QUESTIONS & ANSWERS - Page 2

Hi Devon, if your dog is b/gold then even if pale, it is a standard colour and IMO should be judged in accordance with the anatomic standard of all other dogs in the ring, with colour being only a secondary consideration rather than a first as you imply is the case with your dog. If as you say your dog is better looking (by which I presume you mean constructed), as well as a better mover than those regulary placed infront of it, then I take your word for it and have to think of possibly some other reason why it has been placed last many times, as it would be wrong for this to be so if only for its paleness in colour alone. Is your dog of correct weight? Sound in limbs? Firm in back? Of good character and nerve? Sorry to ask these questions but without actually viewing the dog, it is impossible to attempt to guess at the possible reason/s for your dogs placings. If you answer Yes to all the above and it also has the right number of all necessary parts i.e testicles, teeth, etc, it does not regulary attack, bite or growl at the judge, handler, other dogs in the ring or spectators, then I am totally at a loss to give you any explanation why your dog has been placed last many times. Sorry. All the best for the future Sue

DEVON - I know of one of the most beautifully coloured females, rich black and tan with a very strong, but feminine head and expression and in stance she is a "picture" of the perfect GSD - and on this part of her individual she is placed very highly and sometimes pulled out first in her Class, BUT when asked to move at a faster gait or pace she loses out every time and is put back and back and back, she is not able to move up one gear on the fast gait and is very short stepping - SO THIS JUST PROVES that colour is not everything. What you need to do, and this took us many years, is to look at your dog/dogs from an outsider's point of view - this is a very difficult thing to do, as everyone loves their own dogs. We eventually found we were able to do that and now we find we are often TOO CRITICAL OF OUR OWN dogs. Look at your dog from the point of view of a judge or another spectator looking in - does it look like the other dogs in the class - i.e. construction wise - shape and movement etc - then perhaps you might see where the problem lies. Also, do not be afraid to ask the judge why your dog is last in the Class, best to wait till the end of the session of classes, just ask each judge for a critique on your dog - you may find they can tell you why it is always last as you say, but be prepared for different reasons to be given. But honestly the colour of your dog/bitch should not be the sole reason for it being last, if this is so, then these judges are not doing their correct job. Some dogs are actually what they call "paling" meaning they are not pigmented correctly. I was once told many years ago by an older breeder to lift the hairs on the coat and run them through my fingers and if the tips of the hairs are black, even on the gold hair then the dog is not paling. If the tips are light or silver then this is called paling. I will continue on another section.

Sue thanks for the answers,sometimes it will bark whilst waiting in the ring & sometimes has a tendency to want to pull towards spectators.One judge said it was the handler (me)that let it down.We now use another person but still no luck. It is getting to the point of why bother showing at all,we have another dog & suffer the same fate even tho this one is b/t.At 2 day a couple of people i hardly know asked why it came last,they couldnt understand it.I have travelled for hours just to enter open shows for practice & now i think i wont bother wasting money on petrol.

DEVON - look closely at your dog - does it have a good dark mask, or decent mask, has he or she got good dark eyes, at least matching the surrounding coat? The pads of the feet should be nice and black, no pink patches likewise the nose should be black, lips should be black. Does your dog have what is called an unbroken black saddle? I was told that a well pigmented dog should have a black tip on its tail, now this would be hard to distinguish if the dog was very dark in colour (very black) - this is something I am not to sure about, but I have seen many dogs with red tips to their tails especially when they are very red dogs or orangey coloured with black. Perhaps someone out there knows if the tail thing is correct, does it mean that that particular dog is well pigmented or does it mean it will pass on colour if its tail if black tipped? Look at the length of your dog - it should be longer than tall, look at the Breed Standard - there are many short-coupled dogs in the breed - is it getting penalised for being too long - does it have a good shape (angulation) etc. Look at the dog from the front on - does it have a good breadth of chest between its forelegs - some dogs are what is called narrow-chested - the forelegs are too close together. From the side the chest (or front) should be well developed and not look as though its legs go straight up to its neck/head. Look at lots of photos of winners and other dogs around you, is your dog like them. I know someone who owns a black and very very pale gold dog who does very well indeed at shows because other than her colour she is constructed correctly and moves beautifully. It is not easy to criticise your own dogs especially when you are a newcomer, but with time you will be objective - this is what will make you stay the course. Our first 2 shepherds were not show quality and we found this out very quickly, but we never had the heart to part with them, so they lived out their lives with us, but from those 2 onwards we have been able to decide if a dog is for us or not and make decisions more quickly and move on if it is not for us. Saying that we try very hard to make sure these dogs get the best homes possible and have happy lives as pets.

