Critique "Iorek" Tamaska von Schöne Stadt - 10 weeks

[Kamahi]

I know he is only a puppy and they will go through plenty of changes as they get older, but I'm curious as to what you all think of him?

He is actually 12 1/2 weeks old now, but these are the most recent stack pictures I have of him, since he isn't the easiest puppy to stack! lol (What puppy is?! )

Stack -





Head shots -





His head shot now (8/17/11) -



Profile shot -

[GSDElsa]

Hmmm...were you taking the picture completley parallel to him? It seems like the angle is such that there is lens distortion and it is making his back end look tiny in comparison to his back end...like you were shooting at a front to back angle. I would also zoom out a little so you don't have barrel distortion...not sure that is helping.

But the front shots are super cute!! Awesome color and expression!

[Kamahi]

When I took those two above stack pictures I was more towards his front end. I had to straighten and crop both of those stack pictures because it's difficult stacking a hyper puppy AND taking the pictures by yourself. I appreciate the suggestions though, and I had a helper take pictures of me stacking Iorek today.

Here are the stack pictures from today... (so much easier when I had a helper to take pictures!!)

Stack -

(I cropped myself out of the picture and put it on another picture I took)


Head shots (from today as well) -





Profile shot -

[lhczth]

Very nice dark face.

[1sttimeforgsd]

I am not knowledgeable to critique your boy, but he sure is a handsome little fellow.

[Xeph]

While acknowledging that this puppy will change quite a bit between now and 2 years old, here's what I see currently:

Beautiful ear set. Dark, masculine head, lovely for his age. Good length of neck, but set a bit low. Wither is flat, leading into an ok topline. Croup is long, but quite steep. Good tailset.

Good bone, a bit soft in the pasterns right now. Layback of shoulder is pushed forward and should be set back a bit. Underline is ok, but could use a more pronounced tuck (the issue is shaping more than anything).

Would like a better turn of stifle, but rear angulation is sufficient.

Very nice feet.

Cute baby ^_^

[GSDElsa]

Oh yes that last picture does him much better justice!!

I hear ya about trying to wrangle those kids

[Kamahi]

Thanks for all the replies!

Originally Posted by Xeph

While acknowledging that this puppy will change quite a bit between now and 2 years old, here's what I see currently:

Beautiful ear set. Dark, masculine head, lovely for his age. Good length of neck, but set a bit low. Wither is flat, leading into an ok topline. Croup is long, but quite steep. Good tailset.

Good bone, a bit soft in the pasterns right now. Layback of shoulder is pushed forward and should be set back a bit. Underline is ok, but could use a more pronounced tuck (the issue is shaping more than anything).

Would like a better turn of stifle, but rear angulation is sufficient.

Very nice feet.

Cute baby ^_^

Thank you for the critique!!! I really appreciate it!

I think his neck may look a little low in the picture due to my lack of knowledge on how to properly stack a dog (and I had my treat bag on the ground in front of him because I couldn't hold that and stack him at the same time lol and so he would at least look in that general direction, but I'm probably wrong. Do you think his topline is off because his hind leg is a little too stretched out?

I couldn't see what his stack looked like from the front and my helper knows less than I do when it comes to stacking a dog, so Iorek's stack definitely wasn't perfect!

Do you think some of the things you mentioned will eventually correct themselves as he grows? I know it's hard to tell right now, but I'm wondering if faults correcting themselves as the puppy grows is common?

[Xeph]

I think his neck may look a little low in the picture due to my lack of knowledge on how to properly stack a dog

While this is part of it (and it takes time to learn how to #1 stack a dog and #2 learn how to stack a dog based on its individual virtues and deficiencies), when you start learning how to look at the skeletal structure *inside* the dog, and not just the outer shell, you can see the issue better.

Even if you brought his head up a bit, you would be able to see that where his neck ties into his shoulders, the set is a bit low.

Do you think his topline is off because his hind leg is a little too stretched out?

Again, yes and no. Regardless of how you stack him, this puppy does have a very steep croup. You can make it look better or worse, depending on how you stack the dog.

Will his croup change? Probably a little bit. Will it ever stop being steep? No.

His pasterns should firm up a bit as he ages. He is still just a baby after all His topline will likely do all sorts of weird things as he grows, and his underline will follow suit

I actually took pictures of my little girl from week to week until she was about 6 months old, so I could see all the changes she was undergoing.

[BlackthornGSD]

Originally Posted by Xeph

Even if you brought his head up a bit, you would be able to see that where his neck ties into his shoulders, the set is a bit low.

Also note that this is an AKC-style vs international style GSD issue--in the AKC conformation ring, the preference seems to be for a dog whose neck is more vertical than is selected for in European GSDs.