I have a puppy girl 1 week shy of 6 months. At 8 weeks I loved her, then wasn't sure about her for a month or so after, then loved her again, and now she has gone VERY weedy, no bone, no head, etc. The structure is still there but... I know, I have to wait it out, see what happens, and try not to look at her too much right now. Anyone care to share some 'ugly duckling into swan' stories to help give me hope and patience? LOL

Well heck! That would be ALL of mine. LOL My line is VERY slow to mature. Boudreaux was beautiful at 8 weeks. At 6 months he looked like a field bred dog. I hid him for about 2 years, and then finished him just before his 3rd birthday. Charlie was the same story. We struggled to finish his CH. He finally finished at 4 years of age. I took him out of retirement at 6 years of age to show the weekend after the DFW specialty. He won and got group placements both days that weekend and was instantly ranked in the top 10. He finished that year ranked number 8 with 9 months of show time. I would definately call that a swan song! Hopefully yours won't take it quite to that extreme.

I can relate. My dogs look fantastic starting at 5 and watch out! at 7-9! This is very typical of their ancestry and probably why nobody went crazy over the lines. Who wants to wait THAT long! My dogs' tails don't even start coming in until 4! They just get better and better with age so it is a real pain to try to show anything. At 2 they just look like the average 12-18 puppy. Many of their ancestors weren't shown /finished until age 7! Sooooooo, I am just hanging around...hahahahha

I have a 13 month old male who is just beginning to develop a bit of adult chest and brisket. Was drop dead as a 8 week old and now, we wait.............he is in the cupboard for a while...hahahahahahaha Will look like a puppy for at least 2 more years YIKES!

I have an 18 month old bitch, just getting a bit of tail and chest as well...............ok, waitng for her as well!

I would happily share photos of my dogs' development if it would calm your nerves............

Hoping your patience pays off..............

I don't know Aquila - I took a look at your two young girls and they look just fine to me, in fact better than a ton of the other "labradors" we see in the ring constantly.

I think you're selling yourself short by saying they won't look good for several more years!!