HI!
I haven't read all the post of this thread but thought I would try to make some suggestions - someone may have mentioned this before - if so I apologize for repeating it!
It is impossible to tell from a picture which puppy is best. And it is not good to select a puppy from a hand stack. What I do with me puppies is set up a large pen outside in an area that I can clearly see but am not too close to. If the puppies are very similar and I can not tell from a glance which one is which - I put different colored collars on them before I put them. I then sit down on the porch and watch them. I watch the way they look when they move and how they free stack themselves. The one my eye is constantly drawn to is the one I select. I start doing this when they are about 8 weeks old and do it atleast once a week. I keep a record of which pup is consistantly my pick.
There are several reasons that I do it this way. First, because many of my puppies fight me when trying to stack them so I can't get a good look at them. And second, because I have been doing this a long time (24 yrs) I automatically stack them (if they are cooperative
) in the position that looks the best - which may hide some of their faults. A puppy that can move well and stack itself where it looks good is truthly the best one!
Best of luck in your choice!
Charlie