How important is structure in your dogs to y'all???

Oly, great question.

I equally consider conformation, drive, style, and cleanness of gait in my dogs and will not settle for any real flaws in a dog I keep as a breeding prospect.

Each breeder should have their own ideal for conformation that allows their dogs to excel in their personal hunting style and terrain where they hunt.

Hunting drive is a little easier but you have got to put your dogs down with the best you can find to see how they compare. The best in a particular litter might not look so good when paired against another top dog from someone else's yard.

Style is a big deal to me personally. In a catch-dog I want very clean holding style. A dog that gets sloppy and cut all the time is not a dog I want to breed even though it is a super hard catching machine.

Style in a bay dog is even more important to me. I get to spend hours watching my dogs bay cattle and can pick out very small differences in style between dogs that you would not even begin notice while hog hunting. For instance in a settled cow bay I pay particular attention to what triggers a dog to stop circling and start engaging a particular steer. This will be triggered by the distance the steers body extends from the compact herd. This starts with a nose sticking out, head out to the jaw, head and neck, daylight behind the front leg, rib, hind leg, and daylight for the whole body, ect.... Each dog will engage at one of these points and the more consistent this engagement is across a litter the happier I am. I have several other things I look for and evaluate regarding bay style but will not go into those here just giving you an idea.

Cleanness of gait is very important as well. I want a dog that hunts on the run not a trot with a long springy stride. I also want a flat leg with not alot of knee action. And their legs need to travel and hit the ground straight with their body. This is necessary for speed and durability over time.

Thanks,
Paul T