# Mogwai is 11 Months Old!!! Merry Christmas!



## Xeph (May 7, 2007)

Mogwai is exactly 11 months old today (! Already!?)

I apologize for the backgrounds, but this was the best place to be so the sun wasn't on her. We couldn't mow the entire field just for pictures xD

Free stack!









With me "out of the picture"









And me in the picture (no, I'm not choking her)









ETA: Gaiting shot


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## PiperPuppy (Nov 28, 2010)

WOW! I am so impressed!


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## Equinox (Nov 11, 2008)

11 months old already??? One moment I still think she's that baby puppy and now here she is looking like a grown bitch! She's maturing so nicely, I think she really got the best of both parents. I am loving her - made my Christmas Eve!


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## Sighthounds4me (Nov 7, 2010)

She's looking beautiful! Give her (and Strauss) a kiss on the nose for me!


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## vonbio (Dec 19, 2010)

Gorgeous dog, shame about the slope back =/


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## Xeph (May 7, 2007)

Wow, what a lovely comment. You don't know me or my dog at all. You've not seen her or what work we do. So why would you make a comment about it? There's not a thing wrong with her.

In any case, for the people interested, here are some more gaiting stills


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## winniec777 (Apr 20, 2008)

She is just lovely. I'm really coveting her. (Do people say "covet" any more??)


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## ioreks_mom (Oct 1, 2008)

she is just beautiful  i can't believe she is 11 months old already.


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## TStafford (Dec 23, 2009)

Man time goes by fast! I remember when you were talking about getting her and finnally learned what pasterns are (I use to call them broke wrist).


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## Xeph (May 7, 2007)

Shall we have another progression post then? xD

8 weeks









10 weeks









11 weeks









13 weeks









15 weeks









From here on out, the photos were taken every week to every two weeks ^_^


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## Xeph (May 7, 2007)




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## Xeph (May 7, 2007)

And from when we were in WI (the progression continues here and she is 7 months in the first two photos)



















This is where she hits the uglies (and how) at 8 months









9 months in the next two









Probably my second favorite picture









10 months old









That brings her to our current photos  I do have baby gaiting shots though xD


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## TStafford (Dec 23, 2009)

Wow! I'm really going to have to do weekly and monthly pictures of my show puppy when I get one. I love being able to see how much they have changed.


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## Xeph (May 7, 2007)

It's a really good idea! It can really help you down the line if you decide to breed. You start freaking out about a puppy, but you go back and look at mom/dad's pictures and you go "Oh hey, they did this at this age...so did paternal great grandpa" etc.

I find it to be a really useful tool (the nostalgia doesn't hurt either )


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## RaeganW (Jul 14, 2009)

Xeph, she's looking better every day. 

She'd be called a blanketed dog, yes?


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## Xeph (May 7, 2007)

Yes  She's blanketed.

And I just noticed I need to do her nails. Can't get lax just because we're in the off season!


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

TStafford said:


> I love being able to see how much they have changed.


I agree, it's such a good idea. It's so cool to see the progression from adorable fuzziness to loveliness.


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## Xeph (May 7, 2007)

I have to admit, I didn't see Mirada's "uglies" until 8 months...and they didn't look so bad to me until I posted her 11 month old pictures!! Oy vey!


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## mrslloyd09 (Jul 12, 2009)

She is just stunning. Even her uglies were better than me on my best day.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

Wow she looks great! I'm really really hoping that her hips turn out ok because she's just beautiful!


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## Sibe (Nov 21, 2010)

Good grief she is gorgeous! And I love that her name is Mogwai <3


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## yappypappymom (Oct 22, 2009)

Xeph, 'Rada looks like a total "dime piece"...How proud you must be!! She has come sooo far, but, even as a pup, she had much to offer!! I only see how she is doing her mum & her breed proud! She is lovely, &, so, soooo, precious & beautiful!!! I am quite jealous of her(in a good way), &, think that vonbio is a bit wack in the head!!
KUDOS & Happy ALMOST B-Day to that pretty gal of yours!!!


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## Xeph (May 7, 2007)

> And I love that her name is Mogwai <3


Her nickname is Mogwai, because of her ears xD Her actual name is Mirada (NOT Miranda x.x), lol



> Xeph, 'Rada looks like a total "dime piece"


LMAO! I know what that means, thanks to Psych 

Only 28 days until her 1 year mark! O.O!


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## vonbio (Dec 19, 2010)

I wasn't being rude about you or to you, i think your dog is super cute, but i personally really don't like the slope back simply because of the problems it causes the dogs later in life and they was never bred that way, the original GSD was straight back not frog legged . I'm against all of these "standards" the kennel club put out about how a dog should look.
Sorry if i offended.


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## Xeph (May 7, 2007)

Saying "sorry I offended" after insulting MORE really doesn't help your case. My dog DOES have a straight back. What she DOESN'T have is a topline that is parallel to the ground when in a stack (though it is when she stands four square).

How hard is it to simply say "Nice dog" or not post at all? I don't mind constructive criticism, but your words weren't constructive.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

I agree with Xeph. 'Rada's back is looking great actually compared to a lot of the GSDs I've seen. It's the German showlines that I've seen with a lot of sloped backs, there's nothing sloped about Mirada's back. Also she's not nearly as extreme as a lot of the show line GSDs I see and I love it. You'll see that if she wasn't stacked her back IS straight. I think you're just talking about the angle of her back and that's because of the stack.


Edit: I don't see anywhere where she's frog legged either so I have no idea what you're talking about.


