Gorgeous Photo! - Page 2

Sunshine saw Dallas herd, at the age of 8, a year before he died. She said he was a natural, and easily could have gone beyond the HIC. He looked like he could trot all day!

His handler, Jimmy Moses, said he'd also done a bit of schutzhund with him, but I've never heard any details as to just what he did, and what sort of aptitude he had for it.

I am doing schutzhund with a Dallas grand-daughter, but she's a GSL/ASL mix, so can't be sure where her drive came from. She got her BH last year, but since she is noe 8 years old, it's really not fair to ask her to go any further than that. She has a nice, full-mouthed bite, and will pull really hard to get possession of the sleeve or tug, but I'd describe her drive as medium at best.

I now have a pure working line female, and she's started on a tug/bite bag. The difference in drive between her and the above dog are like day and night.!  She's only 10 months, and about 55 lbs, but she turns herself inside out tryng to get to the tug! She can actually jerk me forward a few inches, and I'm no lightweight!

This is what i call flying ''trot'' this dog has an extension,reach,everythig is flowless,i don't see it on the ASL female.

LMAO, no offense, but how could that be called a "flying" trot, Old Shatterhand? That's a dog that looks like its pulling on the end of it's leash (not saying it is, show gaiting whatnots, I know, but the way it is hunched makes it look like it). The reach/extension is there, fine, but all four feet are not in the air. I would refer to the ASL Sunsilver posted as more correct than this dog, when it comes to gaiting, and judging by this one split second in time. Also, I know plenty of working lines with that "flying trot". All four feet off the ground at once, paws moving in proper synchronization. It is a beautiful thing to behold. It is especially visible when the dogs are doing something like herding. It looks as if they are floating around the sheep, and like they could do so all day. 

Of course, I am not advocating for either lines, as they all have their flaws. This is just my opinion. A lot of people see a line different from theirs and they automatically go into "mine's better" mode, without giving the dog a real chance. There are beautiful specimens in every line, you just need to give them a chance.

Sunsilver, do you know what Dallas died from? I've always been curious - I named my first GSD after him, after I fell in love with him on TV.  I've always been a fan of his, even though I'm not particularly fond of SL's. 

And yes, beautiful picture! Kudos to the photographer for catching just the right moment.

Dawulf,no offense,but you really don't know much about conformation,and movement of dogs,if you are even saying that working line dogs have the movement like the German show lines than i have nothing to say to you.tell me why maybe 1 out of 10  working line dogs gets V rating at the show ,if they have the flying trot? (according to you)

Dawulf, no, I don't. From what I heard, he died in his sleep. His owners were devastated: he was their house dog, and they used to have pictures on their website of him cuddling with a small dog, and lying on the couch with a small child.

Shatterhand, I have to agree with Dawulf about that German dog's gait. It is not opening its shoulder enough, it is on a very tight leash, and the diagonally opposite fore and hind legs are not moving in unison, which is what they must do for the trot to be correct. The GSL seems to have re-defined the trot, and it is very rare to see them doing what I consider to be a correct trot: "The trot is a two beat gait, in which the diagonally opposite fore and hind legs move in unison."

The reason only 1 in 10 working line dogs get a 'V' rating is that conformation judges in the SV have come to accept the show line dogs to be 'more correct'. Not everyone agrees with that. So, we wil have to agree to disagree...

Oh, and the defenition of the flying trot has ALWAYS been the animal must have all 4 feet off the ground! http://dogtime.com/definition/flying-trot

Correction: it was Firethorn (Susan) who saw Dallas herd. Here's the relevant post:

I had the great pleasure of knowing Dallas very well. He and his owner trained with me to earn his herding titles. This dog was awesome. One of the best tending dogs I've ever worked with. He easily could have done HGH had his owner been interested. As it was he is the only Best in Show winner in America that has a working trial title, he earned his HSCs at age nine. He had wonderful stock sense, incredible work ethic and that willingness to please that characterizes a great tending dog. And he could take a hard correction, responding with "oh that is what you meant" Great temperament. He has produced a number of progeny that are tending sheep as well. He also has changed the look of the American dog to one of much more type, better feet, less angulation, improved secondary sex characteristics. He sired about 120 litters, produced at least seven select animals, about ten best in show dogs and more conformation champions in the US than any other dog ever. His death was very hard for his owners as he was their house dog. He did pass in his sleep, they found him dead in the morning when they got up. His sire passed away at seven, however his dam lived to be nearly 15 and his half brother Heart Throb is still around and is fifteen. Susan

shatter, the reason why a working dog doesn't get a V is the same reason the top performing ASL won't be up in an sv show and why the top German dog won't be put up in an AKC show.....the orgs have all defined their own version of correct and they all contradict each other.

To the best of my knowledge, there is only one living Am bred GSD with an AKC CH, V rated, and Sch3. There are a few others with all those titles, but they were not bred and whelped in the US.

I agree with Dawulf and Sunsilver about the movement of the dog shatterhand posted. It's not at all balanced and that is not the flying trot where all 4 feet leave the ground at the same time. The dog is very restricted in front, he can't fully open his shoulder joint; a very common issue with GSL's and ASL's.

VK, that's what I was trying to say, but you said it better!