The puppies of Marcato - Page 11

Marcato's Neon Sky "Striker"

Updated picture of the emaciated puppy I got back.  A before and after.  His first show is this weekend.  His two sisters and one of his brothers will also be shown as well as their mother who I am hoping to GOD finishes!

 

What a difference!  Good job, Xeph! Best of luck with all of them--especially Wesson--at the show!

The ASL circuit is quite competitive, sometimes to the point breeders don't want any obedience / training titles placed on a dog until after a dog is done with a show career. Many of the Top dogs in the ASL world would become AKC Champions and GSDCA Selects first, then return home to their owners who would then get obedience and other trial titles on them.

 

So, I decided to take a look at my catalogue for Canada's National Specialty last fall...

Turning to the obedience section at the back, which is quite a slender section of the whole catalogue:

Three dogs did their temperament test. Two were from the same kennel and had their grand championships. The TT is now a requirement for Canadian GSDs to get a 'select' rating.

On to the obedience section....

There were:

 3 dogs entered in Pre-novice

4 in Novice B

9 in Open B

1 in Utility

3 in Utility B

So, a grand total of 20 dogs. But wait...

Only NINE of the dogs were German shepherds. The others covered a large range of breeds, from newfies to mini schnauzers. This was quite a surprise to me... I didn't even know this was allowed at a breed specialty! 

Of the 20 dogs entered, three had CKC championships. Two of the three were golden retrievers, the third was a Great Dane. The others were either untitled, or had other performance titles. Two of the GSD's had their BH's and IPO or Sch. degrees.

Depressing, very depressing...

So, uh, run that past me again, GSD Lineage?? 

Oh, and the capper for me is the Royal Canin ad on the back cover, showing what is obviously a beautiful black and red GERMAN show line dog, running towards the viewer!

Every time I start to have some hope for the ASL dogs, something like this comes along and slaps me in the face...

My hat is off to those who do more than show their GSDs in conformation, but it is STILL a pitifully small number of kennels!

 

 

 

SS, don't despair too much...I think you'll find that the owners who are primarily involved in the conformation-end of showing often do pursue other avenues with their champions, such OB, Rally, Agility, etc., but they're more likely to do so at the local levels, since the title can be earned much less expensively by trialing at speciailty as well as all-breed and OB club shows that don't require long-distance traveling, overnight stays and the priceier entry fees as the same classes at National events typically call for. Add to this the fact that those classes at the National events are heavy with the dogs whose owners' primary focus is the performance-end of exhibiting--especially if the performance events are open to all breeds--so the championship-chasers aren't likely to place in their event classes even though they would still pass, and it just doesn't make sense for them to spend that kind of money unless the Nationals happen to be local for them that year. There will be some of the OTCH- and MACH-hunters who may enter their dogs in a conformation class at the Nationals since they'll be there anyway for their performance events, but they will likewise be few in number.

Got updated pictures of several puppies today :D

Ouzo

Moto

Mikasa

London

Striker


Mama Wesson

And.........? How did it go?

I came home with a van full of beautiful losers :)

They all showed well, so cannot complain.

The young lady in the first photos was best junior hanlder at Eukanuba this year...I had no idea.  I was barely mobile after I showed yesterday and she offered her help.  She offered to help hold Shepherds today and ended up handling for me.  She was phenomenal.  Never had handled a Shepherd before.  Was just wonderful.

Ah, well...just wasn't their day, then.  Wondered who the young gal was...I could tell that she clearly knows her way around a dog, that she 'gets' them, and how to present one to it's best advantage, so after your explanation that makes perfect sense.  She bears watching for in the show ring...and how nice of her to offer the handle for you--THAT'S a good kid.

The pups all look great, though in comparison to the others it's more obvious that Moto still has catching up to do as far as his weight goes. Not as noticable when his sibs aren't in the same photo string. Still, he looks FAR better than he did when you snatched him back from the people who had him.

Edited to add:  Oh, and Mama Wesson looks quite good as well, bounced back into condition quickly and her coat looks damn good for a bitch that whelped several months ago--she doesn't look nekkid!

She actually just offered to help hold and ex dogs!  She went in to handle for me on the fly because I didn't have enough people and had five animals to show!  She was pleasantly surprised.  Went Best Junior later in the day with her Irish Setter and she will be attending Crufts next month!

And with Moto, he defiitely still has a little catching up to do.  Last weight was 51 lbs even (up from 31.6), so he's getting there/  Ouzo is currently 48.8 and needs a couple pounds.  They all seem to be hovering in the 50-53 lb range right now.

I am so happy with these puppies (ALL of them, not just my show babies).  Temperaments are stellar.  You can take them anywhere.  They're watchful, intelligent, social with their people.  Some are more social with strangers than the others (Ouzo is more aloof where Mikasa will still give strangers kisses), but everybody is willing to take a cookie from somebody else (a cookie I have given said somebody else) if it is offered to them.

I am setting up a herding lesson for Meepers this week and she will start agility in May :)

Mama Wes....lord, what can I say about her?  This litter really helped her mature, mentally and physically.  The bitch I see in pictures pre breeding and post breeding are two different animals, and not in a bad way.  I am very very happy with her.

She was soooooooooooooooooo naked for awhile and I wondered if the hair would ever come back.  It did.  In spades LOL