Posted on 01/02/2009 7:01:31 PM PST by Dysart
I hear ya.
not a very well trained police dog
Most common is a white spot on the chest, but you see white toes too. My Chocolate has "Bolo Spots" or "Bolo Pads", which are white hairs on the bottoms of the paws, behind the main paw pad. They are inherited from Banchory Bolo, a British Dual Champion who is in the pedigree of every Chocolate Lab today. My young Black Lab, who has a fancier pedigree than most D.A.R. members, has a two-hair-wide & 4-inch-long white stripe on her chest. The 'received wisdom' from the old-timers is that a little white on a Black Lab means he'll be a better retriever.
You have to be careful when buying "papered" dogs. It's only a registry, it doesn't guarantee ability, health, or temperament. The only way to play the odds is to meet and know the breeder and investigate him or her pretty thoroughly, and meet the puppy's sire and dam and as many siblings as you can.
Looking at your pup full face on, I think I see a lot of Golden in him.
Labs have generally less of a domed skull, and the ear set is higher and straighter across.
He's got a lot of Golden in him, might have some Lab, but there's something else leggier and svelter (but yellow/red/liver in color). I'm pinging our resident Golden expert, though, because she knows them backwards and forwards.
I got a puppy from Lottie's breeder, but nowhere near that pricey. She's the granddaughter of a National Field Trial champion, that apparently costs a lot less!
Can't help but think of this guy - he's the best there is - and the only one there is too.
Actually, believe it or not, both of them got their Conformation Certificate at the National Specialty this past fall. The conformation judge was I'm sure told to be merciful, both of them scored in the 80s on a scale of 100, which was about where I expected them both to be, for different reasons . . . the judge did write on my younger dog's score sheet that she was a "beautifully conditioned sweet girl" which made me very happy. Of course I had no idea how to stack them or even to trot them out!
The working Lab people had their opportunity to laugh at the conformation Lab people when the show folks brought their dogs out to try to put a Working Certificate on them. We were likewise merciful . . . if a Lab managed to drag the duck by hook or by crook back across the start line, they passed!!!
That’s wonderful about the Certificates. I am so happy for you guys.
You should see me go around the ring. The guy that was helping me said I had to speed up. Also, when Keeley decided thankfully in training class to go look at herself in the mirror instead of going around the ring didn’t help either. That was the end of my showing and it’s a good thing because they would never be champions now. LOL
I love that story about dragging it across the line. ROTFLOL
Amazing what people will pay nowdays. My Yorkie is not from a championship bloodline but he is beautiful, has good conformation and was bought as a pet.
Thirty years ago I bought a Bedlington Terrier with a championship bloodline but never had her in a dog show. Did go through ‘training’ with her and helped get the AKC Club started in my town though.
My Cocker was the only dog I've ever had that had any family history, so to speak. I live in a rural area and just see what wanders up in the yard. Although, I must say, I get pretty excited when the wanderer turns out to be anything “Labbish”. That would probably be my breed of choice.
It seems that whatever breed the dog looks most like, the more of that breed temperament is displayed. Most of the time.
Now that’s great looking dog, but... Honey Pickle?
>You can have “Poodle”, “Collie”, “Shetland Sheepdog”, “Cocker Spaniel”<
And interestingly enough, the Cocker Spaniel, not the Labrador, is divided by color into 3 distinct varieties by AKC. This is why you see 3 Cocker spaniels in the Sporting group at almost all dog shows.
From AKC’s website:
Black Variety—Solid color black to include black with tan points. The black should be jet; shadings of brown or liver in the coat are not desirable. A small amount of white on the chest and/or throat is allowed; white in any other location shall disqualify.
Any Solid Color Other than Black (ASCOB)—Any solid color other than black, ranging from lightest cream to darkest red, including brown and brown with tan points. The color shall be of a uniform shade, but lighter color of the feathering is permissible. A small amount of white on the chest and/or throat is allowed; white in any other location shall disqualify.
Parti-Color Variety—Two or more solid, well broken colors, one of which must be white; black and white, red and white (the red may range from lightest cream to darkest red), brown and white, and roans, to include any such color combination with tan points. It is preferable that the tan markings be located in the same pattern as for the tan points in the Black and ASCOB varieties. Roans are classified as parti-colors and may be of any of the usual roaning patterns. Primary color which is ninety percent (90%) or more shall disqualify.
Tan Points—The color of the tan may be from the lightest cream to the darkest red and is restricted to ten percent (10%) or less of the color of the specimen; tan markings in excess of that amount shall disqualify. In the case of tan points in the Black or ASCOB variety, the markings shall be located as follows:
1) A clear tan spot over each eye;
2) On the sides of the muzzle and on the cheeks;
3) On the underside of the ears;
4) On all feet and/or legs;
5) Under the tail;
6) On the chest, optional; presence or absence shall not be penalized.
Tan markings which are not readily visible or which amount only to traces, shall be penalized. Tan on the muzzle which extends upward, over and joins shall also be penalized. The absence of tan markings in the Black or ASCOB variety in any of the specified locations in any otherwise tan-pointed dog shall disqualify.
I was the gunner, so I had a front row seat for all the antics of Show Labs Confronted With Mostly Dead Mallard. A few of them looked at their owners like, "You want me to do WHAT?!?!?" and simply refused outright to pick it up or even go near it, but most came running out to the duck with enthusiasm. If the duck so much as twitched a wing, we had some pretty amusing reactions -- some would stop dead and bark like mad at the duck, some shook it REALLY hard to make sure it didn't move again, some circled it 2-3 times and then got the nerve to pick it up, some decided it would be safest to drag the duck back to the owner by a wingtip, and one thought it would be a great idea to carry this treasure off to the woods where he could inspect it privately. We did have some owners down on their hands and knees BEGGING their dogs to come back (they mostly did). I think the judges passed probably 40 out of the 50 dogs that came out.
The test was pretty easy, though -- just one duck at about 50 yards in a nice flat open field with no cover. Then the dogs had to go on to the water and retrieve two short marks from a small pond, one at a time -- to demonstrate that they were willing to re-enter the water. The dogs that passed the land really had no trouble with the water, most Labs love water, and they didn't have to heel or sit or deliver to hand, so it was all O.K.
I put both my dogs in because I never miss a chance to get a shot flyer, and of course it was an easy retrieve for both of them. My substitute gunner sort of missed Shelley's bird, and he was carried back to the line very much alive and highly indignant, but Shelley simply doesn't care if they're dead or alive, she catches them high up on the back and they can flap and squawk all they want and she just ignores it. When we have escapes from the crate, I send her to catch them and she brings them back alive and unharmed.
And could you please explain what a Panda Shepherd is? I don't know Shepherds well at all!
That one is beautiful, such interesting markings.
If you really want to know Bob's genetic makeup, there is a dog breed DNA test available. The price started out pretty high (over 100 bucks, which is too much just to answer an academic question) but I've seen it as low as 49.95 recently, and I'm sure the price will continue to drop.
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