Choices

One of my favorite activites with the Hollands is the 6-week checkup. Although I have usually sexed the litter by then, I have tried hard not to make judgments on their type. Every 4-week-old baby looks great so I try to wait. I love the surprise when I find a special one.

I've been anxiously watching a litter of 5 because their head and ears and crowns were promising. The ears were short and wide, the crowns already nicely defined, the heads round. But when they came out for their photos and 6-week check, we discovered some disappointments.

They couldn't pose for their photos. Once I realized that they weren't just being nervous but actually couldn't, I saw that they had weak shoulders. They also had long bodies and rough toplines.

In the end, I didn't keep any of them. Here are some photos to show you what I mean:

Here's the best pose any in the litter could do.
I see a low headset and weak shoulders.

This was as good as this baby could do, with me holding his head. Once I moved my hand, his head dropped back to the table. He had length of shoulder, too.Here's a typical pose for the litter. Too flat, too long, too rough for my taste. But, oh, the ears were tempting.....