I am looking for some opinions here. I have a 20 mth male who is on the lean side. I have tried everything I can think of to put show weight on him but with no success as he is a pickey eater. He will not even eat satin balls. Other than being a lean boy with good muscle he is quite a nice dog who I would like to show. My question is; with most show dogs around here being over weight they make my boy look small and in turn I don't know if I should bother entering him in any shows now or if I should wait until I can get some weight on him. If I was not showing him I would not even be concerned about his weight as he is very healthy and active but we all know that a good portion of show dogs are on the heavier side. WHat would you do?? I am fairly new too showing so I do not know what particular judges like either so I can't enter under those who prefer a lean dog. Thank you for your input.
My advice to you would be to save your money. Let your boy muscle up and fill out. It's hard enough to finish a Labrador when they're in tip-top shape, let alone when they're still at the gawky stage. Have some fun with him while you're waiting for him to blossom - do some obedience, maybe some rally, and take some handling classes. He'll get there, just be patient. Hope that helps.
Is your dog just not mature yet or is it a weight problem. I have had a couple of males that just were slow maturers -- they really were not ready to roll until they were three.
If it is a weight issue one thing that I have found to put weight on is raw chicken. I would get chicken scraps from a butcher (necks, backs, etc) and throw in 1/2 pound per feeding.
Another option is try him at an all-breed show. He might not do well at a specialty, but you might get an idea of his merit if you try an all-breed show.
20 months on a male is still young though. Do you know how long his lines take to mature?
We had a boy that looked like a black greyhound until he was almost 3 years of age. All of a sudden he seemed to mature overnight. I started showing him just as he turned 3 and he finished fairly quickly.
Just have patience and let nature take its course, he is still a baby. Most boys do not look their best until they reach 3-5 years old.
Thank you for all your replies. I think my boy is slow maturing along with being lean. I have talked to a couple of local breeders and they tell me that his blood lines are quite slow maturing. I have already entered him in a all breed show for next weekend so we will see what happens there and then make some decisions. Again thank you all for taking the time to respond.
I personally don't show my boys unless they are looking good enough to win. The main reason is that people watching ringside will base their opinion of your boy on what they see, hence you don't let them see him at less than his best which includes being out of coat. The second reason is it is a huge waste of money. I would take him to matches and do some fun stuff until he grows up.
Traci
