[ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: A question about this rule with the working class
- From: Karen M. Carloni <kmc@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2013 17:15:53 -0400
Sorry if this comes thru twice. 'Net hiccups! :/
On Thu, 17 Oct 2013 11:23:56 -0700, "Kathy Partch"
<jokaysedona@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>If a GSD entered the obedience ring or any kind of working group like
>herding/tracking, etc., with just 3 legs or any registered breed & was able
>to go through all the exercises & do the job would this dog be disqualified
>because of not having all 4 legs? I really have never heard of this so
>that's why I'm asking.
OOH... OOH... I feel qualified to answer this one.
Disqualified? No. EXCUSED??? Yes!!
I don't believe it is technically a requirement that each
dog have a full complement of God-given legs. HOWEVER...
Such a dog is probably walking with a limp or abnormal
gait, and that IS a valid reason for excusal in pretty
much all AKC sports. From the rule book:
"A dog that is lame in the ring at any obedience trial or
at a tracking test may not compete in that class. Lameness
is defined as any irregularity of locomotion. The judge
must determine, without a veterinarians opinion, whether
a dog is lame. If the judge deems a dog lame, that judge
will not score the dog and will mark the judges book
'Excused-lame.'
So any dog exhibiting a limp or otherwise abnormal gait
will be excused from its class and not allowed to compete.
A dog who sprained a leg or was stung by a bee might be
limping for its class, but go home to recuperate, feel
better and show the next day or week and do just fine.
But a 3-legged dog is never going to get any better or
stop being lame. You can figure the rest out...
The reason I know all this is that I have an English
setter right here next to me who is crippled from a freak
accident as a 5 week old baby (mom stepped on him in just
the wrong way and broke his femur in multiple places). He
walks with a permanent limp now because that one hind leg
didn't develop normally and is actually shorter than the
other three. Doesn't stop him from living a full and
complete life and running around like a fool, but he can
never compete in any AKC sport, obedience or otherwise. He
limps. He will always limp for the rest of his life.
That's just the way it is.
PS: If I were after a conformation dog or a serious
obedience or field prospect, I would NOT have purchased
this dog because I knew about his injury and prospects for
recovery (or not) going in. As it happens, I'm nearly as
crippled up as the dog these days. I had a home that
needed a good setter and he was a puppy who needed a good
home, so it was a great match. As the old obedience
magazine 'Off Lead' used to proclaim, "the handler gets
the dog he deserves."
--
Karen C.
Email: kmc@xxxxxxxxxxxx
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