Dogs and props

I love collecting in-scale dogs, not just Breyers but also Hagen-Renakers, various MIJ and MIC chinas and resins, and, as with "Dobby" the Pug up there, Schleich toys. Not all Schleichs are made equal, in fact many are very toyish, but enough are realistic enough that the brand should not be overlooked. They also make cats, poultry, goats, and other pets and farm animals.

They can make for cute interaction with the main subject. Titania always has her photo taken with her pal Bailey.

And they make nice background additions, like Bailey and Dobby watching Merlin doing some free jumping. 

A note on non-animal props: I'd been looking for a way to show Merlin in halter, since just having him positioned in the setting jumping nothing would have looked a little strange, at least in a "realistic" setup. (and I'm not much of a fan of neutral, "artsy" backdrops, at least not for conformation classes) Photos of horses free-jumping solved that problem. I took two empty cans that were destined for the trash: a small evaporated milk can, and a vienna sausage can. The wrappers and glue were removed, the cans washed, then spray-painted in stable colors. Topped it off with a cavaletti off an old Breyer jump and Merlin had his jump.  

 Not much else to post about this time, so I'll leave you with some baby Friesians and their mothers. They live along the route we take to get to the store and where my sister works. Aww!