show ratings - Page 1

so most of you know that my neutered sable male is getting older so I thought about getting a new puppy and looked for maybe a long coat. I found several breeder that claim to have top show parents. SG1 numerous times but fail to say the only dog in the ring. V1 but fail to say the only dog in the ring that day. Could someone ask these marketing genius breeders to just say rated SG or V rated. Or maybe they should put in parenthesis how many dogs were in the class? Or maybe the judge should say today I give this dog a SG rating or V rating but not put a number on it. Just would make it easier for people looking to buy a pup.

Oh, Momma, "Could someone ask these marketing genius breeders ..." ? You are kidding, right ? If 'asking' (or telling them, through the rules of selling advertising space - don't know what Oli could do with free classifieds !) would work, we would not have to suffer not only the misrepresentation you've identified but also all the BS about "extra" and "extreme", and all the ads which don't tell you their dogs Failed OFA or haven't even been Xrayed ... and I would not get migraine from those commercial advertisers who think they best sell their products or website apps etc etc by flashing the ads at the edge of your screen ...or firms who repeat the same ad over and over and over again until one is sick of seeing them ...these are all regular techniques, which must result in sales, because they keep on doing them. Who is stoopid enough to respond positively to such tactics I will never understand, but clearly that is selling, and while any omission or exageration of content or style continues to sell, advertisers (whether breeders or anything else) will continue to do it. They already know exactly what they are doing, it is to draw you in ! Buyer beware.

When I list my dogs' ratings I always just list SG, V, etc. IMO the number only matters or is only worth listing if earned at a national Sieger show, assuming there are 50+ dogs in the class (maybe not even that many anymore in the US). Honestly the placements don't matter much anyway for a dog that isn't even mature. When my last dog got his V rating, I don't even remember what placement he was, lol, I just know he got a "V" and he wasn't last (or only) in the class!

Yeah,sorry VKGSDs, I realise a lot of people don't actually say how high in a class a V rating was gained, for precisely the reason you described - and I am sure that is often equally true of people advertising a dog for sale or describing the parents of a litter. But the OP seemed so convinced that something should - and could - be done about those who don't ( and probably has a bit of a point when it comes to the sale of any adult dog, where frequently the ads DO seriously exagerate or under-describe and omit useful info about the dog they're trying to sell ) that I felt the need to make my point about the "genius" of marketing techniques.

The problem cited would be equally true of an ad placed by a British person - we use English terms the equivalent of the German VA, V, SG... and officially at least there is no grading in our rings : so I could win one class (1st place) of say 4 or 5 dogs, judged by a visiting SV judge and critiqued 'V'/4, and record just that everywhere, (4 sounds high) including advertising as my 'V-rated' dog OR my dog having been judged "Excellent", quite legitimately over here. The fact that someone elses' dog was in the next ad. and had received multiple VA1 and V1 ratings over a whole season of Shows, and stood against 20-odd other animals in all of them, would not show up; and would not, I suggest, in a "small Classified" advertisement, really be expected to. Time enough to go into that detail when the potential buyer contacts you.  So yes it would be nice if advertisers thought it through and did not try to "over egg the pudding" by claiming  First place in line when their dog really had no competition - but I see no way on earth that will stop them if they want to do it.  And if the dog was good enough for a V, it was good enough for a V ... or what was all the stuff about 12 equal VAs and no Sieger for the last couple of years in Germany about ?

Buyers should ask. I've seen dogs with no title advertised with "V" ratings so I assume it's either a lie or it's one of those IABCA (??) shows where they just give out ratings. On my website, I have my dogs listed with their highest titles/ratings but then have tables deeper in that show all of their results, so people are welcome to see where the rating was earned, under whom, and can make inferences based on it being a club, regional, or national event or just ask me if they want to know how many dogs were in the class. I agree it's not worth explaining in little classified ads. There are various paths to earning the same ratings. Prospective buyers can ask the owner or breeder, if it matters to them.

Yup. But then, buyers should ask LOTS of things when enquiring after a pup (or adult) - but they often don't ask much of anything. Combined with the mentality that says you buy a dog FIRST, then do some research on the breed* you've bought, it is no wonder it is an

"advertisers' market", I am constantly surprised MORE people don't get scammed / sold something they didn't want !

* If someone was taking a degree in Chemistry for e.g., would they sit the exam, and only THEN go out and buy the list of textbooks ? Yet every day on PDB we see there are people who seem to feel this is a fine way around to purchase a living, breathing animal that is supposed to spend the next decade and more in their care. Astonishing.