Preston et al.....CONFORMATION GURUS NEEDED PLEASE - Page 2

No, Keith, I disagree.  Conformation is supposed to follow the standard, not what is currently "in style" in the showring. 
I happen to like this dog, a lot.  Very well balanced.  No dog is perfect but he comes real close.

Deb

Semantics.  Some degree of rear angulation is requierd for correct movement and conformation as defined by the standard.

Keith, opinions? What do you think of the mutt?

I think he's a great looking dog but don't consider myself a "guru" so I didn't feel qualified to offer an opinion.

POS

Of course Caleb is a very handsome, athletic and noble dog that anyone would be proud to own.

As for his structure, from a conformation standpoint, he is, as you mentioned, big.
(That comes from his father's side. His mother is perfect, lol!)

I know that you are very concerned about kennel blindness, so, I will offer a few opinions.
If I were to breed him I would find a female that is no larger than medium and probably more to the smaller side.
Contrary to Wrestleman's thoughts, GSD's are not supposed to be extremely large headed, heavy boned dogs. That type of breeding has done a lot to ruin the GSD breed. Utility, agility, and endurance are the most important factors, not looks. Your dog is an exception in that he is as large as he is, and as agile as he is. There is no guarantee that he would pass that on to other potential "large" dogs he might produce with a female that was on the medium to larger side. Let's not foget that SZ-1, Horand was, at 24", considered large for what Max was trying to produce in a breed, and, didn't have a Frabo crushing head or large bone.

I would generally agree w/you OGBS, except that I have not seen a consistency in size always when you breed small to large; in fact, I see more potential for "wildcards" sometimes. There is also no guarantee that you wouldn't get big dogs if he were bred to a small bitch. What I think I would concentrate on instead of a particular size, were I to breed him, is that the bitch was from a long line of agile dogs. In fact,, 2 of my extremely agile ladies come from a sire who is 103lbs, an inch over standard, and agile as a cat. I thing agility is a heritable trait and sometimes easier to strive for than a certain size. JMO.

I'm very picky about agility and all my dogs are agile- it's something I feel very strongly about. I would rather have a dog an inch over the standard and very agile w/a ton of endurance than a perfectly w/in standard dog who couldn't jump on a car, as I'm seeing in more and more dogs.

While I can deploy this beast into a one ton truck window (and he won't touch the door frame), people are making excuses for why their GSDs can't do simple sport jumps or jump on top of a low vehicle hood...I've heard "rememeber, it's a GSD not a Malinois" in training and I think it's ridiculous. If we bred proper dogs, we wouldn't have to make excuses why they couldn't do things that the breed, as a whole, used to be able to do.

Excellent points and a big AMEN to the last paragraph!!!

Good

Type, expression, color, coat, pigment, earset, ear carriage, head, head size & strength, muzzle, eyes, feet,croup lay, substance and bnones

Can be better

Front angulation, rear angulation, croup angle

Not good,

Topline/back straigtness, withers & flat chest

In the end this is my opinion and I am no expert.

Ibrahim

Sorry Jen,
(Putting on shin pads) He is ugly and awful... And I really know a lot about Newfies. His ears should not stick up like that and his coat is too short.
Hehehe... Wish I could help, you know I love Caleb.