I have a girl who is about 7 months old. At 7weeks I liked her a lot. I still like her but think she may be a little long in the body. Is this too soon to tell? i know a lot of people say to not look at this age. I am going to keep her a while regardless but don't know if anyone has some insight.
7 months is just one of those ages you have to love them with out looking.
But if there are other things turning you off, like temperament or bad habits it may be time to place her.
When you say long...do you mean long coupled or long backed? There is a difference. Have to say that it has been my experience that long coupled puppies stay long coupled. My foundation bitch was long coupled and this has consistantly popped up 2 and 3 generations out. JMHO
You really need to be able to feel the dog to really tell if it's long-backed or just long-coupled, though most times a long-coupled dog will not have a good topline. You have to feel with your hand the distance between the last rib and the back leg. It depends on how big your hands are, but I like to see 4 fingers, not spread apart, as an adult.
Thank you, "coupled" would refer to the distance between the last rib and the back leg. Whereas long backed would be the length of the topline?
So, generally a dog can be long in the back and still have a nice topline but long coupled usually interferes with the topline?
Yes - a long-backed dog can have a decent topling. A long-coupled dog often has a weak topline - there are no ribs to support the long spine, so the topline tends to sag.
3 fingers as a puppy, but unless you have really big hands, 4 fingers as an adult is plenty short - I don't think a dog with 3-finger loin length will move properly, but that's just how I measure.
