Constructive criticism - Page 3

TIG

Love your post, brought out a chuckle-I will try posting his pedigree soon.

I will state that this pup has never gone through an ungainly stage as most do, he has stayed in proportion since his purchase @ 9 weeks.  His breeder has him listed as a plush coat-certainly does not have the same coat at the same age that my two coated girls had.  I was using the middle photo to emphasis his level back-unfortunately it resized weird on here.

The pup has an excellent nose on him whether it's tracking or airscenting:  Not many herding trainers around, agility is big in this area, nose work is getting more popular and most trainers in the area teach AKC Obedience/Rally.

Ok I'm curious was it the generalist comment or the backyard one that generated the chuckle?

What part of the country are you in?

Re the his coat - first and foremost in the gsd there is NOT a category called plush tho it has come into use of late mostly as a marketing tool. Not meaning to criticize you or your dog but it frustrates me when I see that term has been foisted on someone. It tells me the breeder didn't know  what she/he was talking about.

 Not having hands on I can not tell if people are using that term for an open coat ( faulty) or for a dog whose coat does not lie flat but stands more straight up giving the appearance of greater length (not as faulty as an open coat but incorrect because not as weather proof as a correct coat) or for a dog that is a coat. The problem with coats in the GSD is it is not a simple expression. I've seen coats that only had ear or leg feathers or a combination of them up to and including dogs that would make a full blown collie ashamed and everything in between. A coat I owned was in a way a long flat coat. He had a correct undercoat so was langstockharred but while his hair was longer it lay flat against his body and did not "fluff" out as many coats do or appear to do because of the density of their coat.

I'll be curious about what your boy looks like in a few more months as his coat matures to see if the ear feathers stay or go. An unproven theory I have held for awhile is you can tell a coat carrier by the softness of the hair in that very area. If I was rich, I'd love to do the testing to verify the theory. I keep telling the universe, it would be a good thing if I won the lottery (lol) - think of all the research projects I could fund.

Looking forward to seeing his breeding. A broad outline by PM would be fine.

TIG

Sent you a PM

Deb

I think he is very nice and the fact that he is American lines leaves me feeling good about the direction some breeders are going with the American dogs. Correct German Shepherds. Nothing extreme.

   I hope you will share pics again down the road of him. I like him, can't wait to see him at 2 and 3 years old in his natural stance.

Thanks Kitkat 3478-I'm eager to see how he developes myself but don't want to rush him-it far too much fun having another pup around!