How do you know if a puppy can be a show dog?
First, we don't breed puppies that can't be show dogs. They all pretty much have potential, they just need someone to fill out the entry form. No one will laugh even the worse out of the ring.Second, I don't care what people says, coat, color and markings DO MATTER. You can pick those from the minute they are born.
Third, the "mommy test". At one month of age, all puppies are adorably clumsy in the way they move, but food is always a motivator, and the mother is pretty much the chief motivator. So put the mom in the back yard for a few hours. The puppies are already walking. Then bring in the mother for feeding, hold her on the other side of the room, and observe in what order the puppies waddle to the mother. I’ll see which is the pushiest, which is the most anxious, which has the most submissive energy, and which has the most medium or laid-back energy. You want to consider the best mover, least clumsy, most anxious. The one that makes it to mom first. Do this several times to test your observations.
Forth, touch the puppies. Judges touch the show dogs.... and I've noticed a certain gleam in the judge's eye when he touched one of our show dogs, who subsequently won. Your show puppies, have a certain muscle tone and a certain athleticism that you can actually feel, if you are paying attention.
Rhodesian Ridgeback FAQs . . .
