The Jelly Belly Litter: Six Week Evaluations: Cherry

Cherry at Six Weeks

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.

Cherry will eventually end up living in Florida with Akela Haviland. Of the Jelly Belly Litter Cherry is voted as having the best ears. This is important to us as we breed Bassets for smaller sizes and longer ears.  Cherry is a great little Basset girl and will likely develop into a wonderful dog.  At birth she was one of the largest in her litter, weighing just over twelve ounces. Now she is a healthy little girl weighing  eight pounds, two ounces. 

Structurally there is little to complain about in Cherry. Her head shape is very good with a highly domed skull, well placed ears, boxy snout, and long ears and facial fews. She carries herself well, though a bit on the timid side, with a strong stance and smooth flowing form. Cherry's wide set shoulders flow smoothly back to narrow hips, the only area favoring her Dame's Normande styling. She is quick on her feet, but generally just what one expects in a Basset Hound. 

Cherry is a lovely little girl.  Covered in mostly black fur as of this article, we expect there will be quite a bit of reddish brown fur coming out in her future. Her facial markings are not symmetrical, but this doesn't seem to make her stand out in the crowd. She favors her Dame's coloring scheme and Abba Zabba is a pretty girl. We don't believe Cherry will win at any sanctioned dog show, but she will definitely be a hit when walking the neighborhood.

Of the six points available in our evaluation system Cherry receives full marks for the AKC derived points and the point for beauty. She is not the prettiest of the litter, but this is purely subjective. Objectively there is nothing at all wrong about this little girl and she will grow to be a wonderful addition to her new Florida family.