Correct opening of the shoulder - Page 5

It really is very hard to see his shoulder with the pictures provided. 

He is gaiting on the off side in his puppy shot, and honestly looks more like he's about to break into a gallop.  It's hard to judge him there.

In his 12 month shot, the angle is poor, again, can't really see anything (that's not the fault of the dog).  What you can see shows the dog with his elbow bent, instead of fully extended, so this means either his shoulder is not opening, or he's finishing his movement on the forequarter and his foot is dropping, which means you can't see the shoulder opening because it's already closing again.

GSDNewbie,

None of the pictures you posted above shows whether the shoulder open of you pup is good or not, what the judge commented should be more accurate than what any of us says as a judge is knowlegable enough and sees the dog on site which gives him/her better ability to evaluate.

Voraus,

Why do you say your pup open is not good?, I see he has a decen open of his shoulder, please re-read what Rik said about the loose ligaments and how they are related to some of the exagerated reach, I think he knows very well what he's talking about, do not give less credit to your dog than he might deserve.

Ibrahim

I agree the angle of the photo does not clearly show so I was wondering what she was able to see in it that I am missing. I do not have any side photos of correct angle most times I am the only one with them when working them. I still would like to know if she saw anything in particular or what bone or length or lay of assembly she has based it on since she said she found it lacking.

Ibrahim - I will do that, thank you for the correction. I am not very good at applying knowledge when it comes to what I learn online vs. what I see in person. That is why I am excited that there is a conformation section, so that I may take the diagrams, photos, and videos shared to understand the concepts better.

GSDNewbie - I hope you can note my word of the use "look". In the pictures you posted, it did not look like good opening of the shoulder to me, so if it did, I would have found it immensely helpful if someone could explain exactly why. Like I said, I am not very good at applying knowledge when it comes to conformation, so I was hoping someone could show me what exactly everyone else was seeing. I was not offering a critique, I am certainly not qualified to do that, I was posing a question, asking for help, in the form of commentary.

Congratulations on the nice words you have heard from judges, I am sure you are proud of your puppy.

Rik - you are very kind to my dog. I am rather strongly convinced that he does not have nice, or even correct, opening of the shoulder. It is not all from his elbow, but there is something off about it... just do not have the knowledge to try and explain.

Voraus, I'm not the best at reading conformation, but I think that your dog has a good "shoulder opening" -- but he lacks reach because his upper arm is short. So, it opens as much as it could, but it doesn't extend as far as would be desirable because of the length of the upper arm.

Just from looking at the pictures, it's apparent that the AKC conformation ring selects for a somewhat different picture than the German conformation ring.

So, we got some good pictures of what would be considered good front reach in the AKC ring. What is a good example of what the German conformation ring considers close to ideal?

For some interesting discussion that's a bit related, check out: http://www.shawlein.com/2011/10/12/judging-type-2/

Ty very much it was a very proud moment when he preformed so well, his first show, at a seiger and placing 3rd for his class with a wonderful knowledgable handler that he had never seen before that day. I cannot thank his support of the other litter owners, his special second mom, my husband, and the phenominal handler enough in our special day and will always cherish it. We worked hard ring training and in conditioning during the time period when I was attending physical therapy for a leg repair surgury 5 days a week and still I trotted him daily running the best I could doing the preparation myself for the show with him. I totally was blown away at his position and figured he would get VP but never did I expect he would do so well lol It was well worth two days of driving through those record number tornadoes and flooded windy roads. Yes, I could not be more proud of my service dog that showed like a champion as well. He will continue his conformation showing very soon as we already have show lined up. We may or may not do as well, It was a package deal and it all came together that day. Sorry to go on but this was only my second conformation show with gsds and in this style as my other two show prospects both had medical issues and became pets. Ten years I have been working towards a dog to HOT. I have Quinto and he is a fantastic dog. His breeders and previous people took him to what he is, not me. My goal is to do it myself. Not to use what someone else did the work and take Quinto to obedience trials winning anything on him when I did not train him. I may or may not in future to let him strut as you can tell when he helps us train Ulf he misses it so maybe a vetrans class lol. He would do anything for me without a doubt, he is very handler focussed, well trained, and biddable. I did not take him into my home for that. Wherever I reach with Ulf is a gift, he cannot disapoint me.... heck he keeps me alive 24/7 working as a good dog should in service monitoring my life threatening medical condition. Any critiques are welcome as long as they are just ones, used to help each other see and understand. No dog is perfect. Ulf is large but not oversized and he has a steep but well placed croup. These are the only downs that have been found in him so far.  I saw this dog just a couple weeks old and said he was the one and I just knew it. Helps that I was in love with his sire and grandsire. I apologize for sharing not so great photos. I do not have quality photos to share.

   I will try this weekend to get better updated photos, however with my newly broken wrist that may be a challange. I seriously would love more disscussion and welcome it.

I love reading Linda Shaw's articles. I wouldn't know which dog to select as a good example of side gait in a GSL. Maybe a recent German sieger?

Blitzen, this dog is as extreme in side gait as any GSDCA speciality dog. I have a pic of him in full stride, but it's not mine so I won't post it. If you want it, pm me an e-mail addressaddress. http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/dog.html?id=560251



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Rik,

His gallery here has a number of gaiting pictures: http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/picturegallery/16031.html