Devon - how new to the Breed are you? I remember the first time we rehomed a male dog (our first ever show dog) - I cried for weeks and to this day will never forget him. But that was the turning point in our showing career - we never looked back from then on. It is a very hard business this breeding and showing, not only for GSD lovers, but all breeds. You will shed many tears, but you will also have many high points to remember - that is what keeps you going. Don't give up if you are serious about showing your dogs, but don't be kennel blind (can't see past your own dogs whether bought in or bred by you) - this will hamper your path. Apologies, for rabbiting on. Hope this has helped a bit for you.

Hi Devon, Perhaps a visit back to your breeder of your dog would help. Just purely for an opinion on whether he has any faults that you havent picked up, and your breeder will be able to advise you. Otherwise if you bred the dog yourself, or the breeder is fairly novice, do you not know some people in the breed as friends who would give you an honest opinion and are suitably qualified to do so. I am sure that this could be arranged, so that at least you would know if it was your dog, the judges, yourself, or whatever, it seems very frustrating for you. Regards Mo Lakin mascani22@aol.com

Sue B, Not much gets me envious, but that Monday night club you attend sounds like a dream-come-true. Wish I wasn't across the Atlantic. L

Toots many thanks will take your answers on board & do some serious dog watching.The dogs movement is good & i have been told that by many others,as with our other. Penny you say ask the breeder.They kept a litter mate to ours & havent shown it yet due to"growing pains".As regard our other dog lets just say you know him (breeder) very well,i`ll call him Mr B.so no chance getting any advice from him. I am critical of my own dogs and i bought our youngest because of movement and temperement.I am an avid dog watcher at shows trying to learn,with regard to asking at a club lets just say after 2 years i still feel an outsider,not part of the clique as was evident at 2 day.Only got a hello even from people i bought b/g dog off,nice people.A friend has all the support he needs from breeder even handling i am so envious if only we got half the help. Again many thanks A judge once said to handler infront of us "why did you bother turning up" what does that say about ours?

natz -- puppies are puppies -- BUT this is the problem that i try to share woth the GSD world -- everybody talkes attention -- 1/2 the people don't know what that means !! i try to explain over and over -- and it is very hard because many trianers /sports people are locked into a WAY of thinking !! so take this for what it is worth to you -- i do not train attention ... i teach ... again teach my dogs to be ATTENTIVE to me -- there is a big differnetiation -- liken it to a school room of children .. before you can have them read to you -- and reading is a perfomrance they must be attentive -- that is they look for your direction and permission to do something -- all else becomes irrelevent -- so for example in bite work -- i do not teach my dogs to focus for a bite -- i teach them whiledoing bite work -- ALL everythinng doesn't matter and is irrelevent but the bite ... and how to gwet your next bite -- same with a sit --- it is nopt a command -- it is taught as a position --- the dog has an interest to sit , even if i leave , it has an interest to sit and i always return to my dog to give the reward/reinforcement - so i teach the dog nothing matters but the sit -- i next transfer that concept by being out of sight , even if it is arounmd the door in my home intitally for 1 second -- the dog has no tendency to move because it is attentive to me and has been previously taught that i always always always go back -- the dog is attentive to me --from there 1 sec prgresses to 2 then progression to 3 sec probression to 20 sec , to 30 sec to 1 minute to 5 minutes so forth -- everything has become irrelevent to the dog but for it to await my return -- same with a retireve -- the dog site -- i don't care if i throw the object -- my dogs look to me for permission , not a command -- the permission to get it's ball -- so if you teach attention -- anything that grabs your dogs attention ..leaves you in the dust -- you are wlecome to contact me for training techniques

Devon, This is so bad to hear that you are having such a time of it and it happens all too much in the breed. Without new people, the established people will fizzle out (if we are not doing already) and I for one would really like to help you. If you feel there is any way that I could help, by way of advice, training club assistance, even just a chat at a show, please mail me, it will be totally confidential I can assure you. It makes me rather ashamed to feel that you are having a bad time of it for the reasons that you describe, but it is as I often say to people - "If I was just starting out in the world of showing GSD`s I dont think I would be able to cope with it all" - dont give up, mail if you want to, and we will try to help out. mascani22@@aol.com