What are your thoughts about a fast maturing puppy looking out of place in a minor puppy class?   My (nearly) 7 month old female puppy has been to 3 champ shows and not been placed in any and although I now know that 2 of the judges didn't like her type,  I can't help but notice how much chunkier rasha appears next to the other puppies in her class and wonder if she will be penalised for looking more mature.

sarah

To be honest I wouldn't think so...generally it's the more mature versions that win!!! Sorry! All the best, Dawn

Sorry I do not know what breed you have, but I do agree with you about more mature puppies being penalised for being more forward. They do not look the NORM so therefore they are not to be considered in the cards

I have one puppy that I have kept from this year litters, he is very advanced for his months (e.i. years) I will keep him out of the ring untill he is about 2-3 years old and then present him in the ring as a junior or post-grad. and I am sure if all holds together as he is, he will earn a few cards. It is having the eye and having faith that the dog will mature as you hope.

If you have that confidence stick with him at home, maybe some local shows to keep his ringcraft up, but wait for the finished article before you present him in the big ring

Why not simply enter a forward pup in Junior as many people do if they are showing two pups, entering the more mature one in the higher class?  If they win though remember to remind they are a puppy for when the best puppy award is decided to ensure your called back.

Generally I have found all rounders reward the more mature exhibit, but breed specialists MAY penalise it expecting that it will be overdone as an adult.  In puppy classes the judge is judging the pups on correct development for age, and an overly mature pup may be less correct.

I had a dog once that while in puppy and junior wun nothing. At 13months old i decided to skip junior and postgrad. and put her in limit. She wun the first three limit classes she went in and that followed by two tickets before she was 20months. I was proberly just lucky but you could try moving her into junior and see what happens.

You say that 2 of the judges were going for a different type of dog, so doubt that maturity factored in there. You also say that your pup is quite chunky - do you mean carrying plenty of weight - if so does yr pup roll on the move?
Some pups are v forward and some v slow, I think it pays to enter them in the class that best suits how they look, often a dog can be the odd one out in a class and therefore should either be 1st or last.
Until you actually see yr pup in the ring with others its hard to tell.

I had a Pomeranian who absolutely nothing as a puppy, then won 2 RCC's.  Unfortunately at 2 years of age he got an ear infection and never moved the way that he should again, so stopped him from going any further!

I would put you pup (although I suppose it's too late now due to his age) in the puppy classes and not minor puppy or maybe some junior classes where he doesn't look different to the other dogs.

Hi Bazb,
By chunky, I don't mean fat but has plenty of bone and generally just "chunkier" than the other minor beagle pups in the ring.     Two of the judges have been colour biased so would not have been placed anyway.   The third judge on Saturday seemed to be picking out smaller built pups which is why I asked whether she may be looked on as being too big for the class.  Unfortunately, I have already entered champ shows until August when her last minor pup class will be which is a shame as I can't move her into puppy.  

I have a dog who was very mature as a puppy (According to her critiques) even winning a BIS at our breed clubs open show as a junior.   I don't think she was that mature then comparing her to now as a 5 year old - I just feel she is so correctly made she just looked the part quicker than those who maybe weren't?

Hi. I assume we are talking Beagles? What colour is your bitch. Your comment on size and what the judge went for is interesting, what size is yr B?

She's lemon & white and is about the same height as her mum who is just over 15".   Fortunately, she does appear to have stopped growing as we did wonder for a while if we'd bred a labrador puppy !! lol

What size were the sire and dam's parents??

Interestling about the pup looking more mature, I have a young bitch who doesn't do well under judges who like smaller dogs, she is bang on size wise but often looks huge against the (incorrect) smaller bitches she's up against, some are at least an inch under the stated height and she looks huge against them :rolleyes:

Both sets were under the maximum breed standard so I don't think she will have a problem height wise nor is she obviously taller than other puppies - just more filled out.