What catches your eye first - Page 1

When you look at a German Shepherd, what catches your eye first, without examining it in detail, just when you have a first look at it, what catches your eye first?

For me, rich pigment then size and proportion, then earset (very important for me), If I like what I saw I then look for other details. So what does catch your eye first in a GSD? What makes you want to look more and investigate other details in a GSD? 

For me it is:  head, proportions, topline & croup;
head includes ear set.  I regard all 3 as of initial
importance;  but which I notice first depends on
how the dog is presented to me.  Is s/he coming
running towards me head-on; or have I spotted
it across a showring or field, standing sideways;
or am I walking behind it ?  :)

The expression of his or her character that you can read in a dog's face. That's the first thing that I notice.

The expression of his or her character that you can read in a dog's face

That is very interesting and I heard it from quite few German professional breeders/trainers before, for those who "face expression" catches their eye, please tell us what you see there? what does the face tell you about its owner? what do you exactly look at? is it the look in the eye? is it the hardness in the face details? what is it in the face that catches your eye?

I look for the overall dog, the expression of the eye, the overall demeanor, the body language including the tail-set (both with the owner and away from the owner), the overall structure (I absolutely like an athletic working type structure and consider a droopy rear-end as a serious flaw) etc.  Now I would like to test further and see if the other attributes like rock-solid nerves pan out, by seeing the dog in various environments that are away from his native territory.  If I see genetic shortcomings here, then I would no longer be interested. 

The last thing I want is a "pretty boy" or "pretty girl" who is otherwise utterly useless.....seen several of those, and have realized over time that it is the last thing that one should be looking for in a GSD (whether for the home or for working). 

Ibrahim, there's nothing in the dog's face that tells me about it's owner--well, I suppose I can discern whether or not the dog is well-cared for to some extent, if there's evidence of pain in the dog's eyes or the hair on and around the dog's face looks to be in poor condition and unkempt...so that would at least suggest something to me about the dog's owner, at least.

I don't know that I can put words to what it is that communicates the character of the dog, who he or she "is" as a dog WRT personality and the like; I guess the best description of it goes back to the adage, "The eyes are the mirror of the soul." 

I'll do some thinking on it, and see if I can verbalize it better, but for now, that's the best I can do...


Edited to add:  DERP!!!  I just now got what you meant by 'owner'--about the owner of the face, not the owner of the dog. I gotta go to bed and get some sleep! LOL!

for me  What catches your eye first is the top line and to see if the shepherd im oservimg can do the GSD stand naturaly when they are alert  BTW wolves also do the GSD show stand whaen there alert 

aaykay, very interesting indeed.

Hexe, I think I get you but you know I appreciate your input, the more the better...... thanks for sharing

Yes that's what I meant HEXE, lol.

BTW wolves also do the GSD show stand whaen there alert 

That is a good piece of info

The "look" in the dogs eye is what catches me first. I also look at the "presense" of the dog in the picture. I want it to look like the dog owns the ground they are standing on, so to speak.

Then I look at conformation.. head type, front, shoulder, withers, back, croup, tail set.... etc.  Then I will look at the dog working as well. I want to see a CLEAR HEADED dog with as balanced of drives as possible. I personally like a little more defense than prey, with that being said though the dog I just purchased 2 weeks ago is all prey right now. We are going to have to bring the defense out in him. As someone mentioned above I also like to see the dog just out in everyday "life" and how the dog reacts to different situations. I want to see a confident and calm dog.