What do you think of this dog? - Page 2

Hocks and pasterns aside, all I could think was "Fat, American Dog!".

http://www.google.com/search?q=Babheim's+Captain+Crunch&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=gPX4T-3rLIyk8gSgpoX8Bg&ved=0CFcQsAQ&biw=1139&bih=908

--->I wonder what he will pass to his progeny....the faults or Jimmy Moses? 

LMAO!

LOL BoCRon, my thoughts exactly!

The first thing I see about this dog's  pasterns is the fault that they are too long.  That could be the reason for them to be weak.  I have seen dogs with the correct length of pastern and they are still weak. I have also seen dogs with pastern just as long as this dog's and they were not weak.  So whether the pasterns are weak or not, the fault begins with the length, not if they are weak or not.  Regardless a weak pastern is undesirable no matter what the reason is. JMO

As for the dog standing cowhocked, doesn't mean he gaits that way. There are many dogs, from all countries work or show lines, that stand cowhocked but move correctly. On the other hand there are many that don't clean up when gaiting and do move cowhocked.  I have noticed an increasing trend with this  happening more and more with the working lines also.  JMO

As for the dog appearing fat, I do know for a fact that many, if not most American showline dogs are blessed with a nice thick coat that after the proper grooming, could make a dog appear fat..  Groomers take alot of pride in their finished job of grooming.  The physical appearance and condition of the German showline dog's coat does not go to the extreme that the American showline GSDs do.  Its just a matter of what one country likes verses another one.  I would not say one is more correct over the other.  I would never say a dog is fat unless I could actually put my hands on the dog and see for myself that the dog is actually fat or over weight. I have been wrong many times thinking a dog was fat, until I made it a point to actually feel for myself. That is when I learned about the coat the American showline's had and the awesome pride the American groomers take in their grooming technic.   JMO

Totally right, Hutchins, on all points.  I didn't think about it when looking at the pic, but in the AKC ring the dogs do get their coats seriously fluffed to make them look as plush as possible, so that very well could just be coat and not chub.  Grooming is the one thing that I think the American show ring does better than the German show ring (in regards to GSDs.)  

Dantes, I've seen much worse cow hocks, so this dog is certainly not cow-hocked to the max, to accurately judge if a dog is truly cow hocked it must be seen while the dog is gaiting.  Nor is the croup wrong, actually it is a very good looking lay of croup, especially for an ASL, the dog's angulation is rather moderate for an ASL.  I highly doubt you see dogs like this regularly in the pound. 

So the only fault that can really be known from the photos is the pasterns, which is fairly easy to correct in breeding and selection.

Out of "bestinshowdaily.com" :

His lineup included last year’s Number 1 Herding dog, German Shepherd GCh. Babheim’s Captain Crunch, owned by Jimmy and Janet Moses, Sheree Moses, Deborah Stern, Carlos Navarro and Maria Deschamps, and handled by Jimmy

A lot of owners for one dog...

I don´t like handlers in suits, I do like them in training clothes...

 
Just wondering,
Susie

Don't like the suits?  I've always liked the suits and nice clothes, much better than frayed t-shirts or sweats some people wear. 

Janet Moses?  Did Jimmy get re-married?  If so then I wonder how it works out to co-own dogs with a spouse and an ex-spouse...
A lot of top winning dogs in AKC have a bunch of co-owners, pretty common.  My guess is it helps spread around the campaign costs and the people get name recognition and a ticket into the popular in-crowd of the AKC show world elite. 

Von Stephaitz would turn in his grave at the thought of this never mind the sight of it,