Bit of a shame really but in a way I suppose its just a reflection of peoples passion in the breed for different reasons and it shows in the dogs being bred. I do think that it is a shame though. Given the sheer number of GSD in the UK, that many you meet 'out and about' wouldnt even make it into a normal, basic training class without stress...but then I think that is most likely dogs from neither the show or working line breeders (or even good pet home/hobby breeders IMHO) I suppose all breeds suffer from fashion to some extent. Good luck working Kofi
The actual colour of a GSD should not matter as long as its not white.The vital thing is they should have an undercoat. Don't know about Italy but in the 60 years I've been showing I've shown a bi-colour & a my friend showed a black & I have many friends who show sables. Many of the top breeders work their dogs especially now when they need a working qualification to show abroad.
Hes gorgeous. I would love to one day do working trials with a GSD. I think its amazing, is there anywhere where i could just go watch them in action
Here is a list of most of the dates and societies running WT this year. http://www.workingtrialsmonthly.co.uk/societies.html I see you live in Leics so Flintham is on this weekend and fairly near you. Or Midland Counties at Walesby later on. I am judging the ticket at Surrey next week!
SURREY DOG TRAINING SOCIETY CHAMPIONSHIP WORKING TRIAL 12th – 16th April 2011 At: Okewood Hill Village Hall, Nr. Ockley, Surrey. RH5 5PU. Tracking is taking place Wed/Thu/Fri and C & A on Saturday, spectators welcome.
Took a couple of nice pictures of the Kofi puppy this morning, so thought I would add them to this thread. Does nobody else have a sable to show off?!
Here's mine - she's only a little darker since I took her on a year ago but she's just blowing her coat and she's a mass of fluff and fur right now. I'd definitely do WT with her if it wasn't for the state of her hips. Jenzi (dob - 07/01/2010) Jenzi with Yiannis Jenzi & Tess Custard & Jenzi
Jenzi is gorgeous! What is her story? Was she a rescue? I'm sorry to hear about her hips, my last GSD had HD. :-(
I did kind of rescue her. Someone I was at Uni with (first time round about 18 years ago) and kept in touch with had a friend who works with Mic Martin and was looking to rehome his sable bitch puppy (Jenzi). I went down to Hertfordshire to pick her up as to begin with she had a home in Walsall, about 10 miles out of Birmingham. The new owners were supposed to come and pick her up the following day but didn't turn up. After many phone calls and promises, they still didn't come for her so she stayed. I wasn't looking for another dog but I'm a sucker for GSDs anyway and having never owned a sable, was happy for her to stay. When I first had her (at 16 weeks old) she weighed 27Kg and rolled from side to side as opposed to wobbled when she walked. I put this down to the excess weight she was carrying. As she lost weight her hips seemed to be a funny shape and she still "rolled" from side to side as she walked. Also, on walks, at playtime, during training etc she'd sit down and not move when her hips were bothering her so I decided to train her as I have the others and if she'd had enough, we stopped. I left it to Jenzi to decide when she didn't want to carry on which was difficult at best because she's so active mentally. She needs far more stimulation than my other GSDs. She originally came from kennels in Oxfordshire and I was promised her paperwork but it never arrived. I was also told she was from working lines which doesn't really make a lot of difference to me but I would have liked to do WT with her. I followed up her paperwork and spent a few months contacting many breeders (some of whom I'm still in touch with and now quite good friends with) but got nowhere. So that's basically it. I can still do obedience with her but I've done that with my other dogs so there's no attraction with obedience for me as there is with WT. Jenzi goes swimming twice a week and has built up a fair amount of muscle tone. She's started to play for longer with the other dogs and can easily outrun Yiannis (she stands no chance with Zane or Tashi). She's also starting to jump up which although I don't allow them to do this I'm kind of pleased. For me, it shows that her back legs are stronger now. She also jumps onto the furniture a lot more easily when invited onto the sofa whereas she used to sit and cry until I lifted her up. To be honest I do think she was kept deliberately overweight to hide her hips which are visibly malformed. It's not the sort of thing that would put me off taking on a dog but I could understand if someone decided not to take ont he hassle of x-rays, possible operations, a lot of pain and discomfort for the dog on a daily basis etc. So I'm very pleased her new owners didn't bother to turn up for her. She's settled in extremely well and bosses the boys about.
She is lovely and certainly looks like working lines. That is such a shame about her hips. Thank goodness she found her way into your loving home! Edited to add, could you still do WT with her but just not do the jumps? It sounds like she would enjoy the tracking and search squares etc
Here's my friends dog Elsa. She was rescued from an awful pplace and is still very nervous of people and is terribly hand shy. She is a darling though
Hi , i LIVE IN UK AND MY Friends have the pepnick lines, some of them have died now but i know of a few people who've had the pepnick lines!
You can see lots of pics of Zara here... just click on the thumb nail.. http://www.flickr.com/photos/robynlewisphotography/sets/72157614017810344/with/5261676756/
GSDlover4ever your pictures are great! Love the one of the footprints, I'd love something like that for myself. The picture of Zara and Jake made me and my OH laugh! Licking her lips like that, while looking at the dear old bunny! I love it! Just out of interest though, am I going blind, is it the photo or are his ears a bit short??? But really she is gorgeous! What makes a sable coat? Being daft I know, but seriously have no idea? These dogs don't look grey? Am I just being daft again? Sorry, but they all look gorgeous, I just have no idea lol
It's one of my favourits as well. Although it took my about 30 minutes to get that images....Zara had a mad moment... running around like a loon and digging the sand lol Lol, Jake (bunnie) was one of Zaras buddies... they use to play a lot together... I took that image about 5 years ago before I was into photography lol Oh and yes, Jake had one and a half ears... Half of his ear fell off... Long story! The undercoat for a sable is a light cream colour, however the outer hairs/ tips are black. If you looked at a black and tan dog the under coat hairs would be the same as the outer coat hairs.
like the photo up Ben Lomond! Like her harness too, which one is that? She looks great coming out the water.