Critique my dog II - Page 1

Hello everyone,

I would like to get your honest critiques and opinion about the structure of my almost 9 months old dog.
I did post his pictures 2-3 months ago on this board for your critique, so I wanted to get your critiques/thoughts again.
He is obviously a long stock coat, and pictures are 100% taken by the amateurs (us) from my phone camera. I have no experience in how to stock dogs but I hope that these pictures are OK for you to comment on.

I did not measure his size but I'm guessing that he is somewhere around 60-62 cm. His weight is 31 kg = 68 pounds

Thank you all in advance.

I will leave the critique part to the more experienced.  But I will say that looking at the 2nd pic, this is a really nice boy.  I don't particularly like coats, but some of them, I wouldn't mind owning. Some I wouldn't take a second look at.  This boy is one I wouldn't mind owning.   That second pic is very nice considering you don't know what exactly how to do it.   Good Job!

It isn't easy to evaluate the various components of a long coat GSD's structure, here is my try;

Good type Black/tan color male GSD of long coat, correct proportions; height to length and chest depth to leg, medium size and strength, good size and planes of head, nice dark mask and stop and a little dome in the forehead, good size and length of neck, good high and long withers, a short strong back, good short loin, slightly steep and slightly short croup, good tail and tailset. Good hind angulation, good hocks but slightly long, tight rear feet. Underline could be better, good front but right foot toes slightly point outwards, good forechest development, slightly short and slightly steep front upper arm, good shoulder lay, good pasterns and tight feet. Nothing looks faulty about him, at the same time nothing looks outstanding. A beautiful boy of beautiful color and pigment

@ 9 months, he's progressing nicely - its a funny age - keep up with your obedience training and lets see what happens in another 9 months. He still looks puppy-ish, which is expected at this age. Things can change a bit as they get their testerone.....

have you done preliminary x-rays yet?

Hello again,

Thank you all for your comments and critiques.
SitasMom - I did not do any preliminary x-rays yet.
Reasons for that are:
a) He is not 1 year old.
b)Vets charge quite lots of money around here to do the prelim - $700-$800.
I will need to check with more vets in my area to see if the preliminary x-rays can be done at some lower price point ($200-$300). If not, I would rather wait until he is 2 years old and do the final hips and elbows x-rays at that point. 
Could you also explain me a little more about the "testerone" statement - i.e.. Does only his appearance changes (looks more mature) or does it also influence his behavior in a "negative" way? (negative way - aggression, challenging leadership, more barking, etc. - so far he is not exhibiting any of this).

Ibrahim - I am having difficulties interpreting some of your critique as I do not quite understand the terms - i.e.. What to look for when critique is provided. I would appreciate little more explanation of following:

1. little dome in the forehead
2. slightly steep and slightly short croup
3. good hocks but slightly long
4. slightly short and slightly steep front upper arm

Some explanation in the way of schematics would be great :)

Thank you all again for your comments.

Looking forward for more comments.

look at a 16 yo male human and the same human at 22.. there are differences...... same as with dogs. forehead become wider, body becomes thicker.....etc....

look at the GSD standard and you will see what Ibrahim is talking about.

Before you put $$$$$$$ and time in training, get hips/elbows checked. Find a not so expensive vet, that can give you an idea. 

Here xrays range from $500 to $75. Call around and find one that's "fair", take the OFA article of correct positioning....... OFFA.org .
Sometimes less expensive vets are just as good or better than the expensive ones. I have an older vet, he's been there done that, now he only does vaccinations and poop stuff........ he will do xrays, they're perfect and he charges almost nothing! He's in a low income area and offers extra low cost services as a way of giving back to the community.

The xray doesn't have to be perfect but its easier to tell if position is good, but you need to know....... if dog has horrible hips or elbows, the work involved in showing or trialing will need to be monitored...... if you're intent of for breeding, knowing sooner is better than later........ 

I do xrays at
6 months - if there's a horrible problem it can be fixed, and dog can be rehomed, or put down.
1 year - when serious training starts and can be submitted to SV for certification.....make sure everything is ok for jumps and road work.
2 years - for OFA certs...........




Havent had a pup needing surgery or to be put down - thank God.

Thanks Sitasmom for posting the detailed parts of GSD.
Dome fore head: If you look at the forehead it has a slight convex shape=like, like a dome, it's no big deal really.
Steep angle: When an angle between certain bones is bigger than what standard's ideal.
Hind bones should be proportionate to each other, to a certain extent the shorter the hocks the better. He is still growing so they might still get shorter compared to other hind bones.

Hope that helps, if you still need to see more graphical illustrations of the above, consider me at your service 

Hello SitasMom and Ibrahim,

Thank you both very much for your constructive suggestions, critiques and explanations.
I did get detailed information and explanation to my questions above.

Thanks again.