Tapferhund

Troy, sorry you feel that way. Personally, and I would say some of the others feel the same way, I don't see 'petty squabbling' or politics at all. SURELY people can have a discussion /debate , even a slightly warm (not heated) one without threats of being banned , kicked off all the time. You can kick me off if you like, as I rarely visit DOL these days anyway ....actually due to the fact I don't find it as fair , or you as fair minded as you used to be in the past......but then again the whole country is becoming less and less accepting/tolerant of freedom of speech and democracy in general....so its only natural I guess for that intolerance to flow over into every corner of our lives including the least important area ....forums and those who run them. Sorry if that upsets you but as a still free , at least for the moment, Australian, its how I feel.....and I should be allowed to say that without threats of my membership going. But like I said, kick me off if you like...its neither here nor there for me really as I have only been a member for a short eight years. cheers :)

99.9% of the time you can pick the longcoats when they are just a couple of days old....with the remaining 1% by the time they are a week old . Where Angelsun gets 6 weeks old ????is beyond me? She doesn't know Shepherds at all !!!

I think what you need to realise Angelsun is these dogs you are talking about such as "a rise in the centre of the spine, weak in the rear, step on their hocks, wobble with great abandon and constantly stumble" are not what specialty breeders are aiming to breed. Like ALL dogs in the ring none are perfect and all have faults. Now take the German Pinscher for example. Their breed standard states that the forequarters should form an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the horizontal. I have had alook at a few Pincsher breeders webpages both here and overseas and nearly every photo shows dogs whom are practically straight in front with no angulation....it looks as though there forequarters are an extension of their ears....now I could go on about how cruel you Pinscher breeders are for breeding dogs with straight fronts but that would be just stupid now wouldn't it. I am not denying Shepherds need improvements in some areas but take a look at the German Seiger winner from 2011 and go onto the gsdcv website and you will see the top dogs that are winning are not weak in the rear, dont have a rise in the centre of the spine and dont wobble with great abandon! All you are doing is looking at the dogs at the end of the line and being a dramaqueen! Spot On post !

GSD's have one standard of perfection...I"ve never seen in the written word, where it calls for a rise in the centre of the spine...unless this has been a recent addition promoted by the specialty clubs? As for falling over...clearly you've not done or seen enough specialty events...it's sort of like tipping cows...fun but not very nice really. I"ll find some video of dogs that are so weak in the rear during a walk, they step on their hocks, wobble with great abandon and constantly stumble...these have gone on to win groups/bis etc....because few judges walk the dogs, or if they do, pay attention to the weakness. Way back when.... showed a young dog with sickle hocks....he constantly stumbled during a walk. He could only be stacked a certain way or he would quite simply fall over. He won the group as an adult (still had these issues) and did very well in the puppy ring when younger. Sorry to disagree, but this happens a LOT....the only good thing about this boy was his exceptional head and that he did not have a roach in the spine. "Happens a LOT" ? Yeahhh right ;) AngElsun, I think the E in your username stands for EXAGGERATE :laugh: Seeing as your avatar is a German Pinscher.......I would assume YOU would be the one not attending EVERY GSD specialty show??? The others posting on here pretty much DO ....attend every specialty show there is....so I would imagine they know and see more in what's correct and not correct than you do when it comes to Shepherds. Yes, there are some not so good specimens of the breed...but that can be said of ANY breed including Pinschers . I am sure there are Pinschers out there being shown that have obvious faults...and I am sure there are judges that put them up over better dogs too. It might not happen overnight , but at least with our Shepherds, most specialist judges, along with most breeders , are aware of and recognize problems and set out to correct those problems .

I agree with this.....and then breeders/puppy farms/pet shops should be forced to take responsibility for dogs no longer wanted by their buyers (owners). Then the pounds these dogs usually end up in could be eliminated.

