Predicting adult conformation

Question
Is there a puppy 'best age' predictor of conformation for standard poodles? You often hear people say they looked good at 2 days....bad at 4 weeks...better at 8 weeks ...awful at 12 weeks but by the time the puppy for 5 months old they knew they had a show prospect on their hands.  I know that a lot of the predicting comes from knowing how the dam/sire lines mature out but is there a general rule of thumb for a best guesstimate of what the best age is to show a glimpse of the future, final adult structure?

Many thanks!
Karen

Answer
Hello Karen,
With Poodles being all different sizes and coming from a diverse range of genetic backgrounds, it is impossible to really tell if your puppy is a show champion or not at any given age.  Puppies grow at different times and ages due to the variations of other dogs in their line.  
The best guesstimate that I could give you would be around 6 months of age when the puppy has slowed growing and mainly needs to just fill out at this age.  
Professional breeders that have been showing along time and really know what to look for in a good puppy can usually predict what a nice puppy is going to look like at around 4 months, but again, they can be wrong if something develops in the future.  Some breeders that say they really know their dogs may be able to tell sooner, but those are risky assements because a puppy can always change.

I hope this helps you some.  If you have other questions for me, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim