What Current AkC Judge likes the German Highline? - Page 2

There is probably still an explanation of what happened posted on his website, however, I couldn't find it.  The Dog Press has this to say:

http://www.thedogpress.com/ClubNews/Evil-Empire1-0607_Lanting.asp

A more complete explanation of what happened is posted here:
http://www.thedogpress.com/Columns/Addamo/0707.Crime.Punishment.asp


Please note that Fred did not even own the dogs in question, and stood to gain absolutely nothing in the way of money by helping this man out. It was just a matter of posting a note to say this man from Pakistan was looking for some well-bred bitches with good hips to import to his country, and could anyone help him out.
 

To show how ridiculous these charges are, here is the website of Darby-Dan kennels, owned by AKC judge Dan Smith. I assume he gets around charges of 'trafficking in dogs' by having his dogs registered in his wife's name?  What utter hypocricy! 

http://www.darby-dan.com/about_us.htm


The rot in the AKC goes deep and wide, and heaven help those who piss off the top breeders!


Edited to add: I have nothing against Dan Smith, and was a big fan of his dog, Jim. He just happens to be the most convenient example of many AKC judges who also breed and sell dogs.

  I would bet that there is such great difficulty swimming against the tide in the USA that the few (count them on one hand... or maybe one finger!) AKC judges who know and prefer the international type GSD (the SV-WUSV dog fitting that description best) do not get enough AKC assignments to make a ripple in the flood. Mort Goldfarb is currently the only US judge who is both AKC-approved and a (former) SV judge. Both of us having reached the SV's ridiculous mandatory retirement age, makes such a profile even lower below trhe horizon than it used to be. If the idiots at AKC ever give me back my AKC "license" I'll be back in the picture, too, but the enormous number of unqualified dummies and hionest but uneducated others who are AKC-approved make up an overwhelming flood.  The only good option is to show good dogs at WDA events, and perhaps at UScA events (but only under SV judges).
Fred   (a.k.a. 'Mr.GSD')

We just finished our annual Shiloh Shepherd homecoming, and had two excellent judges. Tom Nesbitt gave detailed critiques of all the dogs, in a nice, clear voice that was loud enough for everyone to hear. He also critiqued our breed in general, and told us we MUST have a clear picture of the breed standard when we breed and show our dogs. He also said these dogs should not be 'wimps' and we shouldn't baby them. I think this was a gentle rebuke for the spooky temperaments some of the Shilohs have.

Sharon Griffon also did an excellent job, though she won't judge AKC GSDs as she hates the extreme angulation.

Anyway, I would highly recommend both of these judges!

I personally think that being booted out of AKC GSD as a judge is a compliment to Mr. Lanting and gives him credibility for wanting to move in the right direction...JMO

Ok, I will chime in on this one since I do show my dogs in the ring and currently have a Bouvier ranked number 12 nationally.  My answer to this question is not to listen to anyone.  Judges are going to  put your dog up if they feel he is the best representation of the breed in the ring on that given day.  You will spend a small fortune if you try to follow judges that people say like your type of dog.  For someone new entering the show ring my advice would be to make sure your dog is trained properly to show and does it right everytime in the ring.  Non agressive when a judge comes up to go over the dog especially when they are looking at his bite.  Some dogs hate that from someone strange.  Make sure your dog is well socialized becuase if he ever gets agressive towards another dog in the show ring you will be expelled and its really hard to get reinstated.  Go to local shows and stay away from the really large ones.  Look at the breed counts from the prior year at the show your thinking about entering and if there are more then 10 in your sex within the breed do not enter it and look for another show.  And last do not go into this expecting to win, have fun with it and enjoy the show.  Your dog will win if the judge likes him or her.  Remember if you enter a show they are usually held over a week end so two days of showing. It will never be the same judge twice unless its a specialty and each day of the week end is actually a different show so with that in mind if you don't place on Saturday you still have a shot on Sunday under a differnet judge.  I have seen working dogs put up over the show lines many times under judges who were considered partial to the show lines.  One thing they all had in common though and I have had this said to me by a lot of judges is they look for a dog that is correct in structure, movement and can do the job that it was bred to do.  Look mainly for all breed shows though becuase at specialties your going to be going up against the best of the best usually and its almost impossible to beat the dogs coming from the top breeders that all the judges know and these dogs usually have professional handlers that follow these judges from show to show and are being put up by these judges becuase of the handler as much as the dog. Steve

Carft, a couple other things you might want to consider which a lot of people who show won't ususally tell you and I had to learn the hard way.  Judges like to see reach and top line in a dog when its going around the ring.  If your dog is a fast mover then my advice would be to enter the show as early as possible which means watching for the entry date and then enter on line as soon as you possibly can.  The numbers that are assigned are based on first come first served.  If you have a dog that is a fast mover with good reach then you definately want one of the first numbers so you are at the head of the other dogs.   But go to a show and watch first so you have something to compare with.  Most working people do not think show dogs are worth their salt but I have seen GSD's that are extremly fast when they are moving around the ring with very good reach and you need to know what your up against in order to enter your dog where you feel it will show best. Then when your told to go you take off as fast as you can so that you put seperation from you and the dog behind you.  That will let the judge see your dog moving without another one right on his tail which will make your dog look bad.  If you have a dog that is not a real fast mover then you want to enter as late as you can so your at the back of the line.  Then when its time for you to move out count to three and allow a lot of space between you and the dog in front of you.  The judge is going to see your dog without interference from a dog that is in front of you and again its seperation that counts here.  If you have a good friend you trust who has shown before talk to them about this.  Also your going to want to take some show lessons as its different then what your use to and they are usually not very expensive and you will get to do some work with other breeds of dogs at the same time.  Great for the socializeing that has to be done in a show setting.  My male Bouvier has great reach and is a fast mover so I always enter him as early as possible and when he's in the ring with more then 5 other dogs he is usually aorund the ring before the last one takes off.  Thats what judges like to see, good movers that do not breake stride yet can cover the ground.

Anyone who's had the privilege of sitting down and talking dogs with Fred knows better than listen to the nonsense that the grapevine throws out there.   If speaking honestly and openly is a crime then guess he may be guilty, but for my 2cents I'd take a dozen like him who actually know and LOVE Shepherds to the fancy dudes and dudettes who just like to hear their own voices. 

^5 to ya Fred...

Fred and I were founding members of the GSDC of NA and I have counted him as a personal friend for many years.

He took a very hard core stance on GSD health and character that was popular with the rank and file, not so with the powers that be, who to this day refuse to put in place any breeding requirements.


The one member one vote election system of the GSDCA led to him being elected to the BOD and to judge a National, where his placing of German dogs was very unpopular with some.  I heard him discussed poorly at many shows, but because of his popularity with the general membership, his views could not be suppressed or quieted.

The only solution to the "Fred problem" was to get rid of him and when the opportunity came up, that is what happened. SunSilver is pretty close to what happened and it was total BS.

anyway, that is how Rik saw it.

Rik