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## Xeph (May 7, 2007)

The American topline is "Sloped" to many people. I never see the "slope" referred to in some of the west german dogs because I don't view it as such, I view it as a curvature of the spine (which it is).

The standard calls for a straight back. My bitch has a straight back. Straight does not necessarily mean parallel to the ground. I will say that the standard also calls for withers higher than and sloping into the level back, but people are unclear if this means stacked or standing four square.


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## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

Well all you have to do is look at the gaited pictures to see that her back isn't sloped.


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## Xeph (May 7, 2007)

Level in motion, baby! Actually, those photos showed me something very important about how she moves on lead.

When on lead, I need to watch the tension I keep on the leash because she has a sensitive opposition reflex. The moment I put tension on the leash, she pulls harder, which causes her to bunch up and kick up in the rear a bit. In the latter photos, where the lead is completely loose (I dropped it and told her to keep going) she levels back out and while clearly still fully extending, she is not working as hard.


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## vonbio (Dec 19, 2010)

Jesus u_u i never said anything offensive to you when i apologized if it seemed that way. I was saying my opinion on slope back alsations actually and i never called this dog frogged legs, i was referring to some of the serious deformities i have seen in dog shows such as crufts where the dog walks like a frog rather then a dog, assuming you would come back with something along the same lines as to how awful that instead of taking everything as an insult and winging, i was hoping to engage in a discussion but aparently all i do is insult.

But if you would like to point out where i actually insulted you or your dog please feel free because i don't see it anywhere.


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## Yvonne (Aug 6, 2010)

hmmm I dont see these structures of top line in my german showline males 





























My German show lines do not bend backs or are they roach backs. They are level in motion and do not drag leg parts. They are solid good movers and are athletic to do any job given them. 

Many people use the term slope back without understanding anything about gsd structure.


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## AussieNerdQueen (Jul 28, 2010)

Merry Christmas/Almost birthday Mogwai! You are very cute and I wish to stroke your fur. xp



winniec777 said:


> She is just lovely. I'm really coveting her. (Do people say "covet" any more??)


Thou shall not covet thy neighbours goods (sorry couldn't resist xP)


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## Yvonne (Aug 6, 2010)

oh and neither is my female in my signature.... Three German show lines none exhibiting the back issues mentioned to my type of gsd above.


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## theyogachick (Aug 2, 2009)

Xeph, she is perfect! I can't believe how big she has gotten. She is quite the beauty...and I bet you are proud of her. 

And I love the puppy progression pictures...with the typical "razz" shots thrown in.

Hooray for Rada Ratface!


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

Yvonne said:


> My German show lines do not bend backs or are they roach backs. They are level in motion and do not drag leg parts. They are solid good movers and are athletic to do any job given them.
> 
> Many people use the term slope back without understanding anything about gsd structure.


I was just pointing out that there are some German showlines that have quite roached backs. I hope I didn't offend you. I can see that your dogs are not roached in any way, shape or form.


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## Yvonne (Aug 6, 2010)

I find comments like that to be misleading and then everyone seems to pass it on. Everyone sees 1/100 the amount of gsds that exist of German show line with a roach back online then assume and or pass on that all are. you are not the only poster of that on this thread so thank you for stepping forward on it with an apology.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

Just out of curiosity because I don't know GSDs well at all, are there lines within the Am. showlines with roached backs? I assume there probably is?


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## Yvonne (Aug 6, 2010)

They have more of a problem with sunken top lines rather than roach.


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## Xeph (May 7, 2007)

Just for the record 



> My German show lines do not bend backs or are they roach backs.


Didn't say yours did. Many of the top dogs do, though there have recently been some imports to America with beautiful toplines, standing and in motion.



> They have more of a problem with sunken top lines rather than roach.


This is true, and in my experience thus far, it is more often because the dog is too long. The back itself is quite strong for the length it must support, but if the dog were shorter in body, the whole support system would be much improved.

Every now and then I see an American line dog with a roachy back, but not often.



> Many people use the term slope back without understanding anything about gsd structure.


This is very true.

I think the toplines have been improving throughout the lines though. The VA1 and VA2 at the Sieger this year were very nice


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## Independent George (Mar 26, 2009)

You know, for all the talk of sunken lines & roached backs (and they are, admittedly, a problem), a far more common issue I've seen are just plain oversized dogs. I regularly see GSDs in th 70-85 pound range these days; BYBs seem to think this makes them "better". For a breed that's already got more than its share of elbow & hip issues, that just seems wrong. 

Anyway, back on topic - the mogwai sure is growing up beautifully, but I have to admit I miss the 'razz' shots.


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## Yvonne (Aug 6, 2010)

Here I thought this years VAs were the worst I have seen in a while lol


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## Xeph (May 7, 2007)

I only liked the first 2-3. From VA4 on down I really didn't care for them. Been having trouble finding the bitch results though.

ETA: Found the bitch results. Not crazy about any of them.


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## Settican (Apr 5, 2008)

I think Mirada is gorgeous! She's really growing up nicely. I'd gladly take her over the German Showlines I see around here


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## Xeph (May 7, 2007)

I think there's some unwritten rule that if you get a beautiful photo, the dog must have its eyes closed, because I got two lovely photos today, and her eyes are closed in both >.<


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## Miranda16 (Jan 17, 2010)

Too bad......

Maybe you should give her to me then


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## Xeph (May 7, 2007)

Here are the pictures that are so lovely...until you realize her eyes are closed



















And eyes open. I just like this picture. Her color looks great here.


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