Blake x Janey: Puppy Number One Grows Up

Eight weeks old:

Puppy Number One, a tri bitch, is a very pretty puppy. We like her overall balance and very nice head and expression, and we love her happy-go-lucky temperament. We would like a slightly sweeter (more almond-shaped) eye.

Twelve weeks old:

Puppy Number One is clearly recognizable as the same puppy we saw in the photos taken last month. Her head and expression look just the same. Her legs have lengthened, however, making her appear somewhat shorter in body than she did at eight weeks. At this point, she also looks like she could use a bit more neck.

This puppy has a lovely head, but it has to be one of the hairiest heads we have ever seen! We simply wet the hair and smoothed it down for this photo session, but we were sorely tempted by the thinning shears in our tack box! With her ears now up on top of her head, she looks much more grown-up than she did a month ago. Her eye is not round by any means, but we would still prefer it to be more almond-shaped. At this point, her size is not a concern -- she should be big enough, but not too big.

Fifteen weeks old:

Okay, so it's not exactly a serious picture -- we were just fooling around trying to get a photo for our holiday card -- but it does show how much this puppy has matured in just a few short weeks. Serious pictures of this puppy will be coming soon! In the meantime, Season's Greetings!

Eighteen weeks old:

The puppies in this litter went through their "leggy stage" early. At 12 weeks, this puppy and two of her three littermates (Number Two and Number Four) appeared almost square -- just about as tall as they were long. Over the last month or so, however, this puppy's body has lengthened to catch up with the previous growth of her legs. Her bodily proportions at 18 weeks are more similar to those seen in the eight-week body shot than in the 12-week photo. The puppy fuzz is now gone, but the mature coat is yet to come. Like her littermates, Puppy Number One is going through her "smooth Sheltie" phase. Oh well, at least you know she isn't hiding any of her structure under hair! We'd still like a bit more neck and elegance, but this puppy looks more in balance to us at this point than she did six weeks ago.

9 months old:

Puppy Number One is pictured at nine months, but is 12 months old as of this writing (8/12/98). Other than the addition of some hair (and she got a lot more after this photo was taken), she has not changed much since her evaluation at four months. Her bodily proportions are about the same, except that she appears to have more neck now. We like her balance and outline. She is shorter in body than her dam, but not so short that it interferes with her movement. In fact, she moves quite well in all directions and always stops four-square.

She has a beautiful, one-piece head that is wonderful to go over. Her muzzle is full and smooth -- no holes or bumps -- and her backskull is smooth and lean. She has a larger ear than we are used to seeing, but the break and earset are very good. Her eye still is not as sweet as those of her littermates, but it is by no means offensive. Her final height turned out to be 15 inches.

NEXT puppy

BACK to litter evaluation

SEE Puppy #1 as an adult

Send us e-mail by clicking on the stack of letters below:

Return to Foxglove title page by clicking on our kennel sign below: