I so agree. I socialize my pups as soon as they can walk and even more when they can go outside. I also breed for temperament and health first. That said, I have also rescued GSD's. My first was so badly abused, malnourished and dehydrated that he could barely walk. He had so many issues. We overcame them and he became a therapy dog. This dog had a solid temperament but was abused. With the right environment, he blossomed. He forgot about the abuse and became an awesome companion and valuable member of the community. This dog was a gentle soul. He showed he would protect me and his property on several occassions. Yet, he was the kindest dog you would ever meet. I don't know his background and he sure wasn't from show lines. But he was an amazing dog and made me want to become involved in the breed. Maybe it's the balance that is lacking. There are some breeders that work on that balance. They even have GV/GVX to show for it. However, the PC/judges tend to lean in another direction. Politics? Agendas? Who knows anymore. I have seen too many spooks get a pass and put up. This is not a new thing. I really believe that all specials should be temperament tested before qualifying to show at the Nationals. It will never happen. But, if we, as a breed, want to promote the breed, we need to show these dogs are sound. I see and get called to train too many GSD's that are unsound. Most are rescues and from BYB'ers. How can we promote purebred breeders if temperament is not solid? Just some thoughts. Laura Thomas -----Original Message----- From: crudolf tds.net <crudolf@xxxxxxx> To: showgsd-l <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Tue, Oct 11, 2011 6:06 am Subject: [ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: temperament It is absolutely very important to socialize dogs at an early age. That is hat will set their temperaments for a life-time. I believe that a lot of reeders are too busy to do that, and it takes time and effort to do so. ack of socialization and poor breeding are, I think, the greatest ontributors to poor temperaments. However, environment also plays a part, nd if a dog is not treated well, that can also lead to that. n Tue, Oct 11, 2011 at 8:55 AM, crudolf tds.net <crudolf@xxxxxxx> wrote: > I have seen judges give a second chance to an obviously young dog who is a tad unsure or nervous, and that is ok. However, you can tell if a dog has a bad temperament, and that dog should not win, should not be shown and should not be bred. JMO -- Christiane Rudolf Tanglewood Farm Fayetteville, Ohio -- hristiane Rudolf anglewood Farm ayetteville, Ohio =========================================================================== OST is Copyrighted 2011. All material remains the property of the original uthor and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind re permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the howgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Each Author is responsible for the content of his/her post. This group and its dministrators are not responsible for the comments or opinions expressed in any ost. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER F ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL ARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A IOLATION 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:http://showgsd.org/mail.html ATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/ =========================================================================== ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2011. 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:http://showgsd.org/mail.html NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/ ============================================================================