Everyone needs a bad guy.... - Page 3

Alright Don you're off the hook with that explanation.

I guess I owe you a few happy pills.

I'll have my Showline bring them over. His grip is not hard enough to break the bottles.

 

Jeffrey Dalmer

 

Good points, Yvette - love your “lo and behold, they are as orange as a freshly squeezed screwdriver in the French Quarter.” Could double up your list of faults, but can’t see myself switching to another breed. Yep, money is the curse, Corleone – that together with politics and ‘who-you-know’ where show ring is concerned. Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree but can't recall visting any other Site and just got hit twice by something called RedSheriff! Quote from some web site: RED SHERIFF From a company of the same name, this Java applet reports all your Web-surfing habits for as long as you have your browser open. Delightful ...

Don,

You and I see eye to eye on almost everything.

We are going to have to have a beer together sometime!

"Not everyone switches dogs like that, and I really think the problem lies with those doing all the switching, not the dogs."

******

Sweeet!  There's hope!  Maybe you can help me out with this dog before it's too late.

Can you tell me how to prevent soft ears?  I knew I was in trouble when I saw that dog's ear cartlidge was so thin you could see light shining through it.  I followed the breeder's direction for taping ears for 3 months but they still didn't stand, and she told me to return the dog for a refund, so I guess she didn't have the answers either.

Can you tell me how to prevent bad hips and elbows?  My pups always come from OFA or a-stamped stock, and I feed a quality diet, and keep the weight trim, and don't let them jump off things when young, and yada yada yada.  In fact that dog's breeder didn't even ask to see the OFA certs as proof - took my word for it sight unseen because he knew how well I care for my dogs, and he didn't have any advice on what to do different next time, so I guess he didn't have the answers either.

Can you tell me how to prevent undescended testicles?  I was real upset when one of the "boys" didn't want to drop, and when I searched the Internet for advice I found this article on massaging the... umm... well, it turns out it didn't have much to with dogs after all.  The breeder told me to return the pup and he replaced the pup, and he said "those things just happen", so I guess he didn't have the answers either.

Gosh I hope the answer isn't to buy an older dog, because I already tried that route and dropped down $3500 for what I was told was a quality German import, only to get a sick, atrophied dog that was afraid of my 8 lb declawed kitten.  Even if you can't help me prevent the physical problems listed above, if you can tell me how NOT to get screwed by an importer I would love to hear your advice! 

I've got my pencil ready...

"I guess you didn't see the Malinois entries at Westminster this year. "

Absolutely not.  I made the mistake of watching a short video clip of the Westminster GSD's and I had to leave the computer to hurl once I saw those pathetic cow-hocked dogs wobbling around the tiny green ring.  By the time I got my stomach settled and got back to the computer the Pomeranians were on parade and I laughed so hard at the pouffed out hair sprayed show coats that I accidentally snorted my French Quarter screwdriver out my left nostril, and man oh man that burns!

Just for the record... I don't even consider the Westminster dogs to be real dogs, in the strictest sense.  They have been reduced to mere fashion accessories, so when discussing breeds or bloodlines they do not even hit the radar screen. 

*****

Personally, I thank my lucky stars that the Malinois has the reputation of being a whacked-out nut-case breed because maybe, just maybe, that erroneous stereotype will slow the deterioration of the breed because the unwashed masses won't consider them cuddly pet material and so they won't get overbred as fast as the GSD. 

There is nothing wrong with the FCI GSD standard.  Even the hard line working dog GSD kennels in Germany have their good looking dogs breed surveyed (Koered).  I have never heard of any one of the big working line kennels with Bundesseiger Profung winners ever criticizing the standard or the Schutzhund rules.  Yes the conformation as far as the GSD structure of the standard has been changed over the years.  But it as it exists now is NOT perverted.  The problems lies with those GSD buyers, breeders and exhibitors that don't understand the standard, don't know what it is, and can't look at a GSD and tell what is right or wrong with it moving, walking, or standing.  A GSD should look like what a GSD is supposed to be, should act like a GSD is supposed to, and should move like a GSD is supposed to.  This is all contained in the standard.  I don't know of any top GSD kennel in Germany, show or working line that wants the FCI/SV standard changed.  The solution to the many poorly constructed GSDs and the many GSD with incorrect temperament is for the judges and breed wardens to stop letting poor dogs pass and for breeders t stop their overly close breeding for the "superstar" at the cost of generating too many incorrect and poor health GSDs.

In this day and age folks are overcommited in their lives, are therefore trying to do too much, are moving to fast to slow down and get concerned with producing real health and quality.  Some temporary loss of type and movement perhaps must be tolerated to attain healthier more correct to the standard GSDs. This would take a change in policy and a commitment to real quality, correct temperament and good health at all levels in the sport, top to bottom, and it would involve some losses and cost financially.

Don, I invite you to come put on a sleeve and take a few bites from my pretty black and red dogs. Better yet, don't. put a sleeve on. They don't need it to engage. I understand where you're coming from though, believe me. I've been on this board on and off for several years and I don't remember it being quite like it has been last few months.

I love a dog that can work, and I love a dog that's beautiful. And I firmly believe if you are careful enough, you can have both.  I picky in temperament like you wouldn't believe- and I have a deep appreciation for V rated working line dogs, too. Nothing wrong with balance!

Speaking of Westminster, I work with a family that has shown there with their dachsunds. They came to me for training, because, well, they acted like dachsunds. After a lot of time and dedication those dogs are better behaved than a lot of "titled" dogs I know. Just because they are beautified for a judge doesn't mean they can't still be great dogs on the inside.

Out of curiosity, how many of you expose your west or east german dogs to the AKC crowd? I can't tell you how many questions I get asked when I take my girls to an AKC event, #1 question being: "Why do your dogs look so different?" And I love being asked it, it gives me the chance to educate the general public on what the breed should be. I was told once, verbatim, "I really like german shepherds and I'd love to get one but they are all so nervous...yours seem fine, though."

The only way to cure ignorance is with education.

 

I have no explanation for what you have been through, if you have gone to reputable breeders and importers all I can say is when exactly did you break that mirror that caused you so much bad luck?  I know one thing, I sure am glad I've been happy with my GSDs - even the ones with less than stellar hips.  I've never had bad ears, undeundescended testicles, bad elbows, bad temperaments, never had a dog without drive, etc..  And as a matter of fact, yeah, if a person seriously is looking for foundation breeding stock, of course buy a proven dog - period end of story.

 

Ouch, Yvette, you do have a wicked way with words! But also wholeheartedly agreed when you said all isn’t lost and that there’s also good stock to be found! Initially I struck problems galore with bought pups (and regardless of cost and time, a proper bastard when it came to returning the poor misfits whence they came!) but since breeding own it’s been far more cheerful; I think it’s the only way to be honest.

Quite agree, Preston. The Standard is rational and plain enough. But unless it starts at the top, I can’t see how’d you alter a scene where every Breeder has litters by the latest VA studs for its own sake: it’s the basis on which they sell and advertise their pups. How many of the top Kennels do otherwise? It would take a pretty dramatic turnabout! (And as the tiniest of players, like countless others, I’m guilty likewise!) Still, you echoed my sentiments to perfection with: “A GSD should look like what a GSD is supposed to be, should act like a GSD is supposed to, and should move like a GSD is supposed to. This is all contained in the standard.”