Picture Time!

I have learned three things very recently. The first? Proofread your titles. You can't fix them. *Sigh* The second? Widget needs to start training. Badly. The third? Never use a red sheet as a background, To proceed . . .

First, this little guy is Widget. I honestly should have known better. Last year I bred a litter of Teddy Roosevelt Terriers. I thought I was being cute when I gave them call names after short characters in Star Wars, given that I'd been watching the movie series when Diva was coming up on her time. The litter consisted of Artoo, Wicket, Yaddle, Nambi, and Maz. Wicket, went on to a service dog career, Nambi became a pet, and Maz may have a future as a show dog for her new person. I held onto Artoo and Yaddle--but those are different stories.

Second, we're coming up on the end of my honeymoon period with Widget. He wants to get out and do things, which is absolutely fine--or would be if it were not 90 degrees and 86%+ humidity most afternoons when I get out of work. I need to find methods of training that will at least engage his brain inside my tiny house (The Cottage), while we await cooler weather and weekend mornings off. I will dedicate a story to some of those training ideas later in the week or next week--some of them are really interesting and fun. However, at this stage of the game, I thought that maybe "Widget" should be "Fidget," as I could not get his attention for the world.

"Widget, stack."

"Did you say "snack," Mama? Thanks, I'd love one!"

Okie dokie, then.

Third, never use a red sheet as a backdrop. I should have known better. Back when I showed cats, the first thing we learned was to never photograph a red (sorrel) cat against a black backdrop and to never photograph a black cat against a red backdrop. What no one ever mentioned was that photographing a white animal against a red backdrop will lead to so much color bleed that no amount of photo rendering will help clear it all. Or that the white will become so blinding that all detail in the photo will be lost. Oh well. Live and learn. I have other color sheets and blankets that I can use as backdrops. Or, maybe, I'll get smart and have Dan help me and stack him on a table outside. Natural light is better, anyway. Right?

The good news is that, even though he looks as if he's all legs and neck and the parts are no longer fitting, Widget is growing fairly well and in proportion. The stack was the best we could achieve with me taking a photograph of an unleashed puppy using my non-dominant hand on the phone. (It's fun. You should try it sometime! </sarcasm>)

Regardless of the goofy stack, I see a lot I like about this little guy and a few things I don't like. I love his head. Yes, it's rounded right now, but that's due to his age. The planes will flatten out as he grows and the ears will come up. The proportions on that head, though, are excellent, as is the nose pigment. The poor little guy has a neck like a giraffe at this stage. In part, it's because he's backing up when I want him to stay still. Another part is due to him not having a chest yet. Both are fixable with time. I suspect he'll have a nice neck when e grows up.

Widget is a typical pudgy puppy, so I'm not worried about him having a "tuck up" at this point. For those of you not in the know, the "tuck up" is found under a dog's body where it narrows in the loin. A greyhound has an extreme tuck up, which, when combined with that flexible spine, allows it to run at great speed. The Labrador retriever has no discernible tuck up. The core of its body is needed for powerful swimming, not flexibility in running. A Toy Fox Terrier is supposed to have a moderate tuck up. He does seem to have a little bit of a rise over his loin, instead of a flat back. That could be caused by backing up. We'll see as he develops.

His rear is really nice right now. His angulation is wonderful for a Toy Fox Terrier and he has nice musculature. His tail could be straighter and set on a bit higher, but there's not really much there to worry me. A dog doesn't run on its tail, so I'm less worried about it than I am the rest of him. So far I like his chances in the conformation ring, but puppies do change a lot over time. As I have said before: we'll see.

Next up: Widget becomes a butterfly on a string!