Thanks so much everyone for sharing your experiences:)

So far, I have had one assistant for every shoot that I have done (well except my own animals), and have already figured out how important that is:) I wouldn't have thought to have so many handlers for a litter of puppies so thanks for that tip Cheryl!

Luckily I have shown my own dogs so I understand how important it is for the dog to be correctly stacked and presented and I think an eye for positions/angles that make the confirmation of the animal look weird is important even with cross breeds and in candid shots.

I'm trying to get three or four photo shoots in a week aside from my normal photography, so hopefully it will all come together by the time I start doing this for real:)