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Well wishes please

2K views 27 replies 18 participants last post by  Xeph 
#1 ·
Justin and I have a show next weekend in West Allis, Wisconsin....it's a four point major and we're only showing Saturday due to me having a Sunday obligation.

I am asking all of you PLEASE to send your well wishes and, if you believe in it, prayers.

I'm sure this sounds absolutely ridiculous, but majors are SO hard to come by, Justin is a REALLY nice dog....and he's a veteran. I'm trying to finish a veteran dog. A Sable to boot.

I've had a ton of people tell me he should be at home holding down a couch. Their reasoning? He's "TOO OLD"!!!

I didn't know soundness was supposed to have an age limit :p

This is not a dog who went out every weekend for the first 6 years of his life and did no winning. This is a dog who got wood at his futurity and then just happened to hang out in a back yard for the next six years. I feel extremely fortunate and grateful to be handling such an awesome dog, and will be forever in Mary Anne's debt for sending Justin out with me and letting me haul him all over God's green earth when I can afford to take time off from work and school.

She lets me show him every weekend I'm available and doesn't say boo about entry fees.

She believes in this dog, and I believe in this dog, and I know he can finish if he can only pick up his majors.

He has two points already in extremely limited showing, and I want and need the first dog I finish to be a German Shepherd Dog.

So for me and "my" Sable Moose, please wish us luck

Our very first show out together:


Show #3


The backyard this past summer:


Just working together:
 
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#9 ·
Dog Tracks, in order to finish a dog's AKC championship, the dog must receive 15 points. Two of the wins must be "majors" A major is when the points are 3 or more (up to 5)

The point schedule is different for each region (the point schedule tells you how many dogs you need for a major, and how many bitches you need).

There CAN be a major on only one side. For example, in Wisconsin you need 11 dogs for a 3 point major on the dog side, and 17 bitches for a 3 point major on the bitch side. So if there were 10 boys entered, it would only be two points for the boys, but if 17 bitches are entered, there are 3 points on the girls side.

A dog CAN get what we call a "cross over" major. If a male goes Winner's Dog and Best of Winners over the Winner's Bitch, he can take the major from the girls (I'm sure that's clear as mud xD).

You can also get a major if you make it to group and take Group 1, BUT one of the other breeds in the group ring MUST have had a major in their breed (I sure hope I explained that right).

To all of you, thank you :) The show isn't for another whole week, but I'm so nervous. We have 12 other boys to beat on Saturday. Here's to hoping and positive thinking :)
 
#10 ·
Good luck on your show!

Ok, so here's my question, I see where you have eval'ed other peoples GSD's and Huskies. What would you say Justin's strong and weak points are? He is a very nice looking dog, but from an outside perspective, if he was not your dog, what would you say his faults are or his best points?

I know, hard to be objective when it's your dog, but I'd be interested to know what you think personally. :)
 
#11 ·
It's really not hard for me to be objective ^_^ In fact, the first thing I do after I've critiqued other dogs and they tell me I don't know my hand from my head, is to pull up my OWN dogs and point out their faults!

Lack of objectivity is why my breed is in trouble :p

Justin's BEST structural component is his shoulder. His front is absolutely PHENOMENAL and I've not met a person yet (including those with German dogs!) that didn't like his front. He has good bone and is proportional for his size. A very balanced dog in angles front and rear. Ear set is fantastic, full dentition and proper scissors bite. Correct tailset (nice and low) and long properly angled croup. Great pigment. Good spring of rib and depth of chest. Plenty of room for lungs and heart without being overdone. Head is good too. Wonderfully ligamented, not so loose like others. He's clean coming and going. Temperament is impeccable.

His faults? His feet are a little loose. They don't splay like other dogs, but they do separate mildly at the toe. It's noticeable to me because I've seen Shepherds with fantastic feet. For me, it would be a minor fault. Justin is also a bit hocky, which I don't care for. They should be shorter, but there are definitely worse things. His eyes are far too light, which takes away from his expression. It tends to make him look dopey or wildeyed, so you really have to look to see that he's not a spook. His pasterns are a bit soft, and too long. I can stack him and bait him to get him up on those, but it is something I notice. I wish there were a LITTLE more fill along his muzzle to give him a slightly more masculine appearance. He is most DEFINITELY a boy, but his muzzle is too narrow for me.
 
#15 ·
*ROFL* You guys crack me up ^_^

I know he's no Rottie :p He's not even black and tan! Darn!

