Toplines - Page 2

I'm thinking I would need to see a dog standing naturally or in motion to determine whether or not it truly has a roached back.

He does have an excellent breed survey report, praising his angulation, withers etc.

This is the breed survey in German: Temperamentvoller, energischer, gut mittelgroßer, mittelkräftiger, im guten Verhältnis aufgebauter Rüde mit kräftigem ausdrucksvollem Kopf, guter Widerist, gerader fester Rücken und leicht abschüssiger Kruppe von guter Länge, sehr gute Winkellagen, ausgeglichene Brustverhältnisse, gerade Front und Schrittfolge bei noch nicht ganz geschlossenen Ellenbogen, flüssige, raumschaffende Gänge. Sicheres Wesen. TSB ausgeprägt, läßt ab.

My translation: Lively, energetic, fully medium size, medium strong male built in good proportions with a strong expressive head, good withers, straight firm back and slightly sloping croup of good length, very good positions of angles, balanced chest proportions, straight front and sequence of steps with not yet closed elbows, fluid, ground covering gaits. Secure temperament. TSB pronounced; does release.

I "bolded" (is that a word?) the characteristics which in my opinion can influence a topline.

Chris

So in your opinion, does he have a roached back, if you had to base your decision on those two photos alone?

Ok, this is one dog. I was hoping that other people would chime in and add more examples.

My black puppies, photos taken at 3 months of age. Are they roached backed? The male first!

Now the female:

What about their mother? She has the same "rounded" back as the showline male, right? So, she is roached?

Great topic. To these uneducated eyes, he looks roached...or cramped up, too scrunched (is that a word?) up in back. I only know what I like in an overall picture. Orbit vom Tronje (as you might guess) is just perfect, to me. I like to see a graceful line from the back of the ears to the tip of the tail......flowing with no bumps and humps.

JMHO.

I will not comment on the puppies, as I know they will still be filling out and growing, but their mother does look roached to me.

In my opinion, "roached"  means that a dogs back is higher than the dog's withers whether in motion,stacked, or in natural stans. I don't think any of these dogs or puppies are roached.

AIR: Of course, he does not have a roached back. Personally, I think that he examplifies what a good back is supposed to be.

Our dogs are supposed to have an iron back! This is a term the old conformation judges used to define a dog with a praiseworthy topline! A dog that could gait effortlessly all day long (of course, the back is not the only important part which influences movement). A dog who had a back where you can rest a glass of water in movement (literally speaking). I once had a dog who had one of the best backs I have seen: www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/pedigree/10224.html My sweet Exi, a VA-Fando vom Suedblick-daughter. Excuse the quality of the photo, too light! My husband scanned it in years ago and it did not come out better. Because of her back and her movement, she was placed SG-27 at the German Sieger Show. She and the showline male share the same line to Fando Suedblick and Mutz Pelztierfarm. Do you think that she is roached backed?

Ok Al Garza, you are correct. Let me rephrase that definition: Some have called our dogs banana backs, or two angled backs or curved backs.

Perhaps if you show us what you would consider a roach, we could have a better idea. Not trying to put you on the spot, but you're the one who started the topic, so it would be interesting to see. I am looking around at photos but have yet to find one to post.