Conformation Critique - Page 3

It's real simple.  This is a quality bred dog with good conformation and good temperament.  This dog is better looking in appearance than 90% of the GSDs bred anywhere in the world.  Excellent pigment and color and ver pleasing outline.  Looks to be a confident and happy GSD and appears to have normal temperament.

All SV show dogs need a great deal of training in Sch and the showring.  If one is experienced they can do much of this.  If not in an SV type club like they have in Germany and Europe, one typically must hire expensive help.  All winning podium dogs need expensive handlers, it's a fact. Could this dog be a podium dog?  Obviously he has a lot of potential, but like any show dog the owner has too do the training in Sch and showring and see just how far the dog can go upward in the system.  If this dog certifies for hips and elbows, and can get a KK1 (probably a yeas to both), then he should be able to obtain the V rating. 

Could he ever go VA level?  Hard to say, because he has not fully developed and has not been trained and worked. The dog, like all other potential show contenders has a couple minor issues, but they are very slight, so let no one exaggerate them. I have seen GSDs not near as nice as this easily go V in SV type shows with proper training and expert handling (at $300-500 a crack).  When one buys a dog for the showring, he or she must start out soon to either do or hire the proper training if they want the dog to reach its maximum potential.  This typically takes a great deal of time and costs at least hundreds of dollars and perhaps even thousands of dollars.  There is no such thing as a GSD that can win a top rank in the SV showring without years of training in Sch and the showring.  This requires a huge commitment by the owner early on and substantial resources to expend on the Dog.  And the GSD must have potential.  At a minimum this GSD does have potential which justifies a very complete close up in person  evaluation by a very experienced breeder, handler or breed warden.

Mirasmom, it's as if these dogs are used kitchen appliances the way they are traded from owner to owner.  Of course there are plenty of dogs that find great forever homes, but when I see a young male like this looking for his third home, I see red. Counting the time he lived with his breeder, that makes 4 homes in 2 years. You can tell by the video that he has a lovely temperament and he's certainly a beautiful dog in my eyes. He sure doesn't deserve to be passed around like a busted washing machine.

Brit:  The girl playing with the dog in the video is the daughter of the previous owner, not the OP.

If someone must ask for a critique on a public board like this, it says a lot about what they do not know. It also says a lot about how often they do so for two reasons: 1) to get approval from others in the way their dog looks or 2) they are considering selling it.

The reasons behind why any given dog ends up being passed around begins right at the breeder. When one sells without carefully matching that starts a downward spiral. If one does it once, they will do it again. All too many GSDs end up this way. I see them monthly and most dogs I am called about have a history of multiple owners. This makes for a life of stress for the dog and probably a life without proper socialization and training. The dog pays for the fact that people all too often breed for one or possibly two reasons. One, we all recognize, MONEY. Two, so many are breeding saying that they are "improving the breed". I fail to see that in most instances, especially when one does nothing to see ones' own litter pups properly placed.

I think he is a nice male and will be in the upper half on his class if titled.  Put him in the showring; it will get you a true oppinion from a German judge; they will point out his strengths/weaknesses for you.  Its never too late to start training and its never too late to earn a title.  I wish you would keep him, he is a nice male. 

He's already off of her website as is the other male and it looks like they've been replaced by yet another male.

I need to correct a statement I made previously - it took her only 2 days to offer this dog for sale on this board, not 4. She asked for the critique on 6/20, placed the first ad on the 22nd.The breeder knows all about it and I think he will do all he can to get the dog back. BTW the ad is still on this board. Sad, sad, sad............what a lousy life for a 2  year old GSD.

Hodie, I friend of mine who is an AKC judge told me a very disturbing story. She was judging at a show and decided to withhold a ribbon on a young female, lack of merit. After the judging was over, the young couple who owned her ask -  why no ribbon? My friend very gently explained that she was a very sweet dog and a great pet, but not of breeding or show quality so she didn't think they should show her again. She ran into this couple a year or so later and asked about that female. Oh, we had her put to sleep and bought a better dog. We really wanted something to breed and show. That was the last time she ever withheld a ribbon when she judged. That was 10 years or more ago and it still  hurts her to think she could have been responsible for the death of that pretty young puppy bitch. And these are the things that go bump in the night.

 Blitzen,

The judge you mention was absolutely NOT responsible for the death of the pup. The idiots who owned her were for certain as it was their choice. We do not know enough about the breeder to assign any responsibility. But in my life I have found that one often gets strong clues about how earnest a person is about a given dog, and the anticipated activities for that dog. If one is a breeder and only cares about the money, then to hell with any honest assessment, assuming one is knowledgeable. Unfortunately, as we see here over and over again, many people are breeding and they don't have a clue for what they are breeding for or how to achieve it. So how can they be honest with a buyer? They can't.