Some Weekend Pics

We've had several dogs showing in various parts of the country these past two weeks and this weekend was our turn to be in "show mode". Our Rowdy son Max (Beachwalker Rowdy To The Max) went Winners Dog/Best Of Winners at the West Volusia show on Saturday for 2 more pts. in his quest for an AKC Championship. His niece, Moxie, showed as well and won her 9-12 class both on Saturday and on Sunday. I didn't get any great pics of Max since he focuses on me when I'm ringside so I tend to hide but I did get a few shots of Moxie (Annihaus Blue Suede Moccasins) and here's my favorite.



Meanwhile, in Connecticut, Brody (Annihaus Idol Aiken Breakin' Heart) took WD/BOW/BOB/G4 in Shelton CT on Saturday and WD/BOW in Goshen CT on Sunday to be pointed out with one major. For those who don't know the formula for achieving an AKC Championship, it takes 15 points but it must include 2 majors (wins of 3, 4 or 5 pts.). Brody has 13 pts. and 1 major. He needs one more win -- a major -- to finish his Championship. BTW, BOB and a Group 4 out of the classes is pretty cool. We are very proud of him and his owners, Kathy and Mike Brown.

Meanwhile, back in Florida, I also took some pics of 5 6-week-old Rottie puppies that were bred by a good friend of ours. Here they are -- speaking of cute! BTW, none of these puppies were asked to walk on anything shiny or slippery. In fact, they weren't asked to walk at all .

Here's Mr. Blue.



Mr. Red.



Mr. Green.



Mr. Yellow.



And Mr. White.



All images available light, outdoors, Canon 85mm F1.8. No fill flash. Sitting on my butt on the grass with fire-ants trying to eat me. You want to talk about stress . . . .!!

Jim

LOVELY shots Jim! The pups are adorable. I did not see your friend in Goshen, I looked, but I did not see her. :-( I wanted to see Brody so bad too. I must have missed the class. I got there about 1pm, I had to work, so I went straight from work. I hung around for a bit, then left about 2:30pm

What a bunch of cuties!

Penny,
they were in early on Sunday, about 8:30 a.m. so they were probably well on the road back to New Hampshire by the time you got there. Too bad you couldn't make the Shelton show on Saturday: Best Of Breed and a Group 4 out of the classes over Specials. We were thrilled!!!

Jim

WOW! Serious CONGRATS on the BOB and the Group 4! That is amazing. He is going to grow up one seriously handsome boy!

Awesome job in the ring! That litter was destined for greatness though. Cute puppies!

Thanks Julie. From your mouth to God's ear!

As for the puppies I photographed, here are some stacked shots taken at 5 weeks of age. As most breeders will tell you, it's really hard to take decent stacked shots of puppies because they really aren't strong enough to hold a stack and, candidly, this was the first time anybody tried to stack these puppies. We start stacking them informally at 3 - 4 weeks. However, stacked is how you see basic structure which is very important for those puppies that will be sold into "show" homes. So, here they are:

First up, Blue Boy.



Next, Mr. Green.



And here's Mr. Yellow.



And, finally, Mr. White.



Missing from these shots is Mr. Red who is already committed to a "pet" home. To take these shots, you have exactly 2.65 nano-seconds to capture each puppy at the precise moment it's stretched out enough to see the topline and just before they step out of it with their back feet. Ask Julie. She and I tend to be both the stackers and the photographers for most of our own litters and that's simply not possible! These kids are very cute and if I were picking one for my own, I'd take Mr. Yellow.

Enjoy and think "puppy breath" .

Jim

Mr Yellow is the standout for me also. He has the most balance and presence. Yes, stacking puppies is like stacking Jello. I did it with my 2 week old ones. I had a couple it worked with, but, that was about it. They were barely standing at that point

But getting them used to the pose and the handling is what it's all about and the sooner you can start that process, the better. These guys hadn't even tasted cheese so it was hard to find something they'd bait for. Regardless, it's a cute bunch of pups and at least we don't have to find homes for them . And, no, we are not taking one!!

Jim