Choosing "show quality" puppies

[Stephanie17s]

How does one go about evaluating young puppies (under 6 months old) for show? I'm curious, because dogs develop so much in their first two years. Pictures of stacked show and pet quality puppies would be helpful if anyone can find some.

[katieliz]

an experienced breeder can rule out for "show quality", the puppies in a litter that have obvious faults at any given age. they can know the sire and dam are show quality and hope the breeding will produce in kind, but no one can say for sure as the puppies grow how they will develop or if they will be "show quality". there's also a very wide range within the "show quality" category itself. can you show him/her is one thing, will she/he win...another.

[codmaster]

There is also a distinction sometimes made between "Speciality' show quality and "All Breed" show quality as they can be often very different type!

[Stephanie17s]

I feel like the GSD pup would be hard to evaluate, unless something was REALLY off. Some breeds seem easier to at least narrow down, because of obvious color/marking faults, or something like that.

[katieliz]

color faults, bite faults, physical shortcomings that would not change with age. if you want an absolutely show quality dog, i think you'd have to buy a young adult. and even then...

the opposite can happen tho, the ugly ducklings (with no major faults), can turn into swans. doesn't happen often, but it can happen.

[Stephanie17s]

Very interesting. I definitely have a lot to learn about GSD conformation. I look at a litter of puppies and I have no idea what's what lol

[Andaka]

You need to learn to evaluate structure and movement on adult dogs first. You need to go to a lot of shows and watch the good, the bad, and the ugly. You need to visualize how structure pertains to movement. This is best done with a mentor who can sit with you at ringside and point them out to you so that you can learn to see them for yourself.

Then you can move on to puppies. Learn what changes and what doesn't. Fronts generally don't change, rears do. I like to pick puppies from my litters at 8 weeks. Other breeders lines progress differently.

All that being said, your best bet to get a good show puppy is to buy from a show breeder who has had much success in the show ring. If you want a "specialty" type, then buy from a breeder who has produced several Select level dogs. If you want more of the "all breed" type, then find a breeder that has placed many times in the Herding Group ring.