Attacks by these breeds (bull breed type) are happening far more than we are hearing about. Only the other day a friend was walking her old Kelpie on lead along the beach..when a "brindle coloured square headed thing" , as she described it, came from nowhere and latched on the Kelpie and did a bit of damage to his leg/hip area. The owner of the BCSHT was not far away and couldn't have cared less. My friend had no idea who the guy was..never seen him or his dog before in the area. The guy wouldn't give his name...didn't even apologize. Just grabbed his dog and left....leaving her with an injured dog and a hefty vet bill. With the amount of attacks lately , most by bull breeds or crosses thereof ..these damned people of these damned out of control dogs NEVER learn. You would think they would be extra ultra careful when out in public.......but it seems not.

EXACTLY! Well said toy dog...and its typically Govt thinking...stupid and cunning at the same time.

I just wonder about the word "Illegal" ...as I doubt the greater majority of these horrible farms NOW in operation would not be legally registered businesses.........and therefore will be continuing as usual. If this is the case.....then nothing has changed...has it?!

okay ! As soon as I find out anymore I will let you know !

Actually, that's happening in a few places including mine and including me. I am starting to think twice about walking around our area as we have a fair few dogs wandering or on front lawns of peoples propertys..and when you walk past (need I say more :rolleyes: ),,,so, now with the new laws and me having Shepherds...if anything happened...my dogs , on lead, would get the blame and could be declared dangerous...so I don't think I will be walking anymore. Instead I will do what others are doing and for much of the same reasons.....drive to a park and give the dogs a run instead.

I have no idea. For the moment I am trying to find out from others who were also there if that is exactly what was said as I want to double check first before I start contacting my State and Fed members. If i find out more I will post.

With a 4 million human population and with a possible 1 million dog owners/dogs(?) within that...there would have to be bites happening from time to time......but now with that child being bitten and dying a few weeks ago....the media are going to JUMP on every single little thing they hear in regard to someone (or dog) being bitten. I heard something today which is frightening. The source of this information is highly regarded both in the dog world and within Govt's. The Vic Govt is planning on adding MANY other breeds to the list including GSDs Rotties, Dobes...AND they are working towards a total ban on the breeding of all dogs as well as the stopping of dog interests such as in showing dogs...for the eventual outcome of no dogs in Victoria once those who are alive now have died out. This I believe is on paper now and is being kept on the QT from everyone finding out so they can bring it into eventual fruition . I think we all need to band together...every dog owner possible....to fight this! I knew this would happen ( I am almost in tears reading this. I was srsly thinking of getting another GSD for my boy but i don't think i will bother now. How many yrs till the gov brings this in? QLD is sure to follow ( Get one! To not is giving in and giving up ! FIGHT! Get another Shepherd and FIGHT for the breed and your right to have them.

That's funny ! One of the nicest looking PB's I have seen was all white ! The owner used to walk it with a chain collar so thick it would pull a ship (chain that is...not the dog)LOL

This does not work when one dog pretty much fits in the other dog's mouth. Go the boot people. I'd happily lose a leg to save one of my dogs.. my hands are very much a part of my living. That's actually the correct thing to do....go in with the boot and kick like hell. Never go in with arms or have your face close.

With a 4 million human population and with a possible 1 million dog owners/dogs(?) within that...there would have to be bites happening from time to time......but now with that child being bitten and dying a few weeks ago....the media are going to JUMP on every single little thing they hear in regard to someone (or dog) being bitten. I heard something today which is frightening. The source of this information is highly regarded both in the dog world and within Govt's. The Vic Govt is planning on adding MANY other breeds to the list including GSDs Rotties, Dobes...AND they are working towards a total ban on the breeding of all dogs as well as the stopping of dog interests such as in showing dogs...for the eventual outcome of no dogs in Victoria once those who are alive now have died out. This I believe is on paper now and is being kept on the QT from everyone finding out so they can bring it into eventual fruition . I think we all need to band together...every dog owner possible....to fight this!