Six Week Evaluation for CoffeeNip

  Rocketdog Bassets has  provided many litters of puppies over the years. So were good, some better, and a few have been exceptional. In all of these each puppy from each litter has been evaluated as a single puppy, separate from the litter, but all by the same criteria and at the same level of development. The criteria for our pseudo-objective evaluations can be found here and you might want to review this information prior to moving forward through each evaluation. 

When CoffeeNip arrived he a strong (10.5 ounces) tri-colored boy. He was an instant hit with Ann, who still says he is her favorite. CoffeeNip has developed into a wonderful pet quality Basset Hound. His head shape is broad with good skin folding, his ear length is not optimal, but overall he is well formed.  His jaw set and ear position (appearing to hang from the back of the skull) are very much up to the Standard and his body shape is very strong with no flanged ribs or other negative aspects. Foreleg bone density is quite good, owing to his father's European lineage. 

The way a dog stands at rest is called Stance. In Basset Hounds, this is often associated with long term hip health. Coffee Nip has excellent stance and appears aggressive whenever he stands. He appears as a field dog in every way and is a robustly built Basset Hound puppy. 

All indications are that CoffeeNip will develop into an adult more of his father's form than mothers, with many of the more desirable heavier European traits coming from ClarkeBar Griswold. Expect him to eventually weigh in around fifty pounds as an adult providing sufficient care is taken in feeding and exercise. 

CoffeeNip has been very rangy since early on and we suggest that you keep the gate locked at all times. He spends most of his time playing hard with his siblings and this might make him a fine family dog with small children. He is occasionally growly but seldom snappish .  He is very active and plays all his waking hours. He loves people and the comfort they bring. His coloring is heavily black as of this evaluation, but I expect he will completely change as time goes on. His head is already mostly brown and it's likely his family will find him to magically grow brown pants to match. 

Overall I must give him five points of the five AKC Standard points, because he meets the Standard in every way, and a half point for aesthetics, making him a solid 5.5 of 6 points. This is what we expect in a very good pet quality Basset. I take half a point from him for his mothers form and nothing else (less than optimal ear length). As it is he is nearly everything I like to see in a pet Basset puppy. He would perhaps be a good candidate from breeding so long as he pairs with another Basset at least of his quality.

Six Week Evaluation for TikTac

Rocketdog Bassets has  provided many litters of puppies over the years. So were good, some better, and a few have been exceptional. In all of these each puppy from each litter has been evaluated as a single puppy, separate from the litter, but all by the same criteria and at the same level of development. The criteria for our pseudo-objective evaluations can be found here and you might want to review this information prior to moving forward through each evaluation. 

When TikTac arrived she a very small (6.7 ounces) tri-colored and noisy girl. Since this is Bit O'Honey's first litter we did not know what to expect. But TikTac has developed into a very good little pet quality  Basset Hound. Her head shape is wonderfully domed with good, though not great, ear length at six weeks. Her jaw set and ear position are very much up to the Standard and her body shape is strong with no flanged ribs or other negative aspects. Foreleg bone density is not bad, but also not as heavy as some. 

The way a dog stands at rest is called Stance. In Basset Hounds, this is often associated with long term hip health. TicTac has very good stance but lacks the heavy bones which usually make the dog look aggressive, even when at rest. I don't see anything in her to say she will develop bone health problems and her hip setting is very good, but dwarfism in Bassets can lead to all sorts of things which heavy bones tend to keep away and she is a bit light in bone weight.

All indications are that TicTak will develop into an adult more of her mother's form than fathers, with few of the more desirable heavier European traits coming from ClarkeBar Griswold. Expect her to eventually weigh in under fifty pounds as an adult providing sufficient care is taken in feeding and exercise. 

TikTac has two very strong points: a wonderful coloring, and a really wonderful personality. . .  Having four Basset brothers is tough for a little girl, but TikTac handles the challenge with grace and ferocity. She is ever playful, always engaged, and never lets a challenge go unaccepted. She is fierce. But she is also funny. I find her staring directly at me every once in a while as she practices something like a Jedi mind trick to get herself picked up. Her nearly complete black and white coloring is well spotted and this ought to evolve into something resembling ermine as she ages. As of this evaluation she is showing no signs of emergent brown in her coat, but time may change things. Her facial fur is symmetrical in coloring and she can often be found staring at whatever she most wants. Had she a bit heavier bone structure she might be an adequate show contender. She is a lovely little Basset.

Overall I must give her four and one half points of the five AKC Standard points and a half point for aesthetics, making her a solid 5 of 6 points. This is what we expect in a pet quality Basset. I take  half a point from her for foreleg density and paw size, half a point for ear length. Otherwise she is a fine Basset Hound puppy. She might be bred, providing that care is taken to introduce more European genetic traits. 

Bit O'Honey's Hard Candy Litter is Here!

 For those interested in taking one of these babies home there is a Wait List widget to the left of this. Just let me know who you are and I'll get in touch. 

Honey's litter arrived quickly. Some girls take days (or weeks) to produce their puppies. Bit O'Honey did the job in just a few hours. She went into labor yesterday afternoon and the first pup arrived quite suddenly at 11:46 p.m. 

It was a very small (6.7 ounces), tri-colored, girl. We gave her TicTac as her puppy name. She's a noisy little girl.

It took about an hour for Honey to produce the next, but it was boys all the way until the end.

At 12:30 a.m. a nice  red and white, 11.8 ounce, boy, named Lemon Head came into the world suddenly.

Then they started showing up a bit quicker.

At 1:20 a.m.  a heavy (13.7 ounce) tri-colored boy named Gobstopper made his mother yelp out loud.

Then at 1:45 a.m. Coffee Nip showed up (quickly). He weighed 10.5 ounces and immediately began feeding to catch up.

At 2:05 a.m. Red Hot, a red and white boy weighing 11.1 ounces became the last to arrive.

All in all the arrival of the Hard Candy Litter was quick and a bit light. We expected eight. But they pups are all well fed at the tie of this writing and all seem healthy and well formed.