cross gaiting gsd - Page 9

I don't know why you asked blitzen.  And it's quite honestly not my problem why you asked, but you did.

OK, whatever, have a good one.

Popping back in to say thanks for the critiques - we're in the middle of hormonal jerk teenage phase, so it was nice to hear good things about my dog.  He'll be in the 18-24 month young dog class at the SV show.  Unfortunately at the lower end of the range but I wanted to get his show rating out of the way.  My current plan is to get everything set for a breed survey at 3 years old, then go back in the ring to try for a V same time as breed survey for life.  We'll see how it goes!

I don't have any wall pics yet, so here's a pic of him dock diving.  The toy's "dead" in the water, so there's not a lot of height off the dock.  Also attaching the latest head shot (16.5 months) for fun!

now that's a nice jump!

You can have a moderately angulated GSD with athletic and non athletic build

Same with more angulated GSD

Ibrahim those dogs are out of condition, not a non athletic build.

SV judges will also call them soft or wet.

I would love to interject that a dog is either angulated correctly or incorrectly. it is breed and job mandated. A bull dog is difficult to knock over and is straight. A shepherd should run all day and has angulation which give it a long stride and more endurance.  A dog is not over angulated.  A straight rear has exceleration but not endurance, An angulated rear has the build for endurance. A straight rear has an intial burst of power which is usefull in jumping. The dog pictured above jumping has something else the standard speaks of, ''a  look of nobility, difficult to define but unmistakable when present''. The best place to see the ''look'' is on a training field or in a dog with a real job.

gsdstudent,

I agree with everything you said but with the caveat that man through selective breeding tends to take things too far.  I believe that we have taken angulation too far.  The length and curvature of the stifle needed for this angulation is excessive. 

That all black dog in Ibrahim's second pic  is a purpose-bred-like-that  UK  GSD  Alsatian,  in all probability.

It may look  overweight and in soft condition,   but I'd bet it actually isn't.  It just too heavy and deep in structure,

and the legs are too short in relation to body-length.   You all in the US are just not  used to seeing these

dogs  much, it seems.

They are that branch of the Show folks idea of breeding away from the direction the German dogs have

been going, looking back on c. the '50s  here.   Roughly equivalent to the Ambred SL fanciers.  Its a

travesty of the Standard, but its what they like and think is correct.  They had the upper hand with our KC

and the judging 'charmed circle' for quite a long while;   that has subsequently wained.  Perhaps it goes to

explaining why the majority of Brits favour German dogs despite changes in topline in what we see as only an

extreme in a small percentage of dogs.

Best to hold  critiques and opinions about angulation, condition, and agility of individual dogs unless  you have seen or are able to see these dogs in the flesh. When I first saw the photo of the dog I posted above and again by Ibrahim, I asked who she was; she was lying next to me at the time and had just earned the 3rd leg for her UD at 9 1/2 and I had just finished watching her qualify in advanced agility. She had less angulation and a flatter topline in person. The photo was taken at the 2004 German Sieger when she was 3 years old.