....How awkward would a Sable Rottie look!!?!

Thanks! I'm glad you didn't take it offensively, as your reply was precisely what I was looking for.
I live to educate ^_^ It comes with the territory of owning GSDs. And you know what? I enjoy it ^_^
 
#17 ·
So in an update of "Jackie & The Sable Moose: Road to Victory" I had to share that I got my new grooming table yesterday!!!

It's a bit high (33"...I suck at estimating and failed to realize that that's 7 inches higher than what Strauss jumps in agility), but if the dogs put their front feet up there and I give the "Hopp!" command, I can give them a boost.

I got it off Ebay for $82 (FREE SHIPPING!) AND it came with a grooming arm and noose! The noose is crap quality, so I'll buy a different one at the show, but I'm so excited! I have my new table! Hopefully I'll have my own dryer too!!!
 
#19 ·
I won my dryer today!!!!!!! EEEEEEEEE!!!!!!! So excited!

It's a Metro AFTD-1!

I have now bought two crucial items in dog showing xD And they cost me $175 instead of 400+!
 
#20 ·
Congrats on the grooming equipment successes and YAY on bringing out a veteran! I really hope that you folks do well at your show. :D

I have to say that I'm incredibly impressed by a GSD person who admits that the breed is not in the best place right now. Speaking as someone who has fond memories of GSDs long gone, but not as a show fancier of the breed, I have to say that I love Justin. He's such a handsome boy and he's my favorite GSD color besides. It's a little OT and if you want to respond using a different thread or PM that's fine, but other than hip dysplasia, what would you say would be the primary area of concern that needs to be fixed in the GSD and why? I'm only asking, because I've heard a lot of criticism over GSDs today and I can't remember one of those people who has offered a good explanation of what they'd do to fix them.
 
#21 ·
what would you say would be the primary area of concern that needs to be fixed in the GSD and why?
Temperament and drive! Heck, to be honest, I'd fix temperament before I'd fix health!

I'm sure that sounds AWFUL, but my reasoning is that I can live with a sweet, gentle, patient, tolerant dog that has every disease known to the GSD and treat him without issue. What I cannot live with is a healthy as a horse 90 pound MENACE that wants to eat the neighbor's child!

Temperament is an issue in all lines. American and West German showlines that are nervy and wildeyed. Can't handle the clang of a falling pot, just being touched for some of them they go all O.O!!! Constant turning, turning, turning, because "OMG MAI MOM LEFT MEH!!!!" UGH!

Working Line dogs can be far too sharp, and have extreme prey drives. Forget living with small pets no matter HOW you train him because if he gets a chance at the cat, it is GONE! That is not a peaceful household >.<

Drives are extremely unbalanced. Showlines (especially American) are extremely lacking in work ethic and drive. Some may fancy a game of fetch, but most I've met aren't driven to work like the German dogs. They'll do competitive agility and obedience, but they're slow and have the attitude of "I'll do it because I love you, not because I enjoy it." And even if they DO enjoy it, you really have to work to keep that drive up when you finally get them IN it x.x How frustrating and unenjoyable for the handler!
 
#24 ·
Would it be worth sacrificing on the looks for the showlines and the drive for the working? Would the resulting dog be good at either side?
Indeed it would. It would take a LOT of work. That's the problem. Nobody wants to do the work, so they make excuses. Are they different? Yes. But they're still GSDs. I won't sugar coat either...culling would be a must, and I don't just mean spay neuter. And in this day and age people would go "OMG!!!!"

But let's be open and honest here.

This breed is not healthy.
This breed has temperaments going all over the map.
This breed has drive issues.
This breed has conformational issues.

In "meeting in the middle" and breeding back to what SHOULD be (a moderately but properly angled dog with good work ethic, proper temperament, and good health) would ultimately produce a myriad of nerve bags and dogs so god awful sick you wonder what you're doing.

I look at it for the greater good of the breed. I look at it as expanding our gene pool. We have 3-5 separate pools going on right now, and they are TERRIBLY small. The breed is being ruined because people won't move past pride and ego, and people like me are considered know it all upstarts.

I might be. I might not be.

But I know what a German Shepherd Dog IS because I own one. And I know what a German Shepherd Dog SHOULDN'T BE because I've owned one of those too.
 
#28 ·
He didn't do anything today aside from lay around, because the show isn't until next Saturday xD!

However, thank you for asking. I absolutely PROMISE I'll get lots of new photos and some video when I come back home with a winner next Saturday :D
 
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