Dr. Goldfarb posts... I respectfully disagree completely!!! The German Shepherd, as we all know, is a trotting animal and as such has endurance and overall dryness and hardness. The athletic ability comes from proper structure for long term endurance. We all learn and I felt that this post was necessary so that people new in the Breed would not get an incorrect impression of what is correct according to our Standard as well as the rest of the world's Standard(and they really are almost the same). Morton Goldfarb Paul adds... Thank you Dr. "Goldfarb"... You always seem to bring a sense of calm and reality to a "runaway train" and its "runaway engineer". While years in any breed can lead to quality knowledge, it does not always allude to the proper use and explanation of that knowledge. As you correctly point out, all of the Standards are very close in their interpretation and description of GSD structure and requests for performance. Like your post...and other knowledgeable contributors like Fred Migliore, Marion Lawrence, Helen M. Fisher, Sandi & Barbara...such posts and interpretations are in the best tradition and examples of proper mentoring. That's good for newbies and oldies alike. Paul ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2005. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://www.showgsd.org ============================================================================