# Please critique my 7.5 month old GSD male



## AdityaPanda

Hello folks,

This is my first post on this forum. This is my 7.5 month old GSD male, Bill, weighing about 30 kgs and just shy of 65 cms. I have my own opinion about his flaws and assets, but I would really value honest critique and advise here.

This is his best stack I have managed yet. Unfortunately the head was turned away, so I have attached a head shot too.

Cheers,
Aditya


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## Persinette

Very handsome. I'm sure others with experience will give you great information. I do not have the knowledge to give you an insightful assessment. Beautiful boy though, I'm sure he's a great dog.


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## AdityaPanda

Persinette said:


> Very handsome. I'm sure others with experience will give you great information. I do not have the knowledge to give you an insightful assessment. Beautiful boy though, I'm sure he's a great dog.


Thanks so much


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## TEZPUR1976

Dear Aditya,

Are u sure your boy is 7.5 months only? If indeed so, I think you may want to slow down his rate of growth. Your boy has still some more left in him in terms of growth.
Height will increase up to 10 to 12 month.

Please refer to the SV breed standard. 

If you are serious about showing your dog, then oversize is a disqualifying fault (I know of a very well known breeder from North East India whose dog got disqualified because of oversize).

Of course if u have no ambition of showing, then really the height does not matter so much.


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## Lobo dog

Her dog is only 66lbs and 25" tall. If she was over feeding it would show in his weight not his height. Height is genetic. 

OP I think your dog is gorgeous and looks very mature for 7.5 months


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## harrisbrown99

He is beautiful, he has great posture, I don't see nothing wrong on the pictures


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## TEZPUR1976

I said "I think you may want to slow down his rate of growth".

I refer to change in type of food. Shifting from high growth puppy food formula to adult gsd food 

or feeding a mix of puppy food and home cooked food.

I never said that the pup looks overfed. 

Clearly its a WGSL dog ( i will be surprised if i am wrong). 

SV standard for males are 60-65 cm (see German Shepherds » SV Standard)

Aditya's dog is 65 cm (as mentioned) i.e. 25.5906 INCHES already, which is the upper limit of the breed standard


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## Lobo dog

TEZPUR1976 said:


> I said "I think you may want to slow down his rate of growth".
> 
> I refer to change in type of food. Shifting from high growth puppy food formula to adult gsd food
> 
> or feeding a mix of puppy food and home cooked food.
> 
> I never said that the pup looks overfed.
> 
> Clearly its a WGSL dog ( i will be surprised if i am wrong).
> 
> SV standard for males are 60-65 cm (see German Shepherds » SV Standard)
> 
> Aditya's dog is 65 cm (as mentioned) i.e. 25.5906 INCHES already, which is the upper limit of the breed standard


Yes, I know the standard







Thank you for making yourself clear. I misunderstood what you where saying in you original comment, I thought you might have been nicely telling her that she needed to cut back on his food  

OP if your boy is still being fed puppy food I too would recommend switching to an adult formula. We switch Lobo's food when he was 7 months and his growth definitely slowed down.


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## AdityaPanda

Thank you everyone for taking the effort to give your views. Much appreciated!

@ TEZPUR1976: Yes, he is on the verge of 65 cms, and I am hoping that he doesn't grow any taller. If he does grow, I hope he won't breach the 66cm acceptable upper breach. I would rather that he add some length on him. And yes, he is being raised for the ring, so I very much intend him to be a show dog 

These are his great grand sires below. I can't provide links to other dogs in his pedigree as they haven't all been uploaded on PDB.

SG24 JKLR BSZS 2010 Dario von der Piste Trophe
VA3 Dux de Cuatro Flores
SG (OOTY SPECIALITY) Eros von der Forstkammer
Umax of Dogmatix

@ Lobo: Thanks so much 

He is a raw fed dog. He was kept on puppy food for the first five and a half months of his life, but I switched to raw at about six months and intend to keep it that way.

@ harrisbrown99: Thanks a bunch!


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## AdityaPanda

Lobo dog said:


> Her dog is only 66lbs and 25" tall. If she was over feeding it would show in his weight not his height. Height is genetic.


Btw, I'm a he


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## paradoxlnx

Make sure you don't push his growth too hard.
He is quite large at this time.

Are you sure he is only 7.5months old?

My oldest is 1.5years now and he is 70cm - 47kg.
He is a bit out of scope but even he wasn't this tall at that age.

Also, what confuses me is the height vs weight ratio.
You should be able to see his ribs coming through his coat.


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## AdityaPanda

paradoxlnx said:


> Make sure you don't push his growth too hard.
> He is quite large at this time.
> 
> Are you sure he is only 7.5months old?
> 
> My oldest is 1.5years now and he is 70cm - 47kg.
> He is a bit out of scope but even he wasn't this tall at that age.
> 
> Also, what confuses me is the height vs weight ratio.
> You should be able to see his ribs coming through his coat.


