Kristel Smart Webboard User Reg: 10-03-2006
Posts: 1548
Loc: Vermont
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The trot looks pretty sad too It doesn't look smooth to me, it looks like it's uncomfortable to move.
I like watching dog shows, but seeing what has happened to the GSD kind of ruins it for me. There is no way on Earth that that scrunched down and crippled little back end can help him 'do his job'. How can that be okay, and winning in the ring?
It makes me think about all of the possibilities for "improvement" in the other breeds too....
The breed ring is a disaster for a great many breeds and a rare few have breed communities that are strong enough in their own right that the breed ring hasn't really harmed them. I wish I could say I thought that was the case of my own breed in the last three decades but alas... I cannot. The problem is with breeding for the show ring rather than the show ring success being a result of sound breeding for a purpose.
Reg: 07-27-2009
Posts: 1421
Loc: Southern California
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I never really understood breeding for conformation to begin with. Not because the dogs end up looking like Quasimodo, but because it doesn't prove anything to me.
I understand that function follows form, as the grandfather clause (so to speak) feels. But running dogs around a ring and letting people touch them doesn't prove anything about temperament and working ability to me. The dogs don't even look like they're having fun.
Jamie Craig Webboard User Reg: 09-01-2009
Posts: 986
Loc: Munroe Falls, OH
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So far it's depressed me....I mean a lot of the dogs are um.....eek -_-
I also hate the "and (breed) was a breed use for (disicipline). The (insert odd conformational thing that clearly impacts the health of the dog) is essential to (work the dog can no longer perform) and is carefully selected for)
I'd love to see those fat little bow legged bulldogs actually bait a bull (well not really.....but perform an action that would require the same athleticism)
Kiersten Lippman Webboard User Reg: 09-28-2009
Posts: 487
Loc: Alaska
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When I found/rescued my shepherd I was very happy to see her straight back end. I've seen people in town walking the showline shepherds- 100 lbers with horrible back ends. It looks so uncomfortable. The hock is parallel to the ground. Makes for a very poor gait, in my opinion, and in that of the dog, I'm sure. I don't think this type of angulation standard has been applied to show malinois though? I wish I knew why they pushed it to this extreme angulation for show shepherds. Bad for the breed.
I'm glad to read this. My husband and I TIVO'd the show, and kept replaying that GSD part. Even showed it to the kids. It looked horrible and painful. That cannot be humane, if you think about it. How judges and breeders can turn a blind eye to those kinds of practices that create an essentially crippled animal for the sake of an "standard" is beyond me. You'd think the standard would disqualify any dog put in peril like that. But like much in world, priorities are screwed up and backward.
Kristel Smart Webboard User Reg: 10-03-2006
Posts: 1548
Loc: Vermont
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Quote: jamie craig
I also hate the "and (breed) was a breed use for (disicipline). The (insert odd conformational thing that clearly impacts the health of the dog) is essential to (work the dog can no longer perform) and is carefully selected for)
That part really gets to me too.
I can't remember if it was Westminster or another show, but I remember hearing one commentator ask another (who was the 'expert') why the GSD's back had such an extreme slope. The answer was "It helps him to keep his head low so he's better able to watch the sheep" Wha.......?!
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It doesn't look smooth to me, it looks like it's uncomfortable to move. 
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