German Shepherds Forum banner

Rumor question -forgive my ignorance!

6K views 34 replies 16 participants last post by  cliffson1 
#1 ·
Hello All! I am a life long dog lover and owner. My current GSD is a gorgeous sable WGSL. Absolutely stunning. My question is, in the AKC Westminster show ring, are the GSDs primarily American Showline? Rumor is lovely, but she still had that running-on-the-back-of-her-leg thing going on. Those back legs on the show dogs just don't look right to me! I would never want a shepherd that ran on the back of their legs!I am not a breeder, show person, or trainer. Please don't blast me, educate me please!
 
#2 ·
Rumor is a moderate American Show Line dog, and she actually looks quite nice. There are dogs out there that appear almost crippled. This is true in the West German Show Lines as well.

What appeals to you is different than what appeals to me and to what appeals to many of the various lines. I personally have an love WGSL dogs. But this particular ASL bitch is actually quite nice. Her structure is moderate, she is balanced, and if you think she is running on her hocks, could you post a video so that some with more experience than I can give you a better explanation.
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the info, Selzer! I agree that Rumor is pretty, and not very extreme. My WGSL is nicely up on her feet, which is where I guess I think a dog needs to be! As I said, I am merely a dog lover, but I have seen the dogs you described as looking almost crippled. It is just a strange look. Again, thanks for the info. Any ideas why is it that the American Showline desires such a look?
 
#5 ·
Any ideas why is it that the American Showline desires such a look?
Oh boy, This box of worms is almost as big as mentioning "APBT" and only slightly larger than positive only training....

It's a big topic and has been discussed many many times - poke around in the breed standard sub forum a bit.
 
#15 ·
I take that in the spirit in which you intended :) I am a novice/"babe" when it comes to breeding , showing, training, assessing a dog. Having said that, I do know a nice looking purebred when I see one. My one Frenchie is show quality, his litter mate was not. Even I could tell the difference between them. If I was looking for a GSD to buy, I would not want one of those that I am talking about - they look like there is something anatomically skewed.
 
#16 ·
I agree that Rumor is not to the extreme of the dogs I was talking about. It was still photos of her that I was looking at. Sorry for misleading you. She is a lovely dog. I was just reminded of the differences I have seen between show dogs and dogs with a more "normal" gait.
 
#24 ·
Part of what you see in that photo is because she is on a tight line which is lifting the front and throwing her onto her rear. I watched videos of her moving freely and she was much more balanced and normal in her gait.
 
  • Like
Reactions: maxtmill
#32 · (Edited)
Make sure the picture is in JPEG format, if not, open the picture with Paint (comes with windows) then click save as, choose JPEG and save with a different file name on desktop so it is easy to find and won't confused with the original picture. When done, click on the newly created picture with the right mouse button, hold it, drag it to the "Drag and Drop File Upload" box, then release the button and it will automatically upload the picture, works the same with multiple pictures.
 
#33 ·
@Wibackerpacker....yes that was him.
In reference to picture, look at her length of stifle, that is the one point of her structure that is excessive and not really conducive to good working dogs. Whenever you see a picture of dog " running on hocks" lock at how long the stifle is.....by same token when you see a real working dog or a competitive sport dog, also look at length of stifle. After seeing or noticing enough of them you will get the picture and understand why thy is faulty structure for working.
Pretty moving in sidegait....yes, but able to "sustain" cutting and darting and explosive jumping which our breed demands for working or real herding, not so much.
Still, this dog is more moderate than most successful dogs in American breed ring and a nice looking dog to me.
 
#34 ·
@cliffson1 I love learning the intricacies of conformation.

Am I also correct on noticing the length of "hock" appears longer on some of these show lines as well?

And one more question: I read somewhere, that longer backs are not desired for working dogs because the possibility of injuries is greater when doing long bites etc. Is this true? TIA
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top