She is Latte...real/whole name is Creme du Chocolate...but Latte as in coffee with cream fits better.... She's a very sassy bossy little girl!! She escaped into the diningroom, and could then go through out the rest of the house....and wouldn't come when called...little $hi! Hard to train a pup that is not food motivated....she doesn't give a hoot if she eats or not! I should know better than to get a dog that is smarter than I am! Linda C

Is it true that when you breed a certain line out longer the genetic problems go away? This is a loaded question. It depends on the traits the breeder is wanting to enhance, and that depends upon how carefully the dogs have been bred and must consider all the lines involved. ANY DOG NO MATTER HOW CAREFUL THE BREEDING MAY BE CAN HAVE GENETIC DEFECTS. Right now pure bred Goldens and Labs are having a hard time with cancers, Labs have a probalem with seizures, and Bernese mountain dogs and Goldens, labs and springers are having issues with hip displyasia. Behavior issues can crop up as well. The more popular the dog, the less quality of dog on the market. Chihuahuas are going to become extraoidinarily popular after this weekend, as a result the breed in general will suffer. Irish setters were almost bred to stupidity due to over in-breeding. Many back yard breeders dont undeerstand the complexities of maintaining a good blood line, and they dont care, they want the bucks the newest fad brings. Dalmations and JRT's were highly popular in the last decade due to their tv exposure. Bernese Mountain dogs are very popular as well, and many have allergies and hip issues, where as their less popular, shorter haired cousin the Swiss Mountain dog has less problems overall. if you are truly interested in getting a dog for the characteristics it has been bred for, you need to go get a book on dog breeds. Go through it and check the dogs you like for size, and why it was bred. If you think your lifestyle can accomodate a particular type of dog and understand why it was bred, what particular job, and you can provide the dgo with some part of your lifestyle which will incorporate some of those inherit traits, all the better. Go to dog shows, and watch them on tv. Go visit local breeders and talk with them about the breed they are raising. Word of caution. Never purchase a dog from a breeder who will not let you on the property to see the living conditions of the pup you are interested in. Ask the breeder if they can arrange for you to contact owners of dogs from previous litters. If you are really interested in genetics and blood lines, then you want to be able to provide the environment the dog was bred for. Australian Shepherds, an off shoot of the Dalmation, are great dogs, bred to work sunup to sundown, and they have some terrific lines, and some not so great lines, with tendencies towards deafness from those Dalmations with fewer spots. Goldens were bred out of Saint Bernards, every now and then you will find a huge Golden carrying that recessive gene from the Saint Bernard. Just keep reading and talking...it it the only way to determine the pros and cons and traits of each breed of dog. Good Luck and I hope this answers some of your questions.

Jen, I was just looking at a rubber stamping page, and found stamps where they list the stats - you might be able to use that! Try the link below under the baby stamps. Here is a link that might be useful: Rubber Stamps

Could I please make a couple comments that I did not see addressed?? You have received some very good info and a couple not to good.. YEARS ago I showed conformation/obedience in Junior Handling. I have always showed horses and bred to limited mares in 2000's. Key word here is 'limited'. I accepted mares who stallion and mare would compliment each other . I also worked as an RN in high risk pregnancies and neonatal risk. Dna/hereditary diseases were part of many outcomes that ended well or not well. I know you want a healthy well bred dog. Each breed has its own potential health problems. In order to breed out these problems specific to your breed a very reputable breeder WILL do testing of parents, grandparents at minimum. Yes- it is expensive which falls into the cost of a puppy. Learn what 'linebreeding' is. It is interbreeding with close relatives which strengthens any chance of potential diseases. Learn what is and how to figure a coefficient. Some tests need to be done every year, some are a one time test especially when looking at DNA/hereditary issues. That is important because some diseases do not show up as a young pup. Do NOT let some unscrupulous breeder give you the "NONE OF MY DOGS and PUPPIES HAVE EVER HAD PROBLEMS!" That is BS- every breeder has had some problems if they have been breeding for any amount of time. And they are truthful. No breeder can keep track of every pup for its lifetime. Some problems in SP are serious- vonwillebrands disease can have be fatal- especially if you are unaware that your dog inherited the disease- the dog bleeds to death from a cut or internally. One of the most common problems in all larger breeds as a whole is bad hips. INSIST on parent/grandparent hip radiographic results. Do not take a breeder's word. See it. Seizures are sometimes not noticed by owners- some breeders KNOW their dogs carry DNA for seizures but try to slide that under the table. These things are very expensive to treat medically. And.... if a breeder tells you that they have a puppy (8-ish -12 weeks old) that is a 'show quality puppy WALK AWAY!! You cannot tell that a dog that young is 'show type's until they about 5-ish months or older. Pups can look perfect at 8 weeks and grow up to be totally unacceptable to breed standards...just like your nephew/niece that was such a CUTE baby and grew up to be an ugly duckling. Or visa versa. Normally only a few pups of a litter for confirmation make the grade.... Unless judges are accepting dogs that 'sorta fit the breed standard'. Lastly, do not give any bearing to "they are AKC parents and litter registered" AKC has ruined more breeds by letting poor specimen dogs represent the breed(s). IE: instead of telling competitors in the show ring that: "Unfortunately ladies and gentlemen. NONE (or only some) of these dogs fully represent the breed standards, so no dogs (or only some) will receive a place (ribbon) in the show ring today". Judges placed dogs who were inferior to standard yet placed them anyway instead of excusing them from the ring. This has created a glutton of poorly bred/represented breeds. Doing so creates a mass of unhealthy dogs that are not to breed standard confirmation wise. Poodles are german dogs. If you are seeking a well bred dog that may not be registered until it underdogs health and temperament testing at two different stages of life 2 years old then research the German breeds standards which are much more stringent than American- I have never had involvement in poodle. I know this is long and may be more than you are willing to research or do but to people who are serious about breed health it is important. Good luck.