Showing Euro dogs in AKC - Page 1

I'm such a post whore these last few days.  I make no apologies xD

I have noticed that there have been improvements in the last few years in both American and WGSL dogs.  I am seeing a trend (albeit slow) of more German dogs showing up in the AKC show ring to play.  I think this is GREAT!!!  The same can be said of those mixing American and German lines (generally German stud to American bitch, but that's a great start).

Personally, I am trying to get more European bred dogs on my show string, but it obviously is difficult to do.  I recently put a BOB on a Euro bitch I've been showing.  I am hoping against hope to show her at the big dog show in Philly at the end of the year.

I am absolutely DYING to take some more German dogs with me to exhibit, but getting anybody to even entertain the idea is frustrating.

Many of the excellent dogs I've seen lately wouldn't do well in AKC specialties (Which is no skin off my nose...I don't much like specialties) but could excel in all breeds given the chance.

I, in general, am not an optimistic person, but I do constantly hope that the changes I am seeing will rejuvenate a venue that is dying a bit.

There are some judges out there that will get it right...just wish people would take more chances.

pm Dog1 about this

I dunno....am I going to get lectured and told my dreams are stupid? lol

I'm not terribly familiar with all the posters and their beliefs, yet :)

Dog1 is an extremely knowledgeable GSD person, superior dogs and breeding program.  He has (co-owns I think?) a WGSL that has been shown several times in AKC with some success.   Randy (Dog1) will never tell you that your dreams are stupid, he is a wonderful advisor. 

I slipped my own German import WGSL male into a specialty that was in my town several years ago...we only got first place in the novice class because the other dog entered didn't show up. LOL.  
He also got a TT and we watched the obedience stuff too, the obedience people loved him much more than the extreme show lines out there that day.  We had fun, I sucked as a handler...Sooooo short compared to all the other long-legged marathon runner handlers out there!  LOL

I was much more used to handling labradors and toy breeds, so much easier than handling a GSD in specialty!

I'd like to have my Annie girl shown, but I need to get her conditioned for the show ring first...which would be a real pain in the butt with everything else I've got going on now.  Plus I decided that I REALLY need to make some kind of income (while going to school full-time, while taking care of the dogs and house here and my dad)  so I'm launching a little mini-business of doing websites for people. 

Xeph, thanks for your PM.
Re this posting :  good luck with that !

You can send Annie to me, EuroShep ;)

In fact, here's a dog that we took on in a then and now pic.  Coat is conditioned, body is conditioned, this is after just a month of work

For me it's a matter of picking my battles.  I only have so much time and money to spend on dogs, and I prefer venues that are family oriented and geared towards "HOT" (handler-owner training).  I don't have the money to enter my dogs in AKC conformation, which would be a *third* conformation venue for them, when they are already successful in the first two and to pay a professional handler so I even have half a chance.  I won't sit here and complain that Euro type dogs wouldn't do well in AKC because many of them do and I tend to be one of those that says "don't knock it until you TRY it" but we already do Schutzhund, SDA, flyball, agility, lure coursing, dock diving, SV conformation/breed survey stuff, and UKC conformation on a fairly regular basis.  I put my money towards where my dogs and I have the most fun.  Yes I pay a handler for SV shows but at least I get to participate too and I find a junior or newbie handler so they can get experience.  I'm trying to do a SchH2, SchH3, breed survey, and at least one flyball tournament all between now and Thanksgiving and none of these will be hometown/homeclub events.

I'm not sure of the hard stats, but my guess is there have been less than 25 German dogs finish their AKC Championships in the last 15 years. It ain't easy. If it were Waiko would not still be a class dog. 
  
Xeph knows her way around the AKC show ring, so she doesn't need me to tell her what type of GSL will have a chance in the AKC ring.

For those who don't know - first of all absolutely no roaches, dog must have very big side gait and move with its feet close to the ground. No lifting those front legs high and pounding the ground like is shown in so many photos of GSL's. Movement coming and going should be clean and tend toward single tracking if the ring is big enough. Absolutely no Akita heads with a lot of stop. Dogs must be clean and well groomed, "fluffed" using a powerful cattle dryer. There is not much trimming in the breed, but feet must look neat. Don't show an overweight dog to most AKC judges, they hate that.  I saw a decent Bad Boll dog in a show a few years ago, nice dog but so out of condition he waddled and his owner complained about the judging when he did zip.  AKC judges do not generally like lowset ears, so try to show them a dog with parallel ears.  Pigmentation is just as important in the AKC ring as the SV ring. Dark eyes are also a big plus. Full dentition and scissors bite just as the SV requires. An AKC GSD also needs to pass a sort of temperament test where the dog is walked directly into the judge; dog must not shy away or show any aggression, double handling is forbidden during this test.

AND, you MUST use a handler who is preferably well known in the breed or who knows how to handle a GSD AKC style.  Don't expect your SV handler to automatically fit in the AKC ring. The style of handling is as different as night and day. Handlers should dress like AKC handlers - no dirty sneakers, jogging suits, hot pants or tank tops. You may also need to advertise a German in some magazines like the GSDCA "Review".

Good luck.......if you have a German dog that meets most of the above, give Xeph a call.




 

Thank you for the compliments, Blitzen!  I really apprecaite it!

I know people have limited funds, but I am not addressing people like VKGSDs who don't play in AKC and don't complain about the AKC dogs.  I'm addressing people who complain about the AKC dogs, but won't enter their German ones.

What Blitzen said is true.  Roach backs and Akita heads don't fly in the AKC rings (nor should they, IMO).  And proper side gait is needed, none of the lifty stuff you see from incorrect fronts (which is occuring much too frequently in AKC as well, btw).  You can get away with having a moderate side gait in the all breed ring, as long as the dog opens at the shoulder and doesn't move from the elbow.

Very little trimming is done in AKC, this is true....but there's plenty of stripping going on, lol.  The profuse coats are beautiful, but they often make the neck of a dog look much shorter than it really is, and as though it is stuffed into the shoulders.  Some stripping of that coatmust be done to make a more presentable animal.

I really am hoping that I can pick up some German dogs to take with me to Philadelphia (where they would stand a good chance of winning, by the way).  And EuroShep, I'm quite serious about your Annie.  Saw her photo...lovely, lovely bitch!

I agree, people should not complain about it if they aren't trying it.  The one time I showed my puppy in AKC conformation he actually beat the AM line in his group and I thought was judged and critiqued very fairly.  It did not count because he was under 6 months so it was just a "match" but everyone acted very professional so I took it seriously and it was a good learning experience.

What has me chuckling lately is that in the past, so many long coat owners complained about their dogs not being given a chance.  Now I've been to a few SV shows since the LC was reinstated and have not seen more than four LC total at a show.  So where are all these LC owners that acted so persecuted before now that they can show just like anyone else (and have their own class)?

I like the dog in the photos but personally prefer the first photo.  In the second I just see a dog that looks like he just got bathed and blow dried and that's not how a GSDs coat EVER looks in real life unless the dog HAS just been bathed and blow dried, lol.  I bathe my dogs a few days before a show and won't show if the coat is in bad condition (*really* out of coat or the coat is not very heathy) but I like a GSD to just look like a normal GSD and not like it's still damp and blow dried from back to front with hair standing on end.  In the UKC ring you are not allowed to do all that fancy coat stuff and in an SV show it won't matter because if your dog has a healthy coat and is not totally out of coat it is obvious without excessive grooming.