The Jelly Belly Litter: Six Week Evaluations: Licorice

 

Abigail (Abba) Zabba and Rocketdog Rockford (Rocky) Rhoades got together for the very first time and gave us nine wonderful Basset Hound Puppies. As we have done in all previous litters we evaluate the puppies at six weeks. There are a few good reasons for this, the first being that the pups develop some personality traits by six weeks of age, the second being that the pups display some key physical characteristics which they are likely to carry through life. Each puppy in this litter will be evaluated as an individual using a quasi-objective standard. It is a good idea to read about it by clicking here. It's a good idea to understand how we look the pups over as individuals. There are some things worthy of stating about this litter in a more general sense.

The Jelly Belly litter has been an easy one for us. All of the puppies came into the world in an effortless fashion. We had no still-born pups and none needed any sort of help at birth. Each and every puppy was naturally inclined towards feeding and none needed to be shown the way. They all were healthy at birth and only one had anything at all to report in their veterinarian checkup last week. All of the Jellies were up and walking with their eyes open and ears attentive -right on schedule. And since we have been able to take them outside, once the weather turned nice, we now know something about their outdoor personalities. The whole group are winners.

At the time of this article we still have two male puppies available for new families. Just send us a note using the Email widget to the left of this and we'll get you all the information you need.

Licorice is now named Rocketdogs Alice the White Rabbit Chaser by her new family. Her new family will be another small Basset breeder located in Salem, Oregon. We will be bringing home a female from their newest litter sometime in June as part of our longer termed breeding program.  (The new puppy is a lemon -white with red. We're so excited.)  Alice follows the form of her Sire. In many respects a true American styled Basset, but there are a few features which are more of the Normande Basset styling found in her Dame. The American Kennel Club does not differentiate between styles of Basset Hound, so there are quite a few Basset Hound styles. In Alice I think there is a happy medium of genetics found in both parents.  

Structurally Alice is a wonderful example of a Basset puppy.  Though smaller than others, our focus as breeders is to reduce the general size of the breed and in Alice we might have found a smaller female which maintains the European traits most find appealing in Bassets.   Alice (then Licorice) came to us weighing about twelve and a half ounces, one of the larger of the litter. Today she weighs a respectable, but small, six pounds, three ounces. Her head shape and ear setting are slightly less than optimal, but well formed and placed on a well domed head which again is slightly less than optimal for a breed which prizes a highly domed skull. Her snout is a mix of both her mother's narrow shape and her father's long facial fews and this gives her a distinctive look. Her jaw set is good, but also a mix of both parents, slightly narrow on top, slightly wider on the bottom, not in any way dysfunctional or improperly made, this will simply be another thing that makes this Basset distinctive as an adult.   Her body shape is sleek and slender, as are both parents, but also robustly made and heavy in appearance. Her narrow set shoulders (favoring her Dame) flow smoothly back to a boxy back-side (which favors her Sire). Alice's stance at six weeks, perhaps a good indicator of long termed bone health, is very strong, extending back quite well from her hips in a show quality fashion. Her foreleg bone size is quite heavy and her feet are quite large. She will be a stout, but slender adult, but this will not likely end up becoming a large Basset.

Alice has wonderful markings. She emerged covered mostly in black fur with a light facial blaze and just a few white spots. Since then her facial fur has brought forth very symmetrical red-brown tones in her jaw line and wonderfully red eyebrows which give her eyes a soft appearance. Alice is a beautiful puppy in every respect. But not at all baggy or saggy in her skin. One notable issue is a botched dewclaw removal which left behind enough foreleg thumb to regrow the thumb. This will not be an issue going forward. 

Her disposition is demur and quiet. She is very sweet and is quite happy to be held for long periods. Alice is a patient puppy. She will make a great lap Basset and likely will only be a credit to her new family. 

Of the six points found in our evaluation system Alice receives four and a half of the five AKC derived points, losing one half for her quirky (but definitely not European) good looks and singular dewclaw, and the full point for aesthetic beauty. There is something about this girl that we would like to see grown up a bit before making any final determinations. She is not what we call  a classic beautiful Basset puppy, but she is lovely none-the-less. As a puppy we cannot say much with certainty. As an adult she may become something quite special.