[ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: Showing and Rude awakenings
- From: Terry Cochran <fairway97045@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, marcatoshepherds@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 6 Oct 2008 20:05:07 -0700 (PDT)
Great post!!! It tells me that this breed will be fine as long as folks like
you are involved.
Terry
--- On Mon, 10/6/08, Jackie Short <marcatoshepherds@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: Jackie Short <marcatoshepherds@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [ SHOWGSD-L ] Showing and Rude awakenings
To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Monday, October 6, 2008, 6:50 PM
I haven't posted much on the list in the last year....been too busy with
college and my own dogs.
Everybody is sharing their own rude awakenings, and I'll admit, I had one
of
my own....at the 2006 National. Some of what went on there was an absolute
turnoff for me, but the result of that National wasn't me wanting to quit
the sport of showing dogs....I just didn't want to ever attend another
National ever again.
I see all sorts of things that go on at dog shows that shouldn't. I
admit...bothers the heck out of me. The things that people put on their
dogs...chalk, hairspray, bodifier....it all bothers me. When I take Justin
in to the ring, he's been spritzed down with water, blown out, brushed
lighty, and, perhaps, had his feet neatened up with scissors....no more, no
less. When I showed Rangerdog, I put him up on the table, sprayed him down
with water, brushed his topline, and perhaps scissored his feet to make sure
things were neat.
My dogs have clean ears, clean teeth, and trimmed nails when they step into
that ring. There is nothing to make them more red (anybody who has seen my
Ranger, or pictures of my Ranger can attest to the fact that he's just a
DARK dog), there is nothing to make them more black, there is no thinning of
anything. It was even suggested to me that I chalk or dye my Justin's face
to get rid of the grey.
Justin is 7 years old....he's earned that grey, there's nothing wrong
with
that grey. He doesn't move on his muzzle hair, that's for sure.
I step into that ring sometimes, and some days I lose and know I shouldn't
have, and some days I win and know I should have. I step into that ring
sometimes, and some days I know I won...and shouldn't have. Maybe I'm
just
lucky that I'm young enough not to be jaded yet about showing, and I still
show for the pure love of being in the ring. I step out those days that my
Sable Moose got dumped, the days I know we should have won, but I always try
and find something good about that particular ring experience, even if it is
only, "You showed beautifully, buddy, and some days that is all we can
ask,
and all we get." And I may not always understand why the judge picked the
other dog, but I do try to find at least one quality about the animal I
like. I may not like it as a whole, but there IS one thing in EVERY dog
that we can find to like.
The number one reason I do not dye or drug my dogs is because it's against
the rules. The health of my dogs is also extremely important to me, as is
my own integrity and character. I do not want to be the person who breeds
her "Dark black and red stud" to the true dark black and red bitch,
and have
the bitch owner end up with cream or silver puppies. And why hide something
as simple as color? Is it just laziness? When did this sport become all
about winning, and not about improving the breed? Better temperaments for
better working dogs and pets?
It's true, color can be fixed in a generation. I love deep rich color, but
I think half our issue has come from seeing so much "Black and red".
Honestly, there is nothing wrong with a black and TAN dog. Tan is still a
deep rich color...a nice gold. We can't let our eyes fool us into thinking
a dog is pale because the black and gold dog is next to the black and red
one. Heck, to be honest, I spend so much time with the "German"
people, I'm
bloody well sick of black and red! I'm getting BORED! MORE SABLES DARNIT
(I used to hate sable, now it's my favorite color xD Watch me end up being
a "brown dog" kennel).
Got a faded saddle? Black out is not your friend...genetics is ^_^ I own a
GSD with a faded saddle...drives me absolutely nuts. I was trying to figure
out where it came from. Strauss has Boss on his mother's side, so I
started
googling and pulling up pictures, and looking at Boss progeny etc....yeah,
didn't come from the Boss Man. Guess where it came from (to my admitted
surprise)? His GERMAN side! When I was down in Madison training in
Schutzhund, I happened to meet a woman who worked with Strauss' grandfather
and grandmother. Grandma had just about lost her saddle by age
5.....Grandpa.....was dyed. So this gorgeous, hunky, dark black and red boy
that I had absolutely ADORED, and was excited to have in his pedigree, was a
fraud. Ouch. I love my Mouse, I do, heck, his color isn't even that bad
(Red he is indeed xD), but he's a bit pale around the feet, and his black
could be blacker. His eyes definitely aren't YELLOW (like some I've
seen,
I'll even admit that Justy's eyes are on the light side), they're a
nice
medium brown....but they could be darker.
"I could help you fix that saddle." No thanks. "I can show you
how to make
that muzzle black without people noticing." No thanks. "You might
want to
use magic marker on those nails." Why?
One of the ways I pick my dogs is by working ability, and the bad guy does
not care if my dog has one white toenail, and the sheep do not care if his
saddle is faded or his muzzle is grey, and the obedience judge does not care
if he's a bit more cream than tan. Because of the standard, I do pay
attention to color, and because of my own aesthetic preference, I pay
attention to color, but in both cases color is way on the bottom of my list
of priorities. Temperament, health, working ability, and structure are
first and foremost for me.
"Your dog won't win with that grey face."
He's been doing ok for himself :-)
I go to shows to have fun, and be with friends, not to cheat, and feel
guilty, and worry about being caught. That $1 ribbon ain't worth it to me,
and I'm sure the boys don't give a damn either way.
Cheers to being in that ring and being HAPPY. I leave everything else at
home.
--
Jackie
Marcato Shepherds
Where beauty is found in function
http://www.jackieshort.com
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POST is Copyrighted 2008. 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://showgsd.org
NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/
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