Showing German at an Ameraican Show - Page 9

So, do you really have faith that the GSDCA's diciplinary committees will investigate complaints of the "little man" plaintiff who has been screwed. What if the defendant is a "pillar of the breed" in this country, an AKC judge, or an officer or board member of the GSDCA?

The same pertains to the GSDCA-WDA which has a history of not discipling WDA members (and clubs--some WDA officers/board members/directors) who hold "midnight trials".

While the WDA does not have UScA's equivalent of a BOI, I know that my own complaint (substantiated by sworn statements of witnesses) against a known dog abuser (has also been observed actually killing dogs as well as abusing them) was conveniently swept under the rug--without even a slap in the wrist.

The cop-out is that these reviewing committees insist on hard evidence in the form of videos (often not permitted by some WDA clubs), police reports, veterinary reports, etc. Even worse, the offenders (some suspended for past offenses by UScA)are allowed to start their own WDA clubs and become certified helpers (at several different levels).

The differences in the AKC and FCI breed standards are not that great--depending on how one choses to interpret them. The 90 degree versus the 120 degree variances in rear angulation may depend on whether the dog has a natural stance (and is not alerting) or if the dog is stacked/stretched. If the dog is stacked, by which rear leg do we measure rear angulation?

Yes, there are some minor differences in the standards regarding angulations (of pasterns, croup, etc.) and topline. Nowhere, in either standard, is it considered correct for a dog to walk on his hocks. However, I'm sure that, when the standards were written, no one envisioned the evolution of hock-walkers.

IOW, with regard to either standard, extreme interpretations lay on the shoulders of the judges (who want to be invited for other judging assignments) and the breeders who breed to win (the standard be damned) at all costs.

I don't know if my charges would have been upheld by the GSDCA committee as I decide to not file for largely the reasons Louise presented here.  I, a nobody in the breed, would be trying slay a Goliath, a breed big shot. However, I did feel vindicated somewhat as I did give plenty of details about those violations to the chair of the Breeder's Code committee and she knew the name of the breeder I was talking about. Seems my complaint was not the first she heard about the same member.

Bottom line, the procedure is in place to registered a complaint against an GSDCA member and signer of their Breeder's Code who has violated that code. The signing of that code is optional last I heard, so that allows the club a legal avenue to discipline one of its own in the event there is/are proven violations. In my case, there were no AKC papers given when the dog was picked up although both parents were represented to me as being AKC registered ergo the litter was eligible for AKC registration as well. In the absence of the AKC registration at the time of sale, AKC requires a written contract listing  the registered names and AKC numbers of the sire and dam and the DOB of the litter. That is to serve as a temporary identification until the individual registration is received. I got none of that and the registration papers and the pedigree didn't show up in my mailbox until my dog was over 6 months old and most of the name had already been completed by that breeder. A violation of AKC rules at the time.  No written contract, no written vaccination record, all violations of the Code as it stood at that time. Whether or not it is still the same, I do not know.

If a GSDCA member signs that Code he or she is expected to adhere to it. Will that club enforce any violations? I can't say for sure, but in my experience they will tell you if they think you hav a case and  urge you to proceed. At the very least the committee members know you got shafted and by whom and I can only only hope they freely share that information with their peers.

WOW-Thank heaves for people having some guts to try something different!

Best wishes to all German dog owners/handlers who decide to brave the AKC conformation ring-my hat is off to ya!

One question, tho-how can you take a nice 8mos old intact male who is used to being all happy and wiggly with us and prepare him to stack, trot at the proper speed,  and be still enough for conformation showing? Any pointers for such? I have a son who would be more than willing to show him if we just had proper info on it! 

I'd be game to enter my own Kirschental male (5 straight gens of Siegers on sire's side alone!) into a May specialty IF I have the proper guidance on preparing him for such! I would want him to do as well as possible considering everything.

Any tips, suggestions from you who have prepared for such? We've got 2 months to prepare.

Beautiful dog