Jelly Six Week Evaluation

 Grizelda Laffee Taffee (AKC) and ClarkeBar Grizwold (AKC) have given us another fine litter of eight pups, three of which are of the smaller form our kennel wishes to stabilize. Having seen a few of their first litter grown up, this litter promises some wonderfully beautiful American styled Basset Hounds. 

Jelly has been a fun puppy since her ears opened a few weeks ago. Always on the go she loves to play, and play hard, but not all play is simply for fun. She is a healthy little girl, accent on the word little, at 6.10 pounds. This is a full three pounds behind her heaviest litter mates, she is the smallest of the litter but does not appear the smallest. Jelly may have potential to become a field dog since her nose is always to the ground and her choices of targets for play are not simply the nearest puppy. Jelly is not the dainty type. She is awfully fun to watch.

It is a good idea to become familiar with our Six Point Evaluation to see why we are asserting judgments about these puppies so early in life. We believe the traits of the parents, when added to the traits we find in the offspring, might give us a good idea of what lay ahead as these pups grow. 

As anyone with eyes can see quality in these pictures.  Jelly has the well domed head which features a very well formed snout and exceptional ears. Her perfect jaw set is well hidden by enormous hanging fews. The ears are close to perfect for length and situated so that they appear on the neck, rather than the head itself.  Were she to have a slightly better facial coloring she could be a champion at the higher levels of showing dogs. As she appears, she has a deep connection to the European bloodlines people love, while weighing eventually about half of what a good European Basset weighs.

Jelly has a very robust bone structure considering her smaller size. her foreleg bones appear to be thicker than she needs and fit nicely her larger than necessary feet. Her ribs flow from front to back perfectly and her rear leg stance is very good. Stance, the way a dog stands when simply standing still, is very strong and her weight sits slightly forward of her forelegs with her rear legs posed well back of her hips. Her stance foretells of a good healthy bone structure. Her walking gait is perfect, but Sugar seldom walks anywhere.

The American Kennel Club gives very little guidance on the more aesthetic qualities of Basset Hounds. This is likely because beauty is subjective, but not all aspects of beauty are strictly subjective. Symmetry, line, and form are all quasi objective areas to look for more value. When An AKC judge looks at a lineup of Bassets it would be hard discount "pretty. Jelly is very pretty indeed. Her coat is nearly perfect, the face could have more color to it and might still since Bassets change colors quite a bit as they grow. Jelly just might become a show stopper and gains the one point for aesthetics.

Six of six points is not uncommon for this pair or puppy parents. Jelly has all the right stuff and perhaps ought to be bred for her smaller size with a smaller than average male. Care should be exercised when choosing a male since both parents come from the same kennel, while not being of a close bloodline.