Preston et al.....CONFORMATION GURUS NEEDED PLEASE - Page 4

 Windwalker, sorry. Here it is: www.pedigreedatabase.com/german_shepherd_dog/pedigree/448102.html

His size is very typical of his fathers side of his pedigree. Thats where the great bone and head come from.. A real nice old pedigree and it shows in him. Be a proud parent girl very proud

"Not enough rear angulation?? (though I confess I don't mind that at all)

What I love about him:

His head- Daddy must've been a buffalo, lol. I have yet to see another GSD w/a head like that. Being black, he's hard to photograph to get the full effect; people are shocked when they see him in person.

Extremely masculine. No one has ever wondered if he was male or female.

His superb agility. AMAZING- especially amazing for a dog his size. He has done obstacles typically only effectively conquered by Malinois."


Than he has more than enough angulation.   Personally, I don't care what judges or conformation folks think.  It is unnecessary and unattractive. 

I love everything about him that you do.  I'd take him in a heartbeat.

 Well, it's good to know that if something happens to me, there is no shortage of good homes for my angel! LOL. 

Red Sable, you and I are on the same page on this one. Jenni, you said he was extremely agile and sails into a truck through the window??? Then I think his angulation is FINE for his body type. You need that type angulation to balance the size and maintain the functional structure. He looks harmonious and strong. I like the dog and why would I want more angulation and probably lose some agility and speed.??? This is the cosmectic thinking that has the breed inable to scale a six foot wall in many cases. Nice dog!!

SS, not the whole back, just a couple of vertebrae immediately behind the shoulder Not uncommon and barely noticeable in Jenns dog.

O.T. Not sure what you are talking about in the female unless it is the croup falling off.

Jenn, in the real world it is much more important that a dog be "balanced" front and rear, and your dog appears to be.

Rik.

 Oh, just ask my old neighbors how easily he flew over the 6' privacy fence. They never were as proud of him as I was. <shrug>

Yes, Gustav. I can deploy him onto a decoy inside a large truck, through the window. I have pictures. He's amazing for his size in that he doesn't scratch the vehicle because he doesn't touch it. My father was amazed that he could fly into his Jeep so easily because the window is only a little bigger than he is. He is very, very agile for ANY dog, let alone a 100lb dog.  This does have its downside, in that he's always been one hell of an escape artist and has scared me half to death numerous times. 

I'll see if I can find some pics of him doing some agility work. 

Jenny, as others having mentioned the most striking, and laudable, observation is that he looks so balanced. In other words when taken as a whole nothing looks out of place because of being too big, or too small, or over angulated etc. This is clearly evident from his stack - his structure has allowed him to naturally and comfortably move into and maintain his stance.

Having a balanced angulation between the front and rear no doubt gives him his agility and allows him to make full use of his (impressive) physique - gotta love that chest, neck & head. I've found one of the best ways to see this balance is to take a look at a dog when they're crashed out asleep on their side with all four legs straight out. Because they're relaxed the legs will adopt their natural position (defined by their structure) and you will be able to compare the relationship between the front and rear - just check out the parallel lines.

Enjoy your dog,

AandA

 AandA, thank you. I cannot stack a dog to save my life. I have to wait until they stop moving and tell them to stand there, lol. The sleeping idea would be great...if I had ever seen him sleep. :-)  Maybe when he dies I'll try that. 

Jenni , try him with a 5 mile walk in the rain, an extra portion of beef heart and a crackling log fire.

That usually knocks 'ol Nelson out for an hour or so... & me (but replace the beef heart with scotch)

AandA