[ SHOWGSD-L ] RE; GSDs and public opinion~why?
- From: "Carolyn Martello" <marhaven@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <ducksavsfan@xxxxxxxxx>, <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 1 Apr 2014 10:06:03 -0700
I understand everyone's points..and IMO they are 'right on' (at times)
as there will always be some dogs that are incorrect at the shows.
Bitchy males, missing teeth, light eyes, incorrect rears, incorrect
fronts, bad backs...bad breeders. Pick your poison.( or faults.)
But..Look at the GOOD ONES! They ARE out there.
Get excited over some GOOD dogs! Why aren't we encouraging those who
bring great dogs to the ring?? Why make it sound like all breeders
don't care and breed cripples??
Comparing Labrador breeders or the Afghan breeders and their entries
to our entries is not solving the problem. They have their own....
If you are going to show...KNOW YOUR DOG'S FAULTS! KNOW YOUR BREED
and KNOW your Standard. Know why the Breed exists..what it is bred
for. A "Show Dog" should be a STANDARD dog! We should ALWAYS be
evaluating our GSD according to our BREED STANDARD.. and not according
to other Breeds .. or other Breed breeders.
The GSD Standard addresses EVERYTHING BROUGHT UP in this discussion.
EVERYTHING!! ALL OF IT! Just adhere to our GSD Standard.
We don't go over and tell Bull Dog Breeders or Old English owners or
Bassett owners how incorrect their dog is. A good Labrador is about
OPPOSITE of a good GSD in every way.....<G> But wouldn't Lab owners
love us more if our GSD had barrel ribbing and high padded butts and
moved wide going away with broad chests.....<G>
Why can't you show your own dogs? Who is making excuses? Excuses for
ENTRIES? WHO is responsible for the rise and fall of entries??
The Breed is not going to fail because of low entries. The Breed MAY
fail because WE fail to care about correct..according to the Standard.
When we get more concerned about other Breeds and encourage and accept
faults in our Breed...we allow for its future failure so that it is
no longer the German Shepherd Dog. THEN the Onus is on us.
Carolyn marhaven@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.marhaven.com
-----Original Message-----
From: On Behalf Of Tina Klahn Sent: Monday, March 31, 2014 12:13
Subject: GSDs and public opinion
Kathy brings up some very good points. I'd like to zero in on public opinion
specifically. Evan and Carolyn can say what they like, it's what they see.
What I see is when I take my young bitch out to lure coursing and the most
common comments I get are "it's about time (I/we) see a GSD that isn't
crippled" or "so nice to see a correct/confident GSD." Like it or not, that
is how people outside GSDs see our dogs now. I should point out that I don't
advertise she's a show dog. Is that what everyone wants? To be so exclusive
no one wants to come in our "club?" As I've said before, if we don't get new
people, it's only a matter of time before the sport dies out completely.
Make all the excuses you want, but until we all look inside and do something
(even those who think they don't need to), I think that death is coming
sooner than later. Entries are really showing that now, whether you want to
admit it or not.
Add on top of that many breeders are still breeding for the extreme to the
point where walking "normal" isn't seen (example, pasterns and hocks on the
ground) and vets call the dogs crippled? As Kathy said, rightly or wrongly,
it's how we're viewed. No wonder people choose another breed when looking
into showing. I've almost switched many times myself. I WANT to show my own
dog. I shouldn't be punished or handicapped over it. I'm capable of doing
it, so why shouldn't I? The day I can't show my own dogs is the day I stop.
It's a hobby to me. If I didn't love the breed so much, I would have left a
LONG time ago. I think you'll find many newbies feel the same way, though I
can't really be a newbie 8 years in. Guess it depends on your perception.
Tina
> On Mar 31, 2014, at 12:48 PM, Showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
>
> <rbuffdogs@xxxxxxxxx>
> Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 10:07:42 -0700
> Subject: Re: Labs and GSDs
>
> Christine you are correct. I think it was Jim and Sheree a very long
time
> ago, that really "got' that
> we as a fancy, need to listen to the public about our dogs, and they
> started really talking about it with people.
> They were correct then, and it pertains, still.
> The public wants solid. They want solid
> temperament, character and nerves. They want predictable and trainable.
> They want dogs that
> physically have unlimited potential. They want beautiful.
> I can only speak for our general part of the country, so I am not
> impugning the whole US , ok...
> but we see so many dogs that severely lack secondary sex characteristics,
> that lack solid nerve, and
> that are still a mess in the rear.
> We still see racing in the ring, because it is "exciting?" It also
> helps hide a lot of problems. Many judges claim they will control the
ring
> and demand slow and loose,
> but in the end, it is still "let's go to the races" Real ring control is
> rare. When we see it , we are
> thrilled, because it is so very important to see the dogs at all speeds,
> not just Mach 3.
> GSDs don't work at that speed, not for long, anyway. Yet it is still not
> only allowed, but encouraged.
> I don't know why?
> I am predicting at least one of the listers will come out and say
> "everything is perfect and we don't see
> these problems here" . Well we must be going to different shows then,
> because there are issues,
> lots of them. You only have to be at ringside, or even outside the ring
> to see the issues.
> Still many are breeding dogs that the public utterly eschews, and that
> only other specialists, some, really
> want.
> Both Sheree and Christine are right, we need to really LISTEN to the
> public, and the working people,
> and hear and understand the concerns . Many breeders / exhibitors want
to
> "poo poo" the opinions
> of anyone outside our cloistered little group of fanciers. This is a
> mistake. When John Q asks, "what's wrong
> with this dog...does it have HD?" we need to LISTEN. We need to not get
> our collective panties in a bunch,
> and stop being defensive , when someone outside the specialty world asks
an
> honest question about something
> they perceive (rightly or wrongly) as a problem.
> We need to stop complaining that our breed is so handler based, and start
> doing something about it,
> beginning with ring control Slow them down, so more people can show the
> dogs. Fast is not exciting.
> CORRECT is exciting. "Correct " meaning excellence of temperament/ nerves
> (not just during LLTT, but at ALL times ) , strong and defined secondary
> sex characteristics, sound and athletic, agile movement, from ALL sides,
> not just racing , loosey goosey side gait. Of course
> they should be beautiful. GSDs, in particular
> show dogs, should always be beautiful. :-) IMHO
>
> Kathy
>
>
> *http://www.victorygermanshepherds.com
> <http://www.victorygermanshepherds.com/>*
>
>
> *CH. Elvaston's Nations Cup TC, 26 BOBs CH. Victory's Leviathan **Kappo
von
> Eisenwerk*
> *RBIF Monarch's Tarragon v Kaleef*
>
> *"Victory...*Vires et honestas"
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POST is Copyrighted 2014. 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.
Each Author is responsible for the content of his/her post. This group and its
administrators are not responsible for the comments or opinions expressed in
any post.
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@xxxxxxxxxxx
VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org SUBSCRIPTION:
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NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/
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