Hmmmm…what is the perfect Cobberdog? There is a breed standard for the Australian Cobberdog which is a detailed written description of the characteristics of the ideal Cobberdog. It details the look, describing every physical feature of an ideal Cobberdog and temperament, the ideal breed behaviour of that Cobberdog.
The Australian Cobberdog is a ‘breed in development’ which means we are looking for consistency in the puppies that we breed so that we ultimately meet the breed standard. With time, careful selective breeding should see more Cobberdogs meeting the breed standard, for appearance, health results and temperament. This is only possible with committed ongoing genetic testing and health screening.
Advances in genetic testing in recent years has enabled us to choose pups that are closest to these standards. Keeping the breed standard in mind, we select the very best puppy from each litter to keep for breeding into the next generation. This puppy is health screened for 31 canine diseases, coat tested for fleece/wool and teeth checked, and when old enough hips & elbows are Xrayed, eyes and heart checked, and temperament evaluated.
However, adhering to this guideline has had its ups and downs! Sometimes, puppies selected as seemingly ‘near perfect candidates’ turn out to have health screening results or temperaments that are not of the highest level that we have set for our ongoing breeding program. In these cases, the puppy won’t proceed to our breeding program. This has been very tough at times, but we place a lot of importance on health and genetic screening in an effort to breed consistently sound dogs.
At Ridgy Didge, all our breeding dogs have their genetic and health screen results featured on their profile on our website; our buyers can check health and genetic screens before committing to a Ridgy Didge puppy and have real peace of mind.
We also place a lot of importance on temperament, which is not fully evident in small puppies. A good genetic start in temperament is further enhanced and developed by early socialising and ongoing training with a reputable trainer. The 6-week puppy pre-school course is not enough to produce a well-rounded adult dog.
If you would like to adopt a Ridgy Didge Australian Cobberdog, please read our Adopting a Puppy information, before you continue the adoption process. For more information, pm us on Facebook, or contact us at our website. Like and follow us on Facebook to keep up to date with ongoing puppy news and announcements.