From The CC Vault: Breed Standards for Puppies, A Practical Consideration?

by William Given

Originally published: September 2015

Breed standards are written with the purpose of describing, in as much detail as possible, the mature dog. I believe we would all be hard pressed to find any fault with that assumption. But let me ask, have parent clubs been remiss in not addressing the need for breed standards for puppies? Most dogs are purchased at ages far younger than where they could reasonably be expected to have achieved the maturity described in the breed standard.
At one end of the spectrum you will find the Chihuahua and the Yorkshire Terrier maturing at four to six pounds and they could be expected to reach maturity with respect to development and weight at six to eight months of age. The Bichon Frise and Pekingese mature at about ten pounds at about 10 to 12 months of age. In a next slightly larger group, Boston Terriers, Standard Dachshunds and Scottish Terriers weigh in from 15 to 25 pounds somewhere between 12 to 15 months of age. Australian Shepherds, Basset Hounds and Samoyeds achieve an average weight of 45 to 65 pounds between 16 and 20 months. Three of the most popular breeds, the Labrador Retriever and the Golden Retriever mature in the 55 to 75 pound range at about 18 to 20 months of age, and the German Shepherd Dog matures at 75 to 95 pounds from 20 to 24 months. And at the far end, the two giant monoliths of the dog world, the Great Dane and the Irish Wolfhound may measure more than 32 inches at the shoulder and weigh in excess of 150 pounds when they are 24 to 30 months of age.

Regardless of your breed, if you were to take a sizeable and fairly representative sample of dogs across a spectrum of ages, you could determine an average weight by age. With that data you could construct a matrix to show the average weight, by age group, leading up to and at which mature balance could be expected.

Most Puppies Are Purchased When Young

I am certain that none of us need to read the results of some survey to acknowledge the fact that virtually all puppies are sold when they are six months of age or younger, and actually, the vast majority of puppies are purchased at the tender age of eight weeks. Why? It is because people want to take that sweet little bundle of fur home when he is still fat and so very cute. At eight weeks the puppy has been weaned and is ready to leave his mother and siblings.

In almost every breed book I have ever read, the author provides advice to potential puppy purchasers. The advice is sound, especially where the author suggests, “Try to see the dam and, if at all possible, the sire of the puppy you are considering.” This is, of course, recommended because it is the best available indication of the puppy’s probable appearance and temperament at maturity.

However, in the larger breeds, there is quite often a slower rate of development. So, as should be expected, there are greater disparities between the physical immaturity of youth and the balanced maturity of an adult dog. Experienced, highly successful breeders are well aware of this and have learned (through trial and error) to have faith in the power of the pedigree and the index of age-appropriate development they have created. Novice breeders, however, very often find themselves in need of a little help. Breed standards for puppies could just be the type of assistance they require.

Parent Club Assistance Needed

National breed clubs hold the responsibility for the breed standards, not just the elected leadership but rather the whole of the active voting membership. It is my personal belief (and not necessarily that of this magazine) that the people most important to the success of a parent club are the dedicated and passionate member/breeders. It is they who spearhead the efforts to improve the breed and work so tirelessly to build interest in their breed with the American canine-loving public. Breeders are also of critical importance to the success of the parent club breed standards committees.

I have recently found myself asking, “Would it be practical and constructive for National breed clubs to produce and implement well-formulated and comparatively specific descriptions of the age differentials between various ages of puppies and young dogs. It seems more appropriate than expecting judges to subtract an uncertain amount of immaturity from maturity and factor in potential.”

By one moth of age, most breeders are just beginning to consciously evaluate the individual strengths and weaknesses of the puppies in their litter. It is at this age the puppies are more freely moving around the whelping box and are beginning to look and act like the dogs they will become.

At two months of age, most breeders will have identified the major and minor faults in varying levels of degree that would limit the success of their puppies in the show ring. By the simple process of elimination, some of these puppies are no longer under consideration for “pick of the litter” and will begin being placed in new homes, both show and pet homes, where they will grow to be cherished canine companions or prove their potential in the show ring. How nice would it be if the breeder could provide the new owners with a written description prepared by the parent club and endorsed by the American Kennel Club, as to what their new puppy should be expected to look like as he or she moves through the different stages of development.

From three to five months of age, the puppies continue to grow their way toward maturity. It is during this time frame that many owners of new show quality puppies tote them to show ring puppy training classes and seize every opportunity to enter them in fun and sanctioned “B” matches. These matches serve a very valuable purpose. A significant portion of match judges, though not yet licensed, are aspiring judges and possess a great deal of experience in the ring and have had some success in the whelping box. These matches allow our future judges the opportunity to gain experience appraising the differences in the current qualities of puppies and the probable balance they will achieve as adults. Breed standards for puppies would afford novice judges the early experience of judging these young dogs to a standard and not simply comparing one puppy to another.

At six months through one year of age, these young dogs are eligible to compete in the puppy classes. The puppy classes are divided at almost all, if not all, specialty shows and at most all-breed shows. The junior class is for puppies six to nine months old and the senior class being for puppies that are nine to 12 months of age. In these classes, a puppy may compete fairly with other puppies of similar age and maturity. Except for those breeds which happen to achieve physical maturity in this age range, the puppy class winners still remain at a disadvantage in the winners class due to their obvious immaturity. Judges are required to make their evaluation of each dog to the Standard on the day. There is no provision made for potential. A breed standard for puppies could even out the playing field for the puppies fortunate to move forward to the winners class.

At 12 months of age, a puppy becomes an adult. Of course, depending on the breed, it may be another year or more before full maturity is achieved. If a dog of one of these breeds become physically mature at 12 months or even 18 months, it might be too soon, and one could reasonably expect there would exist a strong probability that the dog would continue to develop through the normal age of maturity for the breed and become overly large and coarse so as to limit any possibility of a successful show career in the future. This should always be of concern to owners (and breeders) when they find themselves enjoying a great deal of success in the open class with a puppy.

Is it possible that the National breed clubs could do a great service for owners, breeders and judges if they prepared and published breed standards for puppies at the ages of one month, two months, three to five months, six to nine months, nine to 12 months and at reasonable intervals between 12 months and full maturity as needs dictate based on the breed. It seems reasonable that a breed standard for puppies would address a number of issues. They could significantly assist breeders and first-time owners to recognize and evaluate appropriate and unsatisfactory rates of development. They could help judges evaluate the degrees of maturity in relation to the progress made toward the breed’s standard.

May I suggest that you consider taking the opportunity to spend a Saturday or Sunday at a show unencumbered with an entry, crate, exercise pen and grooming box? Instead of taking all of these things, take a copy of your breed standard. Compare the available puppies with each other and to the standard. Look for the degree of maturity in each. Compare the good adults to the standard. The differences will be very noticeable and you may find yourself contemplating the need for breed standards for puppies.

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Posted by Liz on Jan 16 2023. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.