7 week Puppy Stacks - Halloween Litters

Here are the pictures from the puppies' first time on the table.  Nothing better than trying to stack 7 week old pups to teach a human either the patience of Job, or to induce heavy drinking.

Because we've got several folks looking for a show pup (along with us), we bit the bullet and put all 17 pups through the drill.  Thankfully, it wasn't too painful - but it is always a reminder of how many factors affect the outcome of a great stack picture - from the mood of each pup at each moment, to the skill of the person stacking them, to how the stars are aligning at any given second.  :)

Some pics were great, some not so much.  I've left some of the not-great ones in to give you a feel of just how much what a pup looks like changes from second to second.  One moment, the topline looks over-exaggerated, the rear angulation is too deep, the next it's too straight.  And then, just when you're about to give up, the pup holds perfectly still at just the right moment and ...doh!  The camera refuses to go off.

In spite of all this, we're pretty happy with how all these pups look. I'll post some additional comments below.  As always, you can click any pic to enlarge.

Little Rock

 Stevie

Carol Anne

Duke Henry the Red

Wichita

Starling

Theo

Upson Pratt

E. Buzz

Herbert

Delbert

Ash

Bedelia

Annie Hayworth

 

Cherry Darling

RJ MacReady

Becky

For those looking for these things, both litters have inherited Jett's amazing shoulders.  Toplines on Bella's puppies are a bit curvier (like hers), and those on most of Spicy's pups are a bit straighter (like hers!)...we like both styles and both win in the ring.  

Rear angles on Bella & Jett's pups are a bit more angulated, but this may have been about being a bit wound up about being up high on the table, since the pups that weren't too worried about the height don't look quite as deeply angled.  Spicy's pups are a bit less angled in the rear - again, we've seen both styles win, and none of the pups is showing anything in particular to worry about from a conformation standpoint.

If you're interested in learning more about conformation showing or just what the 'ideal' whippet is as described by show people, the Illustrated Standard of the American Whippet Club is really helpful: http://americanwhippetclub.net/awc-publications/illustrated-standard

Since we breed for both running sports and the show ring, we don't always aim for what wins only in the showring...but are striving for balanced dogs who can do both - and also be great pets!