I have been showing in all breeds and specialties for many years, but my heart is with the specialties. Here I am asking my peers to evaluate my breeding program, not someone that started out in beagles and added German Shepherds to their judging license, because there was money to be made getting more groups. There are a lot of knowledgable judges in both rings, but there are also many all breed judges that have not clue one when it comes to judging German Shepherds and they either put up the known handlers or clean coming and going with complete disregard for the rest of the dog. The rings are also often too small for a correct moving side gaiting dog to even get going . I think of all breed shows as a crapshoot. Everybody stands a chance to win, no matter the quality of the dog. There are crooks in both rings, and I find that is one reason majors are built. Sometimes it is a done deal for someone's dog and usually one that can't win under honest knowledgable judges. I have used enough all breed handlers and have heard it from their mouth and seen it happen again and again. Raymond Oppenheimer, a famous breeder years ago, wrote rules for dog breeding and these can apply to any breed. One I have never forgotten is "lack of virtue is by far the greatest fault of all" A good German Shepherd should be able to win in any ring under knowledgable judges. Ann www.edangsd.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Fritsche" <d_fritsche@xxxxxxxxxx> To: Showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 1:44:36 PM Subject: [ SHOWGSD-L ] thoughts on All-Breeds..... We had a wonderful dog some time back. In fact he was my all time favorite dog. He was everything a GSD should be in temperament, type and was basically fault free, so to speak. But he was always second. He was second to Ben when he finished, second to Desmo when he was in the ring, second to Flash Dance, Bodega, and all the stars of that era. So we took him where he would be appreciated more, to the all breeds. And sure enough, he finished in no time, compiling 12 straight BOB's and several group placings to follow. But we never bred to him. We did not breed to him because he was basically fault free, so to speak. Meaning: Everything worked and he worked, but 'any fault of movement' is our only 'very serious fault.' I did not feel bad about finishing him, for he was a worthy representative of the breed in all ways except - we have a weighted standard. His temperament and character were, for me, his most endearing attributes, but he was not as close to our weighted standard as those specialty dogs who were beating him. So I loved him more than anything, but the standard did not! And so he will always have the highest emotion and appreciation of my heart, but the objective side of me says, his complete package was lacking in the degree of movement our breed is capable of. That is not to knock him or others like him. They are more usual in our GSD world, and they have established a place in our hearts and in our show rings, but, as much as I enjoyed him, loved the show experience and accepted the points, I had no illusions that he was as close to the standard as his sire, R-Man. So, while I agree with my peers that there is an all-breed type and that there is a total package, I personally cannot equate that to what I think the weighted standard is after, movement. I know, there are subjective things that are important to many judges and some preferences are elevated in their judging to be faults and some faults are elevated to be serious faults, and some serious faults are elevated to be very serious faults, but that is, in reality an error in subjective judgment - not the standard. So, I would urge us all to enjoy our dogs and show them where they best fit, accept the points and frame the ribbons, but let's be careful to not allow our subjective heart strings to move us away from that which defines our breed more than any other characteristic - movement - our only very serious issue! Thanks Heather, I agree! Dave > I think that we as breeders need to breed correctly-moving > dogs,> --Heather ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2009. 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/ ============================================================================ -- Ann www.edangsd.com Home of AOE Sel Ex Ch Gilley,Sel Ex Ch Maxwell,Sel Ch Kobe and Sel Ch MmmMmm Good, #1 dam Muggles, Breeder-owner 0f 72 champions and 19 ROMs. Proud receipient of Lloyd Brackett Award ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2009. 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/ ============================================================================