Steep Croups. - Page 1

Hi i want to know the drawbacks of steep croups. In my country i have seen many show dogs and bitches that have steep croups and they are still v or va rated. Most of the dogs with steep croups come from superb bloodlines. My bitch who is the granddaughter of dux de cuatro flores and esko vom danischen hof also has a steep croup. How can we eliminate steep croups? How heavily are they penalized?In my experience most steep croups come from the rikkor lines.

Have a look at thread http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/bulletins_read/71239.html#170902 which althought doesn't answer all your questions still gets into a good discussion on the relative merits of steep/flat croups.

AandA

Thanks!

Yep, Rikkor is a fountainhead of steep croups.  It's well ingrained into the west German showlines and very difficult to eradicate.  It causes rump-rollup on loose lead or off lead when moving.  The SV has not faced this problem head on since Dr. Rummel who came down hard on them and refused to place them in high positions.  It can be resolved through proper selective breeding.  It severely restricts range of motion in the rear, directs too much force (thrust) upward instead of forward and can be somewhat reduced in effect by keeping the GSD on a tight lead pulling like a draft animal.  This is by far the most serious movement issue in the SV and sickle hocks (long lower rear thighs) are moving to the top of the list fast.

It is not easy to estimate the "functional angle" of the croup standing.  For example, consider Sieger Dingo Haus Gero, looking at him standing, it is not easy to estimate what his croup angle was (whether it was ideal or not).  But when watchin him sidegait, it is clear that he croup worked 100% perfectly and was functionally ideal.

Speaknow, very good points.  I have no idea where Rikkor's steep croup comes from, perhaps a random pile-up of bad recessives.  I also have no idea where his thin/flat rear leg bones came from.   Of course the rest of the dog was very nice.

Here is a GSD that I think appears very close to the standard in his two photos. This dog to me looks like a GSD should and is very correct in angles, proportions, male type.  Looks like a very nice dog without the exaggerations or distortion one often sees in the zuchtschaus.  What the profung folks should strive for in male type.  This is the type of dog what folks should breed for.         www.pedigreedatabase/gsd/pedigree/473752.html       I don't know anything about this kennel or the breeders, but I sure like the overall look of this dog.

Thanks, i learnt a lot from this discussion!