# Considering showing my Eastern European GSD.



## chryanna (Sep 9, 2012)

Hi, 

I adopted a 5 month old female GSD from an individual who had gotten her from a breeder and just wasn't ready for dog ownership. She's a year now, and she's just incredible. She's so sharp and sweet (though a little whiney  She's passed her Canine Good Citizen Test, and won several minor rally and obedience competitions. She's also doing really, really well in tracking. She's really just a delight.

I've considered breeding her, but I don't want to do it unless she's an excellent, healthy example of the breed and her puppies would be healthy and have a good chance of ending up in happy homes. I've had her screened for genetic diseases and her PennHip score came back in the 90th percentile.

I am considering trying to get her an AKC title, but I wonder if this is even likely. So many of the German Shepherds I see look nothing like her. She's very petite- barely the breed standard for height and about 60 pounds, with a sable coat. Her back doesn't slope at all, which is so unlike most GSDs I see in the US. I know both her parents were brought over from the Czech Republic and have Schutzhund titles. I know working dogs aren't the same as show dogs. But I don't really even know other people who have competed in dog shows. Is this something she's even likely to do well at?

Finally, she has two other potential faults (that I'm aware of). I was wondering how significantly they would affect her scoring:

She has a mole underneath her chin with whiskers. I think most dogs have it. But just want to make sure. It's not her prettiest feature  

She hits the ground so hard when she lays down, she has a hygroma on her elbow. I've been told it's not serious and is probably curable, but sometimes isn't. Her coat is also a little sparser in the impact area. 

I know this is a pretty lengthy post, and I am starting from the beginning, so any tips you have or if you can point me to any sort of beginner's guide, I'd really welcome it.

Thanks!


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I'm assuming your talking about showing her in the conformation ring?

Is she AKC registered? If I were you, I'd be going for obedience/rally/tracking maybe try agility titles and then see how that pans out.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Are you talking about AKC conformation showing? If so, she probably wouldn't place that well because she's not the "type" you typically see at AKC shows. That doesn't mean you can't do it, and some people with working line GSDs do, but most don't bother spending the money for shows when there are so many other things they can compete in with their dogs. 

She sounds like a lovely girl though! I have a sable working line girl that's about 60 pounds too, and she's also got nice sturdy structure without the slope that's common in the American lines, which are mostly what's represented at AKC shows. We do flyball, dock diving, and nosework.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

send pictures and pedigree


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

Cassidy's Mom said:


> Are you talking about AKC conformation showing? If so, she probably wouldn't place that well because she's not the "type" you typically see at AKC shows. That doesn't mean you can't do it, and some people with working line GSDs do, but most don't bother spending the money for shows when there are so many other things they can compete in with their dogs.


:thumbup:

You might be able to show her in a better capacity in the SV venues. She could get ok placing there. You will see many working dogs with show ratings from the SV.


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## chryanna (Sep 9, 2012)

Thanks! I was talking about conformation showings and I suspected she might not do so well. I don't know much about it, but I have seen pictures of the winners, and they never look like Addy  

To answer, she is AKC registered, but I'm probably not going to look to the dog shows for now. It's more fun sticking with the dogsports anyway  But I really do appreciate the feedback.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Wait, wait....AKC is not the *only* legit conformation venue! I show dogs in UKC and SV. I've shown a sable dog and a WGSL (bred in Germany) in both. Just because the dog is not an American show line type does not mean you cannot show her. My 50lb GSD bitch was a UKC Champion.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

Definitely keep her in dog sports and look into conformation showing in SV shows. Skip the AKC conformation shows as you would be very disappointed. She sounds like you are having a blast with her and she sounds just perfect for a workingline dog, that's why she should be shown in an SV show where the other workingline dogs are.

Workingline dogs should be breed surveyed - which again requires showing in SV - and have working titles. You are doing tracking with her, have you thought about looking into SchH?


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

I think it is a great idea to do this so people can see the different types.


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

AKC Conformation is not as fun as Obedience and Agility! You could certainly enter her, as long as you don't expect to win. I did it with my working line puppy bitch, it was a good experience, but I wouldn't bother doing it again. Conformation just isn't my thing.



chryanna said:


> She has a mole underneath her chin with whiskers. I think most dogs have it. But just want to make sure. It's not her prettiest feature
> 
> She hits the ground so hard when she lays down, she has a hygroma on her elbow. I've been told it's not serious and is probably curable, but sometimes isn't. Her coat is also a little sparser in the impact area.


All dogs have the mole. The hygroma is not anything I'd worry about, they are pretty common, and not indicative of any health problem. If you want, you could rub coconut oil or lanolin onto the callus to soften it, and perhaps encourage the hair to grow back.


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