I saw the International shows as a way of finding out what I had and taking the best from that back to the AKC rings when i could. It sure helped to weed out a lot of the traits for me. Dogs that could make the cuts where dogs I took back to AKC shows. Dogs that didn't well the owners where happy with what they had. Sometimes you can be blind to your own dogs after a while. I never wanted to make that mistake and think everything i had was top quality. I heard from other breeders/exhibitors at the shows and took what they said and did my home work. This was the best way for me to do the right thing with the dogs I had. In my breeding things just got better each time. I went from fair hips to excellent, from high backs to proper top lines, and more. So there is something to be said for applying what you learn. JP ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2006. 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 - URL temporarily deleted due to AOL issues ============================================================================