# Falling apart



## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

I am not an expert, but I kind of expect my goldens to fall apart as they are maturing. Growth does not happen evenly and one day they will be high in the rear, a few days later they may be level and then they go low in the rear. Their necks and faces can get kind of funny looking too.

I think it is an adorable stage and they remind me of step ladders  Give Chloe time to grow into herself and she'll most like be just fine (but if she starts limping off to the vet to make sure it is 'just' pano)


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

I just found another thread on this issue http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...-1-year/72775-bum-high-puppy.html#post1057586

So it appears it's more common than I'm realizing. She looks like the puppy in that thread, but with less coat! Almost slightly roached over the rear when standing. It's just hard to watch since Jack never really went through an awkward stage.

I think I'm mostly disappointed because I wanted to show her at two upcoming specialties in April and May. But I don't want to enter her if she's not ready.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

I know that I can rarely show my dogs as puppies. With my lines we often say that you need to put them away at 6 mopnths and not look at them with a conformation eye again until they are at least 18 months old, if not 2 years!


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

sterregold said:


> I know that I can rarely show my dogs as puppies. With my lines we often say that you need to put them away at 6 mopnths and not look at them with a conformation eye again until they are at least 18 months old, if not 2 years!


Do they just look ridiculous in that time period? Is there anything specific that you've noticed in your lines or is it just an overall awkwardness? I'm trying to get a feel for what else may happen during this phase.


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## GoldenSail (Dec 30, 2008)

I don't know...interesting thing you said about Strider. Scout is a Strider great granddaughter and she has been very immature. She'll be two in a couple of weeks and still has little to no rib spring. She has started to change slowly and is at least not ribby anymore. I've been told by my breeder and the the sire's owner to wait until she's three.

Waiting is hard, but even if she isn't going to win you can still show her for fun and experience since she's a puppy. Once they are over 18 months if they are not ready it doesn't feel worth it, but before then can be fun and a learning experience (for both of you if you show her yourself). And of course you can always take this time to focus on other things instead. That's how I look at my waiting period. 

...now where is that thread awhile back where you were talking about bitches maturing before boys?  

And where is RappWizard these days? Wonder where she's at with the Ribs Club


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

GoldenSail said:


> ...now where is that thread awhile back where you were talking about bitches maturing before boys?
> 
> And where is RappWizard these days? Wonder where she's at with the Ribs Club


LOL, I know. Apparently just the ones I saw who were out showing - but I didn't think about the ones NOT showing!


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

I just downloaded Chloe's dam's win record from the AKC website. Most of her winning was actually done when she was 3-4 years old, not 2-3 like I thought. I remember Chloe's breeder saying that her dam got more rib spring after her first litter too. She did most of her winning after that. 

Maybe I'll enter her in the specialties regardless just for fun.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

The trainer that works with rescue adopted a 7 month old female Golden recently, she was teasing that she needed to put lifts on her front feet because her back legs are longer than her front legs right now! I'm sure she will grow into proportion! At least I hope she will, lol.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

goldenjackpuppy said:


> Do they just look ridiculous in that time period? Is there anything specific that you've noticed in your lines or is it just an overall awkwardness? I'm trying to get a feel for what else may happen during this phase.


Yeah, my guys just get geeky, gawky, lanky, and awkward. And then sometime after two the chest drops, the ribs start to spring, and the coat starts to fill in, skulls start to broaden and all of a sudden boom, there's the big dog!


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

sterregold said:


> Yeah, my guys just get geeky, gawky, lanky, and awkward. And then sometime after two the chest drops, the ribs start to spring, and the coat starts to fill in, skulls start to broaden and all of a sudden boom, there's the big dog!


Interesting... I'm so curious if/when she'll come back together. I took some pictures of her last weekend that I'll post when I get home (which is when we noticed it) and here are some photos of her at about 10 weeks. Obviously not prime age for comparing, but I don't have photos from the litter evaluation at 8 weeks. Topline was not an issue for her at that point. Do you guys see anything in these pictures?


