I have and love a dog I feel is too large - does not make me love him less, but it does make me aware of how nice the correct size is. Ruth Tom Elkins <firethorntemple@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: The people who are the most adamant in their criticism of dogs that are too large always have and always will remain on that soapbox,until and unless they own and fall in love with a good big one. We tend to adjust our opinions to fit our biases. tom elkins Firethorn Temple -----Original Message----- From: showgsd-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:showgsd-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Carolyn Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2008 7:12 PM To: BonJenShepherds@xxxxxxx; showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: How is big better? I have a hard time believing that many spend time trying to breed over sized GSD's. It's a big enough Breed within it's own Standard as it is typically larger bone, deeper in body and through the shoulder area..... and with the higher wither and long bushy tail and a nice long neck and erect ears it gives the appearance of size and power at first glance. This Breed has no "need" to change the Standard because there are some big ones.....or smaller ones. I hope the Standard for the GSD is never changed. It gives us 'breathing room' on some things that are not crucial to the quality and servicability of the animal. .I think it is the best. It produces the best Breed and best dogs..........it must be. In all the years we've been involved in breeding I don't recall size EVER being the reason we did, or did not breed to a dog. I've never seen one that grossly large....or abnormally small to have it be a major concern one way or other. Too many other things to consider..... Carolyn marhaven@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx www.Marhaven.com ----- Original Message ----- From: BonJenShepherds@xxxxxxx To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2008 12:26 PM Subject: [ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: How is big better? In a message dated 3/11/2008 2:38:56 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, marhaven@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes: I hope we are all speaking to the issue of size from our experiences?? I try to.... I don't need to spend too many years breeding over sized GSDs to understand the benefits of a GSD being the correct size. In my post my intention was to ask how is being larger is BETTER then being correct size. I was not even implying what oversized GSD's couldn't do what correct sized GSD's can AND it was certainly not about throwing away oversize dogs. I was speaking about the word ideal as it applies to size in our standard. What breeders do in their own breeding program matters not to me. When a judge judges our Breed they should put away the personal likes & preferences that they apply in their own breeding program and put up the best representative of the Standard & our Standard is where my questions where meant to be applied....If a change may be made to the Standard (that's what the list was alluding to) to favor larger animals then I want to know how that change would be better for the breed as a whole, not just for those that make it to the conformation ring. How would larger dogs HELP anything? Personally, I don't want to hear about how larger dogs can do everything ideal sized animals can do... I wish to hear about ways in which these oversize GSDs can do things better.. Someone needs to make the case for why larger should be the new ideal. That's why I asked those questions. It was an honest attempt to get answers. Are the breeders of the GSD & members of GSDCA attempting to change the breed because they LIKE larger dogs or because doing so would better our breed? Bonnie Jenkins BonJen Shepherds _www.BonJen.com_ (http://www.bonjen.com/) **************It's Tax Time! Get tips, forms, and advice on AOL Money & Finance. (http://money.aol.com/tax?NCID=aolprf00030000000001) ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2007. 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. 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For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - www.showgsd.org ============================================================================ ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2007. 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 - www.showgsd.org ============================================================================ --------------------------------- Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage. ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2007. 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. 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