ULM/THE DOGS WHO DID NOT DO WELL - Page 4

Well said, Molly. I think we can add "money" to color and looks, because that seems to be the driving force now behind the direction  the Sieger show has taken. (Look at the Urma book and see how many overseas breeders advertise in it, and how many have bought expensive dogs following the SS......It was never disclosed, for example, how much Larus von Batu was sold to China for - but six figures has been hinted at, and  probably isn't unrealistic. Why care about bitework (or obedience or tracking) when even a dog which fails or does poorly in Schutzdienst, has poor conformation (this year's Youth Sieger) or is excused for some flimsy health reason, can be sold abroad for big bucks? Not all will go for six figures, but they'll go for a healthy sum nonetheless.)  It does make one want to weep.....

Margaret you don't have to go that far back! Just to the early 70's really, before the show/working split occurred. That's what is so great about the BSP and WUSV competitions of today (other than the fact that temperament and workability are far removed from what passes for a GSD at the Sieger show): you aren't watching a cookie cutter dog which looks like every other dog out on the field - you will see black and tan, all black, various kinds of sable - VARIETY, just the way it was all those years ago during the early years of the breed. Sadly, videos of the great dogs of the past (including Gustav's Hall of Fame above) are very hard or impossible to come by - camcorders and videophones just weren't around in those days. The answer to your question is of course yes - they were stronger all around, because they were competing in both  conformation AND working championships. The only way in my mind to fix the mess we are in today is to return to that concept - but it's not likely to happen, not in my lifetime anyway.

OK..... well that was one of the most pathetic things I have seen in a long time... Some pretty bad dogs...

Stop blaming the clouds and Chineese Horoscope and do something about those bad dogs....

Can somebody show me also nice bite work from the event? PLEASE??????

Here is V54, Javir vom Talka Marda - not at the Sieger show ( he was entered, but I couldn't be bothered to sift through the bad stuff to find him), but at the 2008 Bundessiegerprufung (BSP). The courage test, which is part of the SS Schutzdienst comes at 4:56 (if you don't want to watch the entire exercise.) I would expect that his BSZS performance was pretty much what you see here, and you can compare it with the above.....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gfm_Tzk5PfA&feature=related