Gulfcoast and Other Retriever Experts

[mossyisland]

Did I miss anything in these two articles? After I finish this series, I am going to compose a detailed checklist for Ducksouth members and future members to use in picking their next retriever.

http://www.ducksouth.com/TheHotelBlind/ ... 2-the-sex/

http://www.ducksouth.com/TheHotelBlind/ ... of-health/

[GulfCoast]

The one on health is a very good summary. Elbows tend to just be graded "normal" or not, so no one should think "normal" is not as good as "Excellent" as they are not graded that way. I would ask very specifically if either of the parents has had knee issues, and/or knee repairs. Knee issues/injuries are not uncommon in FT/HT dogs. There is some debate on whether there could be hereditary issues there. Knees are commonly repaired, and the dogs back running at very high levels. It would not be a deal breaker for me if one of the parents had knee issues, but I would want to know. Puppies that come with written health guarantees cost more, but there are some real bargains out there if you know your breeding lines and are patient.

I have found females to come in heat once or twice a year, and males are in heat 24/7/365. Some males deal with "hot" bitches being around well, and some loose their friggin' minds. There is always a dog coming into/out of heat somewhere around you, especially at tests where they are not showing yet, so keep that in mind. I prefer to own females, as they seem (except for my youngster) to settle down faster, and don't mark everything. I find them equal in the "go" department, males can take more pressure/accidental mistreatment. It IS harder to find a very nice bitch, since for many years they were run less often in the testing games, due to the heat cycle issue, which can now be postponed with meds, and because the good ones tended to get bred quick and loose training/competing time. I always look harder at the bitch line than the stud line on the pedigree(google "maternal grandsire phenomenon).

Good articles! Thanks for putting them together.

[mossyisland]

Thanks for the reply buddy!