What age would you give up on a male for reaching the standard in height?
I have a male puppy who is small, looks to be under the standard compared to my other boy who is a CH. and well within the standard.
The young guy is 10 months.
When should I throw in the towel? I don't want to make a mistake and give up too early

A 22" male is allowed and not DQ'd in American Standard.

Although they may look "small" in comparison to others, they are in the standard. I suggest you read the height standard until it makes blood shoot out of your eyes, burning into your brain the "allowed heights both top and bottom", properly measure your boy with a wicket, and give him until out of puppy class at minimum. I have had boys get a bit more height at 18 months -2 years from my lines.

Same goes of a 21" bitch..................

It is a whole other ballgame depending on where you show most of the time, what is currently winning and what you like....these may not all match.........then, you must decide for yourself the purpose of keeping the dog.....win? suits you? fits in with area you show in, etc...........

good luck with the youngster........

oh gosh, I don't consider my boys done until they are 3!
At 5 years old I love them even more!!!

I am not an expert but I think 10 months is too soon to throw in the towel. I would wait longer before I made any decisions. Be patient. Good luck.

He is still a baby. He will grow taller in the next few months. By 18 month he might be mostly done, and still he can surprise you getting 1 more inch after that.
I would never give up on a 10 month old puppy unless there is something really wrong with it.

I would also never give up on an otherwise nice puppy because of height at 10 mos.

How do you handle it when a judge calls for the wicket?
Is the exhibitor allowed to say anything? Ask a question?
Never had it happen but just want to be prepared if that day comes!

The judges ask me the age of my dogs many times, so that may happen before you ever see the wicket. I am assuming a judge would be well versed enough to know that there really isn't a height DQ or a need for a wicket for an 18 month old (when many larger breed dogs take several years to finish growing), if he looks small in a class vs. his older counterparts in the ring.

Otherwise, what's there to say to the judge. She measures the dog and let the chips fall where they may.

Thank you for the encouraging responses.
I will hang in there. I really do like this boy. He was a stunning puppy up until about 1 month ago.
(So now he's ugly AND short - ha ha)
He is going thru the uglies, so I guess I'll just get out the paper bag, not look, and wait it out

10 months is young to give up. In agility they don't even count final measurements till the dog is 2 and that's across all breeds.

So wrong on two counts. First as a judge I would NEVER rely on what an exhibiter told me about the age of the dog - the correct procedure in a wicketing situation is to ask the steward to give you the date of birth listed in the catalog (you are not allowed to look at the catalog until judging all dogs in that breed has been completed). Second, the reason you determine the age, is that according to the standard the height DQs do not apply if the dog is under 12 months of age - NOT 18 months as you state in your post.

To the OP - yes, of course you are allowed to ask whatever you need in order to understand exactly what is happening and why. Any judge, IMHO, who cannot or will not discuss this situation with the exhibiter should surrender their license. There is even one idiot judge IN OUR BREED who wicketed a dog under 12 months and then tried to say it was because it was not in the puppy classes. It does not matter the class, just the age. And THAT is why you burn this stuff into your brain, especially if you think you have an issue. You have every right to have them show you the rulebook and the section of the standard they are relying on.