PEKINGESE EXAMINATION
BY AN EXPERT
by: Colleen Doolin Skinner
This article recently appeared in the December 2021 edition of TNT
A fter weeks of anticipation and a nail-biting wait for your vet- erinarian to finish the C-section, you can finally take the warm, fuzzy puppies and their exhausted dam home to start the process of somehow getting through the critical next two weeks and keeping them all healthy and safe. Relieved that all the puppies made it and your precious girl’s milk came in, you can now sit back, take a deep breath, and study the tiny, new brood. You did your homework in honestly evaluating your bitch for virtues and faults, and you found a stud to counter the faults and add his stellar points to what you hope is a superior genetic match. As the puppies mature and grow, their individual personalities emerge as they eat, play, fight, and interact with each other, their mother, and you. Many breeders evaluate the pup - pies at eight weeks old, and for many breeds that’s a good time to cull out the ones that are clearly not show quality. As a Pekingese breeder, I like to take a little longer to see how the puppies are going to develop. My most recent litter was born April 1, 2021, with two males and two fe - males. The litter was almost four months old when I settled on my per - sonal pick; a well-proportioned, light red sable male with a good topline, a nice head, and a short, heavy body. His brother was a close second, but he was larger and longer.
“IT IS ALWAYS SMART TO GET AN EXPERT’S ADVICE AND OBSERVATIONS, TO HELP EVAULUATE EACH PUPPY AND DECIDE ON THE BEST PLAN FOR EACH ONE.”
lustrous, felt his ears for placement on the head, checked the broadness of the muzzle, and checked for a flat top skull. He then looked at Stevie’s head from a side view of the facial features, looked at the profile of his head, looked at the angles of the head, and the gentle lay - back of the skull and head together. Dr. Keating checked the cushion of Stevie’s muzzle, and ran his thumb gently over the puppy’s closed mouth to feel the bite. He remarked that it is not acceptable to open the mouth on a Pekingese, unless the judge has an is - sue with the thumb examination, and in that instance, the judge should ask the exhibitor to show the bite by hav - ing the exhibitor gently lift the lips only so that the judge can see the bite, which should be slightly undershot. He wriggled his fingers into Stevie’s lush, full puppy coat and felt the front assembly by making sure the little dog’s front two legs had a tight fit against his body and that the dog’s el - bows were correctly situated and the little guy was not out-at-the-elbows. He then felt the gentle bow in both the puppy’s short forearms, and checked
Neither looked like either of his par - ents, but the shorter male was built like his maternal grandmother, and the longer male was built like his maternal grandfather, which emphasized the point that it is important to study each dog’s genetics so that you can anticipate what may result from each mating. It is always smart to get an expert’s advice and observations to help eval - uate each puppy and decide on the best plan for each one. Former Pekingese breeder/exhibi - tor and All-Breed Judge Dr. Steve Keating was my choice to give a thorough evaluation of each young dog. He started with Passion Ste - ven Peter, a.k.a. Little Stevie, my personal favorite. Dr. Keating stood back from the table to assess the overall view of the puppy from the side. He walked around and looked at Stevie from the front. He was doing an assessment of the pup - py’s size, make, shape, form, length, and overall balance. He cupped Stevie’s head with both hands and studied his little face to see how his head was framed, looked at his eyes to see if they were large and
54 • T op N otch T oys , J uly 2022
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