Well, I have stayed out of this as I feel I am still in the learning phase. (Hope I am always learning, lol!) Anyway, I have to disagree with some of what you said here. I show in both venues but mostly AB. The AB rings do NOTHING to show great side gait on a GSD. The dog gets to make a few strides before having to turn. There is no time for the dog to move out. Thus the dogs are kept either strung up or show too contained to show the side movement. The other issue is that strung up dogs who aren't allowed to move out do not show their true movement. Think about how pretty your dog looks moving across your yard, without a lead or handler. A small ring can never show that, no matter how much conditioning you do. The movement will always be stilted.  I know you are a Dal person so I will give you this food for thought as well. I am currently working with a Soft Coated Wheaton. She is young and loves to pace. Initially I was hired to train her not to pace. Now I will be showing her this weekend. This girl loves to move out. I started letting her go out in front of me and she loves it. She is a GSD in disguise, LOL! I have to be very careful how much lead I give her. If I go too fast, she will gallop. But, when she moves out, she is gorgeous. If I go too slow or sting her up, she starts leaning or crabbing or pacing.  For a small dog, I would bet she would do better in a larger ring just as much as a GSD. Wish me luck with her this weekend, LOL!  My point is that different breeds show better in different venues, period. GSD's do better in a large ring to really show their potential. A clean down and back is not enough for our breed. It is a good thing but it is the combination of that and being able to really see the sidegait that counts. A dog that may look like he/she has locked hocks or lifting fronts may not show that in a larger ring as they don't have to be held back. A lot of the lifting fronts may be due to being strung up. That doesn't mean that same dog will exhibit that fault in a larger ring or even in your own back yard. However, a soft back, bad temperament and structure will be seen in either ring. JMHO Laura            -----Original Message----- From: Jessica MacMillan <spotted101@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Tue, 15 Jul 2008 6:39 am Subject: [ SHOWGSD-L ] Movement - My Take - Maybe Controversial for Thoughts As I pointed out before, a CORRECTLY made, correctly conditioned GSD should be ble to handle a smallish ring - maybe not a postage stamp ring, but an average ized ring. Isn't this breed supposed to be strong and athletic? Which means hey should be able to function and move CORRECTLY in all situations. have to laugh that e veryone always talks about how a big sidegait is what wins t specialties... No, actually, based on many of the photos I see in the Review r see at shows, a dog with lots of flashing legs does well at specialties. hose are the dogs who NEED the big rings to get their legs under them and sort f going the right direction. Yes, dogs with big CORRECT gaits do win, but lashing legs does not equal big gait. nd a dog with a faulty down and back can have a big sidegait or lots of action it's those flexible dogs that have the biggest gaits. Very rarely will you ind a dog with a totally correct down and back with a big, long gait. Dogs are ypically good on one end or the other and then have the sidegait to go with it. o me it is this flexibility that allows for the big gait... MHO from many years of watching dogs in all-breeds.Jess M.Paisley Dals www.paisleydals.com)& The Shepherd Girls (Simmie, CGC, TDI, TC, HIC & Pepper, IC)Member of: DCA, GSDCA & GTCDC ________________________________________________________________ tâ??s a talkathon â?? but itâ??s not just talk. ttp://www.imtalkathon.com/?source=EML_WLH_Talkathon_JustTalk =========================================================================== OST is Copyrighted 2007. All material remains the property of the original uthor and of GSD Communication, Inc. 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