he is “cupped” between the legs. Don’t pose the legs where you would like to see them but gently allow the hindquarter to drop into its natural position. I like to see a firm rear with good extension out behind the dog so he is standing over a fair bit of ground. I also look for width and roundness over the hindquarters and upper thigh. Amount of angulationthrough the stifle can be evaluated fairly reliably now. Personally, I avoidextremes in anything and excessive angulation is one extreme I dislike. Lookfor “short” hocks in the pup that stands square with moderate curve of stifleand width between the legs.
Fronts I have found to be a little less reliable to evaluate accurately at this age. Knowing your stock is per-haps a better guide to final outcome! I do find, though, that I can identify pups that will be straight in theshoulder and out at the elbow with accuracy at this age. A pup which toesOUT at this age has promise for improvement but the out-at-elbow, toeingIN pup will flap elbows and pintoe as an adult. One tip here is to be criticalof the kind of rib you see in your pup. I want rib that, as an adult, willbe sprung but well let down and that extends well back on the body. A round,barrel hoop-shaped rib does not give the lung room that is provided by anoval rib. With poor ribbing, both too wide and too narrow, you will see movementfaults in front. Desirable rib in the puppy is best assessed by standingdirectly over the pup and feeling the rib cage with the palms of the hand,fingers directly perpendicular to the ground. The palm should be roundedby the gentle curve of the rib.
Some measure of bone can be made at this point al-though the changesthat occur seem to vary with different breeding lines. Because I like a moderate sized spaniel with bone in proportions, I do not like extremely heavy boned pups with large, spreading feet. Feet should be firm, well-cushioned and deep,a natural extension of the leg.
While eye colour is a little indefinite at this age; I try to look for a pup with an eye that is not too small, not bulbous, and that has a soft, gentle expression, never hard or mean. This cockery expression is hard to describe and is obviously part and parcel of what the breeder feels is correct. For me it is achieved by a combination of factors including eye position inskull, slightly oval shape, dark eye colour, chiseling beneath the eye, sufficientstop, flat sides to the skull and nearly parallel planes of the muzzle andback skull. The amount of stop is useful to assess now, but be prepared tobe surprised by some changes as skull bones alter and the stop “breaks.”Don”t delude yourself, though, that a pup with very little stop will everacquire all you desire! As you are assessing heads don’t forget to look forcorrect occlusion of upper and lower jaw. While jaw line will often alterdepending on a variety of factors, it is still important to know what youare starting with.
One of the habits I’ve acquired at this stage of the selection process is taking pictures. I frequently use polaroid because I am impatient forresults but it never ceases to amaze me how seeing a photograph of a pupI perhaps rejected changes my assessment of him. I also must see a pup posedfrom a distance and for this I rely on someone else to stack the pups inturn while I sit and watch the changing outlines. Sometimes swans turn intogeese when viewed thirty feet away! But then, the reverse is true, too!
It may appear I’ve emphasized spending a lot of time stacking and posing. It would be erroneous to leave that impression. A great deal of time isspent watching pups play either on the lawn or on the living room carpet(green, too, and most long suffering). Now I’m watching for front and rearaction, reach, and ground-covering movement. I pay particular attention towhat I call the “natural trotter.” He is the pup that trots around, headhigh, often carrying a twig or leaf in his mouth. He does not break intothe”galloping galumphs” (not one of Rachel Page Elliott’s terms but any-onewho has had ECs knows what I mean) as do his less nimble siblings. When youcall the “trotter” he trots effortlessly toward you. This pup should be watchedclosely for the future.
Tail carriage can be unstable. Although terrier tails should be avoided, butterflies and sundry exciting things can have strange effects on a tail! It is also at this time I pay close attention to personality – the cocky, self assured pup that has that little extra brashness and curiosity is always the one to follow.
Hopefully, by now you’ve developed a tentative “sort” of your litter. Though I’ve not really discussed the influence of the sire and dam in this article, you must, in making these evaluations of your litter, keep clearly in your mind the strengths and weaknesses of at least the sire and dam and immediate grandparents. If I’ve tried to work on a particular problem in abreeding I’ve done, then I focus especially on that problem to see how successfulI’ve been in what I set out to do. Do not, however, lose sight of the WHOLEdog – fault hunting can be hazardous to your stock.
For the purpose of this article I’ve chosen not to go beyond the preliminary assessment which will select any obvious pets and make an initial identification of pups to run on. The further assessment of the latter group is continuous and on-going. Later developmental changes in the youngsters such as final size, adult teeth, muscling, and final assessment of movement are topicsfor later discussion.
Reprinted from the ECQuarterly Fall 1983