What do you think if an 8 week old puppy does not have good turn of stifle, will the puppy develop to gain more turn of stifle or will the stifle straighten more?
According to Pat Hastings, what you see between 7 and 8 weeks is what you will have later on, only much more evident as all areas of the dog become larger! Slight cowhocks become more obvious cowhocks. Straight shoulders become even straighter. So it would follow suit that straight stiffles may end up looking even straighter.
I think that puppies can develop more turn as they grow. I don't know how straight your puppy is, but I have found that mine do develop more turn and I take that into consideration when I evaluate them. Maybe it's just the muscle that covers the framework, but I think they can appear better as they get older.
This is where you need to know your lines. My puppies tend to develope more turn of stifle as they grow and puppies who appeared very straight in the rear at 7 weeks had proper turn of stifle as adults.
Depending on the lines, they might get better after they are 10-12 month old when they start to mature. It might even get straighter in the next few months, and give you the impression of a higher lower half, making the puppy look very unbalanced. Most times, you need to wait until he is at least one year old for the whole body to come to a nice picture.
How are the parents and grandparents? Do they mature fast or slow?
Good luck!
There is a difference between turn of stifle and a puppy with a long second thigh giving the impression of more angle...usually these straighten as they grow.
Usually what you see at 8 weeks is what you will have as a mature adult. It's rare you'll see conformation changes at full maturity altho some of us have in pet pups later on. It's rare, very rare you'll see what you want later if it's not there at 8 weeks.
