# Conformation Judges



## GranvilleGSD (Mar 28, 2007)

My West German/DDR puppy will be 6 months soon and I'd like to show him in AKC conformation. Anybody know which judges favor a more german type dog? He is a sable male.


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## Xeph (Jun 19, 2005)

No idea, but watching Berlin fetch his paper was awesome and hilarious! No better breed xD


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## mkennels (Feb 12, 2008)

I don't know of any akc judges that like the working lines of the shepherd


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## mkennels (Feb 12, 2008)

by the way looked at your site he is a handsome boy and an impressive predigree


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## Andaka (Jun 29, 2003)

I'll have to do some thinking about judges, but I do have some other suggestions.

I would show him inside in small rings -- that way the more extreme dogs he may be showing against will be at a disadvantage. They need larger rings with good traction to not look sloppy -- your boy will look nice and balanced and in control of himself, giving you a leg up on the competition.


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## GranvilleGSD (Mar 28, 2007)

I don't do much traveling for shows, so I hit the local ones. They are usually inside in small rings, so that should be no problem for us.

Thanks, Berlin is a great pup. He's having a hard time with the paper right now since he lost all of his baby canines and his adult ones aren't all the way in yet. He picks it up and it goes flying out of his mouth in the other direction.


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## chruby (Sep 21, 2005)

> Originally Posted By: AndakaI'll have to do some thinking about judges, but I do have some other suggestions.
> 
> I would show him inside in small rings -- that way the more extreme dogs he may be showing against will be at a disadvantage. They need larger rings with good traction to not look sloppy -- your boy will look nice and balanced and in control of himself, giving you a leg up on the competition.


Daphne, good tip....never thought of that but it sure makes sense.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

When I was showing my ddr/am showline male ,,quite a few years ago I might mention,,he did well in all breed shows, he most likely wouldn't have been looked at twice in specialities, we did, as daphne suggested,,small inside rings and a few outside ones,,

Dodge was always the 'best man' never the groom ) in that, whenever he showed he always took a Reserve. I did it for the learning experience more so, than the 'win', showed him until he was around 3 and then moved on to other things..

Good luck,,it was definately a learning experience )


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## kleinenHain (Sep 20, 2007)

Harlowe Jahelka

I've shown Max in AKC obedience under this Judge a few times and every time he came to me after and told me I really need to get Max in AKC conformation and that he is one of the Judges for that. This is a picture of Max, he is all working lines.











I have shown Max in UKC conformation where he earned winning points against a American bred male.


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## GranvilleGSD (Mar 28, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: kleinenHainI have shown Max in UKC conformation where he earned winning points against a American bred male.


UKC Conformation "usually" prefers working line dogs. Max is very handsome and looks like my Berlin will probably look when he matures. Conformation is not my main sport, but I enjoy it, never been to a specialty show, somehow I always miss it, usually show in the local all-breed shows.


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## kleinenHain (Sep 20, 2007)

I'm the same way, not my main focus. I'm working more in obedience and agility but it was fun.


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## mjbgsd (Jun 29, 2004)

This would be nice to know since I plan on showing my working line in conformation, Akbar, at AKC shows too. Of course, like Jakoda said, I'd do it just for experience but also to have "strangers" "pet" him. A good "social" experience for him.








I'm more of a "performance" person then a "showing" person but it would be interesting to bring a working line into the show ring.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Missy I did puppy matches with Nikon for socialization. They are much cheaper than regular shows! The last one, he beat the American line dog in an AKC match, hehe. Now that he's maturing we'll focus on UKC. I want the experience too but I don't want to pay all that money and know I'm never going to get a nod from the judge.


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## mjbgsd (Jun 29, 2004)

I've thought a lot about that too but having the "knowing" that you have a dog in the ring that DOES work, just feels great.








I know when I stand by the GSD ring with Isa, I get MANY compliments from the public on how good Isa looks compared to the other dogs in the ring, even the vendors at dogs shows around here, are some of my good friends, comment on how good Isa looks compared to the GSDs in the ring. I don't have anything against most AM lines but the majority just don't walk or even have a temperament like a GSD, most are too weak. But I appluad those few AM lines that do performance events, not just "jogging" around the ring. Cody is half american half german and he is one of the best obedience dogs I have known, and I love him, but sadly he has arthritis.







But, I have only seen a few AM lines in person that I have liked, and that's not that many. Seeing a dog's picture and seeing them in person are two different things IMO. Here I go again blabbing to much...
Back on topic, I was thinking of going to handling classes run by a known handler, Penny King. She's very nice and taught me how to stack and work with Isa when she was a pup. 
Did you ever take handling classes?


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## GranvilleGSD (Mar 28, 2007)

I took handling classes when I first started out. They were very helpful for getting used to ring procedures, and for getting the dog used to being stacked and handled by the judge. They had some big mirrors along the bottom portion of the walls too so you could see how you were stacking your dog. That was extremely helpful, as each stack can look totally different and can either get you placed, or dumped.


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## GranvilleGSD (Mar 28, 2007)

As an experiment today, I went outside to take some stacked pictures for comparison purposes. I will post them tomorrow, since my digital camera is broken I had to take the pictures the old fashioned way, so they'll get developed in the morning. I did some conservative stacks that would be appropriate for the German ring, and some more extreme stacks that would be more appropriate for the AKC ring. While stacking doesn't change the conformation of the dog, it certainly changes the appearance.

I learned a lot from my photo session today! I think if I show my female in AKC anymore, I will work on the extreme stack, although I think in a ring her foot may slide, she had pretty good traction in the grass.

Now, hopefully these photos turned out... We'll know tomorrow, but they looked pretty good while I was taking them


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Once I was trying to get a stacked pic of Nikon, got him totally over stretched (IMO) but an Am line show person who has been helping me with some conformation things thought it was the best pic! It's amazing how much a single stack can change the appearance of the dog.


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## GranvilleGSD (Mar 28, 2007)

Got my stacked photos. Figured it was more appropriate to start a new thread. http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1015881&page=1#Post1015881


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## mjbgsd (Jun 29, 2004)

> Quote:It's amazing how much a single stack can change the appearance of the dog.


Isn't that the truth! I can stack Cody with a major sloping back or have a completely straight back, I guess it helps to have American with his German, lol.


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