Thanks. He was born on 19th October 2014. This picture was taken on 8th June. His breeder is someone I know since a decade so there's no doubt about the authenticity of his whelping date.

I measured him again right now, and he is somewhere between 64.5 and 64.7 cms. I really hope he won't breach 66!

As for his height-weight ratio, he is in fact a bit skinny. His hip bones stick out a bit.


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## Debanneball

Your boy is very handsome! Good luck with the 'shows'!


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## TEZPUR1976

You got great dogs in the pedigree of your boy. I was a big fan of Eros, owned by Mr. Nityanadth of Kingsland kennel in ooty. Overall there is substantial influence of Zamb V D Wienerau and Jeck von Noricum. All the best for the show.

Are u trying puppy class first?


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## AdityaPanda

Debanneball said:


> Your boy is very handsome! Good luck with the 'shows'!


Thanks!


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## AdityaPanda

TEZPUR1976 said:


> You got great dogs in the pedigree of your boy. I was a big fan of Eros, owned by Mr. Nityanadth of Kingsland kennel in ooty. Overall there is substantial influence of Zamb V D Wienerau and Jeck von Noricum. All the best for the show.
> 
> Are u trying puppy class first?


Yes, I love dogs like Eros. They are show dogs, yes. But they have the core of a working dog. That's exactly what I seek in a GSD. I had become very disappointed with the breed for the past decade or so as the GSDs I had seen and fallen in love with as a boy no longer existed when I was old enough to have my own dogs. All the GSDs I saw in India in the last decade had weak backs and lifeless hindquarters. It is very heartening to see (some) breeders and (some) judges once again encouraging physically and mentally robust, anatomicaly balanced GSDs without exaggerated features. That's the kind of GSD I want to own, show and eventually breed.

I don't think I'll have time to exhibit him in puppy class. I had registered for the Ooty show, but cancelled my tickets at the last minute as he started shedding. He turns 12 months old in October and there aren't any good shows before that. There's Hyderabad Championship Show and Calicut GSD specialty in November, but I think he will debut on home ground at the Bhubaneswar GSD specialty show in December--It's our 50th anniversary show and I can assure you it's going to be huge. We're expecting approximately 200 GSDs. Please be there!


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## TEZPUR1976

Dear Adi (if I may call you so) all the best for your debut. 

We need people like you to start breeding good dogs in India. 

I have one request or demand. As when when you breed please emphasize of 
preserving the drives along with correct anatomy.

When I talk to breeders in our country every body emphasize on structure and movement.

I am pained to tell you that when I told some breeders that I want an high drive pup, they did not have a clue. In one particular case I had to explain the term "prey drive" to the breeder.

My best wishes for all your future endeavors.


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## AdityaPanda

TEZPUR1976 said:


> Dear Adi (if I may call you so) all the best for your debut.
> 
> We need people like you to start breeding good dogs in India.
> 
> I have one request or demand. As when when you breed please emphasize of
> preserving the drives along with correct anatomy.
> 
> When I talk to breeders in our country every body emphasize on structure and movement.
> 
> I am pained to tell you that when I told some breeders that I want an high drive pup, they did not have a clue. In one particular case I had to explain the term "prey drive" to the breeder.
> 
> My best wishes for all your future endeavors.


Please do call me Adi!

As for our dogs, it's an unfortunate fact that most show owners/breeders don't give a **** about temperament and prey drive in their dogs. They talk of "structure" and "movement" but many don't have any idea about those either. Most GSDs here 'loose' and weak in their joints here, as you surely have noticed in many shows. Comparatively higher importance is being given by many to pigmentation and size of head (often at the loss of balance).

I'm fortunate to have a dog with not only the anatomy I sought, but also extremely high prey drive.

You will be happy to know that we have started India's first (and only) Obedience & Agility Club at Bhubaneswar and are taking baby steps towards making schutzhund a popular sport here. The agenda is that GSDs in India should also eventually need to be schutzhunds to compete in specialty shows. Obviously, some breeders/exhibitors might not like the idea!


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## TEZPUR1976

Great. Please contact Mr. Sachin Rawte a veteran trainer and breeder (mostly of malinois) in your endeavor. Recently Sachin represented team India in iNTERANTIONAL IPO championship held in Czech republic with his dog Segar. You will find some of the pics in Sachin&Segar in pictures forum.

All the best


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## AdityaPanda

TEZPUR1976 said:


> Great. Please contact Mr. Sachin Rawte a veteran trainer and breeder (mostly of malinois) in your endeavor. Recently Sachin represented team India in iNTERANTIONAL IPO championship held in Czech republic with his dog Segar. You will find some of the pics in Sachin&Segar in pictures forum.
> 
> All the best


Great! I have been hearing about this duo and am very keen to get in touch with them!


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