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## CarolinaCasey (Jun 1, 2007)

Gibbs was very clumsy and high in the rear at about 6 months. Slowly, it has gotten better and to my novice eye, normal at this point. He is no where near mature enough to win points but we're going to be showing several times this summer. I need to learn what I'm doing and keep it fun and exciting for him as he learns to love to show. I'd plan to take Chloe to the upcoming local shows- show her yourself if you can and make it fun.


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

CarolinaCasey said:


> Gibbs was very clumsy and high in the rear at about 6 months. Slowly, it has gotten better and to my novice eye, normal at this point. He is no where near mature enough to win points but we're going to be showing several times this summer. I need to learn what I'm doing and keep it fun and exciting for him as he learns to love to show. I'd plan to take Chloe to the upcoming local shows- show her yourself if you can and make it fun.


I definitely want to try to show her in the sweepstakes at least at our club's specialty. She's very confident, which is great, I just need to work with her more until then. It's not until the end of May so there's definitely time for things to even out in the next 2 months  Fingers crossed!


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Tippykayak and I took ourselves to the Fitchburg shows last weekend, and there we heard at least ten people worrying that their 9-12 pups were high in the rear. I seriously think it is the norm that goes hand in hand, paw in paw, with the skunk stripe phase. If you escaped the teething/ down pasterns than you will probably get the strip/ high rear, lol. All will be well with a pedigree that nice! The way puppies are stacked and presented hides the rear; handers work visual magic, bc some of the pups looked much higher just standing around than in the actual ring.


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

Ljilly28 said:


> Tippykayak and I took ourselves to the Fitchburg shows last weekend, and there we heard at least ten people worrying that their 9-12 pups were high in the rear. I seriously think it is the norm that goes hand in hand, paw in paw, with the skunk stripe phase. If you escaped the teething/ down pasterns than you will probably get the strip/ high rear, lol. All will be well with a pedigree that nice! The way puppies are stacked and presented hides the rear; handers work visual magic, bc some of the pups looked much higher just standing around than in the actual ring.


That's good to know! It's weird because just standing around (like the ones you saw) she looks high. It makes her tailset look off too. But when she free stacks naturally in our yard when she sees a bunny or something, she looks great. I just can't get her to do that when I hand stack her.


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## sterregold (Dec 9, 2009)

One way to get them to level out a bit is to give a gentle tug at the base of the tail and release when they pull forward. Their response to the backwards pressure is to resist by leaning forward which causes them to push off their rear feet a bit and makes the rear settle in.


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## CarolinaCasey (Jun 1, 2007)

Speaking of the skunk stripe, when does that go away? I swear Gibbs has had his forever and while it is filling in with more adult hair, it is very noticable. I wish it would all just come in!


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## sameli102 (Aug 23, 2009)

Maybe it's a Zoom thing.....Ty looks ridiculous right now with being high in the rear and his coat across his back makes it look even worse than it is, looks like he got caught in a wind storm backwards!! But there are times he strikes a pose and he takes my breath away so I am just waiting it out. His head looks too small for his body too. We'll have to compare pictures later after work. He is definitely going through major changes though, his rear is getting wider.


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## sameli102 (Aug 23, 2009)

Oh, and Ty will be 8 months on Monday.


