13 month old.. Looking for Feedback - Page 2

to Harley, I wish he would eat more ! The breeder i got him from believes in very slender shepards. But trust me in the picture you can see im a big guy so i wouldnt want my dog to not eat also. Hes on Orijen which is probably one of the most expensive foods to feed. Hes just not a big eater.. ive tryed a couple different foods and it didnt change his eating habits. he gets turkey and chicken while we train. But i have notices he is eating a little more now that hes in a routine of daily training with me and rigourous training at the schutzland club twice a week.

To euroshepard, ive hurd of all the SG & V rating and prelims on his hips but dont know what they mean.. If you could could you define each of them as im not sure exactly what they are. Thanks ! Also yes I have been going to an amazing usca club. Fortunatly me and him are the only west german show line.. everyone else is working lines. But the director is picky on who is able to come to the club and she sees great potental in him so we are able to go. The director is amazing as shes been doing this for 30+years and has a lot of titles. you can google her kennel website von rheinland shepards. the website isnt to up to date but if you look at her bio its very impressive.

Harley, that dog is not too skinny, especially for his age.  In fact, a proper lean weight you should be able to see the last 3 ribs, I don't see the last 3 ribs in any of the pics of this dog...only the edge of the last rib.  
Being overweight at an early age, even slightly overweight, can be a main cause of many health problems later in the dog's life.  More health problems come with being overweight versus underweight.  In this dog's case he is certainly not underweight, if he added another 3-4 lbs of fat to his current frame then he would most certainly be overweight.

I kept all my dogs nice and lean while they were young, and guess what?  No health problems here (currently a household of 5 GSDs, ranging from 3 yrs to 8.5 yrs.) 
I know of someone else who also has a house full of GSDs and they like to see their dogs overly well fed, every single one of their dogs has health problems...hot spots, ear infections, allergies, diabetes, heart disease, cushings disease, hip dysplacia, elbow dysplacia, rotting teeth and abcesses, the list goes on.

People should be more concerned for the actual health of their dogs and not trying to be "politically correct" with the rest of the neighborhood that doesn't understand nutrition, disease and healthy weight.   Disease in pets have become so common that they're accepted as "normal" nowadays by most people, whereas the healthy lean animal is now "abnormal"


CKB1, here is a run down on some of the acronyms that you will see frequently in the European German Shepherd world.  These have to do with the German style show ring, wether it's the SV, WDA, UScA, etc.)  Almost all dogs will receive a rating when in a German style show ring, and their placement will be a number behind the rating, as in V1, V2, V3...etc.

LP (a puppy rating of "Less Promising")
P  (a puppy rating of "Promising")
VP  (a puppy rating of "Very Promising")
G  (a rating of "Good", this is the lowest rating that can be received.)
SG  (a rating of "Very Good", this is the highest rating that a dog can receive if it does not have a working title like HGH or IPO, also the highest rating that a dog under 2 yrs old can receive)
V  (a rating of "Excellent", dog must have received acceptable hip and elbow scores and a working title before being eligible for V rating)
VA (a rating of "Excellent Select" the highest rating a dog can receive)

Since you belong to a UScA club, I assume you've also joined the UScA too?  You get their magazines?  Read them, they are VERY informative!  also you will need to register your dog with the UScA if you wish to participate in UScA sanctioned shows, talk to your club president about how to do that.   Your club president should be able to help you with how to show your dog.  Once you've registered your dog with UScA then order a scorebook from them for your dog, also look into competing at WDA shows too, you'll need a separate scorebook for them.  There are some funky regulations with UScA versus WDA....look into those and familiarize yourself.   But the more shows you can go to, the better for you and your dog. 

As for hip and elbow stuff.  OFA doesn't certify a dog's hips or elbows until it is 24 months or older.  Any x-rays taken before that age are called "prelims" or preliminary OFA evaluation.  They will tell you what they think of the hips now, but they won't certify them yet. 
BUT...the SV in Germany will certify hips and elbows at 12 months old, so if your dog gets x-rayed now, then you can send the x-rays to the UScA and they will send them on to Germany for certification with the a-stamp (a-stamp is Germany's hip score system)  Talk to UScA or your club president about how to do this correctly. 

As for PennHip, it's a wonderful tool for looking at a dog's hips, they will certify as young as 4 months, but I don't think UScA or WDA accepts PennHip? 

Also, CKB1, get in the habit of spelling "shepherd" not shepard,  I'm saying this kindly.  In the future, if you try breeding your male, offering him for stud service, selling pups, etc.  no one will take you seriously if the breed name isn't spelled correctly.  GSD people tend to get extremely snide and snarky over this.  May seem minor, but to a lot of people it's a big issue and they'll make a big issue out of it. 

Can't really critique the conformation with those pics but I think he looks very nice/normal for his age.  I do not think he is too thin at all, he looks in good condition.

 Hi

 Above medium size, medium strong
dog of slighty stretched proportions.Of good type.
Good head and expression, level withers,a firm back with a sligth rise
and with a croup that is slighty short and slighty steep.
Good front angulations,where the upper arm is slighty steep abd slighty short.
The pasterns look good.
Very good hind angulations.
Stands strait in front and good behind.

This critique is given based on the photos above.