We are going to have her hips and elbows Vet checked before breeding her, just to make sure everything is okay. I don't know if we would be able to OFA her through our vet, but I can find out.
This is JMO, but I do think would be best to submit the x-rays to OFA, if at all possible. At the very least, I personally would read
this article and possibly print it out to make sure that you get good shots of her hips.
She has a really nice head and her markings are pretty and considering she has perfect pigmentation as compared to our others, who have lighter pigmentation, but still black. What I mean by exaggerating the head is that I am looking for a stud that has looser flews, and a little more foreskull. Her head is really rather lovely for a female. I think I forgot to post the picture of her head.
I know nothing about St. Bernards, but it sounds like you are trying to be realistic about her bad points as well as the good ones - a very good thing.Â
She has a gorgeous front, which is one thing that was mentioned as a breed weakness at our National Specialty last October. She also has a really nice topline, it is just hard to tell in those pictures because we only have hills to work on, well, around. I want a stud with a straighter coat, though. One thing I would like to keep is her natural muscle. You can see and feel it the way it is supposed to be no matter what.
I think that, if poor fronts are a common problem, the gorgeous front alone would be good reason to breed her, providing that she doesn't have any structural flaws. How does her rear (not sure if that's the right term in dogs) look? Just something to think about.
There are two other things that came to mind. How did she do in the show-ring, since you did say that she showed? Besides therapy work, has she done anything else that would require a lot of movement? Search and rescue, carting, anything like that?
The questions are just things for you to consider for your girl.
As far as a stud, I think you need to evaluate his weak points and strengths. I am sure that you have done that, just not on this thread. Anyway, if your girl and the potential sire are both weak on a certain point, then explain that to your mother. That would be likely to produce puppies with the same flaw, right? Also, since your girl's best point is her front, I would try to pick a stud that also has a good front.
I do, BTW, think that your girl looks beautiful as a dog, although I am not judge of her as a St. Bernard.Â
Sofia