# Do the puppies take after mommy or daddy?



## woodysmama (Feb 25, 2007)

All are GORGEOUS!!!!!


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## HovawartMom (Aug 10, 2006)

Both parents are very similar in color.A male should have a thicker body as well as a broader head compared to the female.Both parents are gorgeous and represent their sex,well.


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## tintallie (May 31, 2006)

I don't really think it is as simple as females taking after the mom and males taking after the dad. For one thing our male takes after his mom in temperament (read: dominant, alpha, bitchy) and coat colour but he is more stocky and gets his bone structure from dad. So overall he is short like the dam and stocky like the sire! :doh:


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## mist (Jun 23, 2007)

I recently had a litter of six puppies four boys and two girls whilst most of them had a definite look of daddy about them two actually looked a lot more like their grandfather, both Gracie my bitch and the stud I used were darker in colour I only had two goldens and four creams


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## vrocco1 (Feb 25, 2006)

It seems to me that mom contributes more to the litter in most cases then Dad does.


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## Vanisland (Jun 22, 2007)

Vern are you reffering to the looks or the tempermant or both? Thank you everyone for your replies! So it would be a safe bet that the pup will look like the sire?


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## vrocco1 (Feb 25, 2006)

Seems like both to me. The signs of dad are usually more subtle.


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## sophiesadiehannah's mom (Feb 11, 2007)

both my female pups resemble their fathers in the looks departments, as to color, shape of noses, and body structure.


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## monomer (Apr 21, 2005)

The conventional wisdom has always stated that 90% of a pup's temperament will come from the dam. That always seemed to make sense to me, since the dam is their first teacher and role model. So far, every dog we've owned has displayed the dam's temperament. When puppy hunting, while my wife will look at the puppies, I spend most of my time with the dam... if I fall in love with her, I fall in love with her pups... if I don't like the dam's temperament, I will walk away from the whole litter. I figure looks is somewhat of a grab-bag anyway... genetics is quite complicated and many traits can 'skip' a generation so what you get (in the puppy) isn't always what you see (in the sire/dam). If the sire and dam are well-bred and matched, there should be very little differences within the litter (aside from those related to sex). The thing about appearances is that if the puppy pleases you, that puppy will eventually appear attractive in your eyes (how else can you explain so many Pugs owners)... so you should always put temperament above appearances... the only exception is where appearance is linked to function.


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

SO much depends on the pedigree and the COI (Inbreeding co-efficient). I do line-breed, and when I start getting "close", iI will outcross, but I will outcross to a dog that is linebred, and of a similar phenotype to the bitch that I am breeding.
I have had litters that were what I would say "all Momma", and I have had litters where some tended to favor the sire. That said, my bitches have all be fairly tightly linebred and have been prepotent particularly for heads fronts, and toplines, and the puppies have had rears more like the sires. I try to breed to dogs that will be strong in areas that I know my bitches are not, and vice versa. However, BOTH parents MUST have sound temperaments. And that goes for bitches who have come in to be bred to any of my stud dogs. I don't care if she is the most drop dead gorgeous bitch on the planet, if the temperament is not there, she's sent back down the lane, unbred. Funny... the bad stuff is always blamed on the stud dogs!


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## 3SweetGoldens (Feb 28, 2007)

In Lexi's litter mates, there were originally 12 puppies. All but Lexi and her two brothers were lost to Canine Herpes virus. It was extremely sad for my breeder, as she was losing a puppy a day to this horrible disease. All three have wonderful Golden temperaments, just as her Mom and Dad both did. Interesting though....the two boys look just like their Mom....while Lexi looks so much like her Dad in coloring, structure everything. I certainly agree with Pointgold....the temperament MUST be most important in preparing for the breeding.


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