Common questions › Picking a puppy
The short answer
Look at the structure: a straight, strong back, the hips not higher than the back, ankles, elbows and hips that line up, and a natural stance nobody had to pose. At 5 to 8 weeks every proportion matters, because little things become big things as they grow.
Check the tail too: make sure the puppy and its parents don't have a tail pocket. And look at the parents, because that's what the puppy is going to become.
This is one of our mini boys off Fury at five weeks, right as they come into the super cute age between five and eight weeks. At this age every proportion matters. If a puppy has a high back and a high butt now, there's a huge chance it will as an adult.
The head and the rolls come in later, but the structure of the body, how the elbows sit and all those little things, just amplifies as they get older. Those details decide how your puppy runs, jumps and plays, and its overall health.
On this boy his ankles, elbows and hips all line up, and he has a strong, straight back. Everything is proportional, which sets him up to be healthy, functional and a long-term family pet. You don't want to invest in something that's going to break your heart, or your kids' hearts.
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These are King Escobar babies. Look at the back structure, the movement, the hips, the front shoulders: everything lines up. You see the rolls, but they're not just fat. And none of it surprises us, because it's what the parents are.
Look at that stance: not positioned, nothing. Stance is directly tied to function, movement and health, because everything is lined up. Choose for health, structure, functionality and temperament first, then color.
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Structure, bloodline, temperament, real size, and why most people get misled. This girl's dad is DaChamp, and there's no surprise why she looks so good: you can see DaChamp as a baby and his full progression to adult.
Bloodline consistency is the superpower: not just that DaChamp and Stella, the mom, are good, but that their parents and grandparents are all consistent. That's why you get what you see. We breed the adults you'd want, in puppy form.
Quick clips on the same question. Tap any one and it plays right here.
A super important tip: the tail pocket. It's where the tail sort of goes in and develops a pocket, and it can cause a lot of problems later. Most people don't think about it when getting a bulldog. Make sure the parents don't have it, and the puppy doesn't have it.
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Everything: structure, functionality, temperament with dogs, people and kids, movement, chest size, leg length, how the legs and joints line up so the dog moves well, and a back length that keeps the hips from sitting too high. Good on the eye, but also good for the dog's health. Does it move well, run well, go up stairs?
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