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## elly (Nov 21, 2010)

Chester needs a wider rear! His head and neck is really maturing nicely, broadening, I really noticed last night as he sat with his back to me, but when he got up and walked away I thought wooah boy, your bottom needs to catch up! It makes me laugh though how one bit grows up and you then have to wait for something else to catch up! Parts of his coat are so long and lush now, my last G Rs coat was nothing in comparison so his fish diet has obviously been a huge asset but reading all this information, as a novice, I dont think he will come together, if he does, until later even though his Father and Aunt qualified early, hes definately not ready I'm sure but we will enter him into some shows in the summer so he can enjoy them and we get some experience hopefully.:uhoh:


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## elly (Nov 21, 2010)

So he didnt want to do anything right today except eat the fish so we were lucky to keep him still for a minute and this was the 2nd camera where the battery went flat...but it gives you an idea...he hasnt had a major cut as you can see and his topline is straighter in other shots..to me he doesnt look as bad as I originally thought but then again I'm sure others will tell me more! I think hes maturing now though. Hes just approaching 10months. By the way, as for skunk stripes, Chester had a very defined one that was more prominent on one side but started to ease out from 8 months so maybe Ty will start to lose his from now?


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## hvgoldens4 (Nov 25, 2009)

The best thing to do with these questions is talk to your breeder. Each breeder's lines mature differently and some go through things that other do not or at different ages. The breeder will be able to tell you when and if the puppies are typically competitive.

With a baby showing at a specialty-you have to be reasonable. The chances of winning with a golden puppy are slim and at a specialty, happens even less. Take Melissa's advice and go and have fun with your puppy.

You had also mentioned showing in sweepstakes-most times your dog does have to be entered in the regular class to show in sweeps so make sure you check the rules before entering.


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## The Trio (Apr 24, 2010)

Teddy is related to Strider and he took a long time to mature. He got more rib spring as he grew up. I agree play with her and love her and look at her again when she is closer to 2. Some puppies just need to grow up.


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

Thanks for all the replies - I just saw these last ones for some reason. It does seem that she may just be a late bloomer. I talked with her breeder about it this weekend and he thinks that will be the case since her dam matured late. 

I actually paid attention to the puppies around her age at the show this weekend, and realized she doesn't look as bad as I thought. A lot of puppies her age have no coat and look a bit awkward. So I'm not as worried and I decided I'm definitely entering her in the specialty next month. 

I'll probably show her in sweeps since we're alternating which puppy her breeder will show. I would prefer him to show Chloe at the San Diego specialty, so I told her littermate's owner that I'm fine with him showing the littermate at this specialty. Maybe I'll show Chloe in the regular class too - we'll see.  I can always find someone to do it if I'm not comfortable at that point though. Or have her breeder show Chloe in the regular class and find someone to show the littermate in the regular class - it'll work out. 

I'm going to start taking her to our local drop in handling class and get her used to having other dogs around. She just gets so excited about bait that I need to work with her more to get her to stand still. It should be fun though


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## jmc (Sep 16, 2009)

Hey there
I just wanted to reassure you that i'm sure your pup will be fine when mature. I'm the one whose puppy fell apart in those pics you saw and as you can see in the link below he came together again 
http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...ons-answers/84558-critique-please-photos.html
There were times I thought it would never happen! I've learnt that patience is a virtue


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

jmc said:


> Hey there
> I just wanted to reassure you that i'm sure your pup will be fine when mature. I'm the one whose puppy fell apart in those pics you saw and as you can see in the link below he came together again
> http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...ons-answers/84558-critique-please-photos.html
> There were times I thought it would never happen! I've learnt that patience is a virtue


That is reassuring! Unfortunately though, I'm one of the most impatient people I know! I'll try to be more patient. :


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## HiTideGoldens (Dec 29, 2009)

I took Chloe to her first handling class last night and she did great! The teacher said she was doing extremely well for a beginner. I need to work on my up and back a bit with her, but she's stacking great and is happy happy happy - tail wagging the whole time. I decided i'm going to enter her in a show the weekend of April 23-24. The specialty is the following week, so I think it'll be a good idea to start at a lower pressure (i.e. lower entry  ) show. Her breeder will help me with grooming since I'm not that great yet, but I'll be showing her both days. He's totally supportive of me doing it, which is great! I'm a bit nervous that I may be in the ring with a couple professional handlers and get majorly out-handled....but it's just for fun and experience at this point so no biggie if that happens .


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