Hank and Khan

I have the cutest dogs ever.

Hank and Khan with rawhide

Khanathan with brothers

Best stack pic

The two pics above are Khan and Seven's best stack pics with Raven. They are both looking very nice. Seven is at the top and Khan is the second pic. I am really happy with how Khan's legs are developing. I know I'm bias but I think he's got some serious potential. He's got great front assembly and nice angle in this legs but he is pretty darn wide and thick. Hopefully he will grow into it. We should be practicing in front of the mirror and I want him to look really interested in doing his stack correctly. That will take some time since I'm still learning how to stack him.

We have to develop more muscle in his back to support the stack and Sarah suggests running him. I bought a bike just for that very reason even before I got Khan home. Hank is familiar with the bike. I just need to introduce it to Khan and soon we will have the two of them in a nice pace.



Here's Khan and his brother, Seven. You might be able to tell they have different head types. Khan has a wide head while Seven has the long and slender head type. They are very different style dogs.



We got to see Khan's brothers, Andrew (2), and Hugo (9). Hugo is first choice pup in the litter. He's the one with the dipstick tail. I really liked him but I must say, I'm really happy with Khan. I still think he's the best. Hugo and Khan have very similar coat color but Khan has a little more definition between the liver and white which means Hugo has more roaning throughout. That's when the white and liver are blended like salt and pepper hair. Hugo has the more slender head like Seven's and similar feet.





Andrew has a very similar head type to Khan. He is much less boned but have similar features to Khan like his head and feet. Khan was impressively heavy boned as a pup. I mean, amazingly thick, heavy bones. It's less noticeable now but when they were pups, that was what caught my eye with Khan. He was impressive to me. His shoulders were massive compared to any other pup. His legs were super thick. I thought Khan is completely cute. :)



Now I can't wait to see the girls.

20090317, 4 Month Birthday Stack

Check out those trunks. His legs are so thick. I really love his feet. He's a little east-west because we really haven't been practicing. I'll practice every night starting tonight. That table has wheels so it's sorta hard to keep everything under control. Nice chest. Cute puppy.




I don't have him set up perfect but you get the idea. Nice hiney. His hocks should be straight up and down. He's sorta sliding on top of the table and the table is rolling too. He's about 32 pounds now. I'd really like to get tools to help with his stack. I like the ones that Robin Crest Kennels use on their pups.





I think his front and back legs can actually take being just a little more spread apart. I'm gonna start working in front of the mirror every day so that I get a feel for where his feet should be. I keep missing my conformation class on Mondays..grrrr. I'm always tired after work. I will definitely make sure to attend the next one. He always stacks so nicely for me, we just need more practice. I need to know what I'm doing. I really need to start going to my conformation class.

On his 7wk pics I was thinking that his hind legs didn't have the length I wanted but they are really turning out great. I was also worried that he's more long than tall but his legs are totally sprouting him up so he's shorter coupled than I was expecting, which is totally great. He's looking really very nice.

I'm really happy with how he's coming along and he has the best personality. Always happy go lucky, quite obedient considering he's still a young puppy and really eager to please. Loves all dogs and people, no food or toy aggression, no strange fears. He's really just the sweetest pup. He's my Khanathan. He is so great. Oh and let me tell ya, the baths? A complete joy to do. He's so easy to bathe!! I love him and I love GSPs!

And another thing. I am so in-love with his feet! His paws are beautifully compact and his foot pads, HUGE. His feet are one of my most favorite parts on Khan. I just love West Star pups compact feet. I love his head too. Such a sweet expression on him. He is such a handsome sweetheart.

His front baby teeth have come off and are being replaced with permanent teeth. I haven't checked his canines but I think the baby ones are still there. I can't wait till he's fully grown. He's cute now but he's gonna be sooo handsome soon. He has the sweetest face. I want his eyes to get even darker too.

His brother, Seven, is looking very nice also. I love his long muzzle and big nose and he's pretty well built already too. Raven and her mom are sharing in the raising of him. He looks really nice too. I think he's going to do really well. I hope we can champion our pups right away so that we can really focus on the field trial competitions. :)

Khan Stacked at 4 Months

I just needed to upload these real quick. I'll talk more later.

Stoeger Condor Competition Combo

This model is much more attainable but compare the angle of the stock to the Browning in my previous blog. It already looks "wrong". I'm probably over analyzing since it is adjustable but what about the butt of the stock's angle? Wouldn't that dig in unbalanced on my shoulder? Maybe I really should save and hold off for the Browning fully adjustable stock. I do have some time.. ARGH but I'm trying to save for a house!! ARGH. Ehh.. it will all work out.

The Stoeger Condor Competition Combo above, has some good points. I like that it's a combo which means it comes with interchangeable 12g and 20g barrels. I like that it has an adjustable comb. It's not overly heavy at under 8lbs. It's the lowest priced sporting competition combo I've found. Stoeger is a sister company to Benelli. My only concern is the angle of the butt on the stock compared to the Browning. The Browning is fully adjustable.

I'm concerned because I really do get hurt easy. I live with pain in my hands and neck and shoulders all the time so it really is a HUGE deal for me.

OUs and SxS for Field Trials

This is the Browning Citori XT Trap Gold with Adjustable Comb. It's about $5K. I just learned that we can't use a semi-auto or pump style shotguns in field trails. All Benelli's are semi or pump. :( Back to square one. Well, actually, Browning is pretty SuWEET. I met a really nice lady at the gun range and she had a very, very nice trap specialty gun with a similar fancy fancy stock. It might be the same model as the picture above but I'm not sure.

There was one at the gun shop for I think $1119 that felt nice. Nothing fancy about it other than it was a Browning OU. I just feel like I should have something to talk about for $1000, you know? I mean, that's some heavy duckets for just a plain gun. I did see a nice 20 guage for $2000. Ehh... I dunno, there are really nice OUs and SxS but of course they are very, very expensive. I'll have to keep looking. There's no rush. Khan has a lot of training to do anyway and I'd rather spend the money on that for now.

I'm getting my car's oil changed and tires rotated and things checked. I'll feel better after that to travel the 2 hour drive to Tuxedo if I even need to. I prefer heading down with Raven and Blitz for company and to see Blitz in action. I think he really looks great. I think I'd like an IAT puppy but I really need a house first. :)

Curly Tongue

ARGH! I keep forgetting to take a picture of when I practice stacking him. We are working on heel and re-call. Just the easy stuff. He's really great at "sit" and "down" now. Great puppy. I'm glad he's very food motivated. :)