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Posted By: Paulie Posted On: Feb 6, 2012 Views: 837	Preferred Breed type Usually at shows one will see dogs that have what I will call "extreme breed type" or some others may say "overdone". I myself, love the look of extreme breed type vs "commom" anyday, but I do believe some Judges do not know what to do with this "extreme type" even some of our "Breeder Judges" do not recognize or reward it. If we are placing blame, yes, the Judge, for not knowing, gets first finger point, however, the breeders/exhibitors also need to take a good hard look at what they are "Promoting." Our breed is in trouble..bad fronts, small danes & lacking bone & substance, ring tails, lack of angles...
Posted By: Practice what we are preaching Posted On: Feb 3, 2012 Views: 876	preferred breed type Wow, so many people are in agreement with this article. My qeustion then would be. Is the standard that vague, that we have so many different looks of danes in the ring. If thats the case then we need to strentgh the verbage. If you answer it isnt that vague then we need to start practicing what we preach. The problem, in my opnion is that when a dog hits the top 5, everyone and their sister breed to him, like the flavour of the month club. They start to look past the light eyes, the long muzzle , the sloaping top line. Unfortunately the person with the most money whom can advertize all over and has the most recognizable handler is usually the the winner...Thats why our breed as all breeds are in the state they are... oh yea and then you here comments like well I love him he is my dog,..... that fine but where is the word DOG MUST BE LOVED IN THE STANDARD..
Posted By: anonymous Posted On: Jan 30, 2012 Views: 934	breed standard I rarely comment on forums..but..I felt compelled to respond on this topic. I am still very much a newcomer to this sport ( only six years) but I feel that politics will probably be the end to those of us who own a quality dog or bitch that do not play into that game.I am a very keen observer at shows, mainly to soak up knowledge and learn as much as I can, and, I cannot believe the absolute inconsistency of some judges.When placing class dogs and bitches, they will reward the winner with a solid topline, pretty headpiece, nice mover and conformationally correct. However, in the specials ring, it is often quite obvious that they are picking "faces" and not even looking at the other end of the leash because the breed standard that they held to the class animals does not carry over to the specials. Not only is it discouraging, but it does not look good for our breed, or any breed now, or in the future.
Posted By: Loren Bengston Posted On: Jan 16, 2012 Views: 992	Best Dog Can Be A Loser As a person who is an owner handler, it certainly becomes frustrating when you see so many handlers put up for the points and breed over dogs that are obviously more to our standard. You hear the comments outside the ring by others and even some judges, but then when those judges get in the ring they do the same thing. I have seen this happen several times and I just shake my head. I think that all judges should go through "refresher classes" just as teachers have to go to classes in order to become recertified (every three years). This too would keep them more on top of the standard not the flavor of the month. I too agree that people should learn which judges put up the dogs that fit the standard and NOT the flavor of the month. Maybe the clubs who notice the lack of entries under those judges will stop hiring them. It takes a village to win this "battle". We all love our breed we all just need to stay true to the standard. We all make mistakes, we just shouldn't perpetuate the problem.
Posted By: Caron Posted On: Jan 15, 2012 Views: 1014	Best dog does not win I think several of us have said "Favors or "Politics. No, it is nothing new, we are all awake but wish it would not happen...it only hurts our breed. It is an unfortunate fact mediocrity wins.. Perhaps those of us that are breeding need to ask ourselves honestly when placing dogs in "show homes" the question, is this truly what I want out there representing? Then, if mediocre is not in the ring, mediocre can't win. I, myself, in 25 + years in this breed have never bred to the flavor of the month or the big winner..My eye tends to look at other things when I am selecting an outside stud but we are all different & beauty & correct lies in the eye of the beholder (Judge) which is why a dog can win one day & not even be in the ribbons the next,,,we have all seen it.
Posted By: opinionated Posted On: Jan 15, 2012 Views: 972	Gina's comments Gina, I agree with you. I think most people do. It's not a matter of "waking up and smelling the roses" as most of us have learned this lesson years ago. I have been in this "sport" for almost a decade. If we were to go to ONLY judges who put up soley on the merits of the dog there would be very few shows to attend. Also, some judges may have politics on the agenda where an old time friend is handling but not at a show where no friends are handling. They may have politics on their mind at a Southern California show in the winter but not at a Detroit show in the winter. Also, even though Ive been in it for 10 years, I still wouldn't know completely which judges are political and which ones are fair. There are still judges I have never seen before or heard of after 10 years. How to sort it all out?
Posted By: GMJ Posted On: Jan 15, 2012 Views: 728	comments I'm floored why all you people are so surprised at this? Are you afraid to use the word ''POLITICS'' , when that is the first & foremost reason on some judges LISTS!!! Many times the ''best structured dog doesnt win because of Politics alone,solely....wakeUpn'smellThRoses or can we be that naive? Once we all have accepted this premise, we can move on & ONLY show to judges who do NOT play this game.
Posted By: opinionated Posted On: Jan 15, 2012 Views: 689	preferred breed type In my eyes, the problem lies with the breeders, handlers, AND judges. Take the following hypothetical example. A long time breeder breeds a dog that may be deserving of his championship but should then be put away to enjoy his retirement. However, owner of dog approaches popular handler to special this dog. This is a faulty dog. He was able to finish as a puppy, but as he grew his faults became more apparent. However, professional handler agrees to take on dog as a special because he needs to make money like the rest of us. Because handler has reputation in the breed for many years this dog does well as a special regardless of his many faults. Judges see the face behind the dog and think, "well this handler always has good dogs, so this special must be a good dog, so I'll put him up." Dog rises in the ranks. Now if I was handling this dog he wouldn't be anywhere near the the Top 20. "Breeders" who do not have the necessary years of experience decide they should breed to this dog because "he must be good, he's in the Top 20". Sometimes even very experienced breeders will use this dog because they don't have a TRUE understanding of the standard. So the cycle continues. Now we have puppies perpetuating the faults of the sire. Another example would be the breeder or owner who actually realizes that his dog has a fault that would prevent him from finishing. Instead of retiring said dog, this person goes to handler "X" because this handler has a reputation of being able to finish anything. So the handler finishes the faulty dog and the owner thinks "well now I can breed this dog, he's a champion!" It took 3 groups of people to get this dog to the point of being bred: the owners, the handler, and the judges. It all boils down to a lack of a TRUE understanding of the breed standard by all 3 groups. And maybe on a smaller scale the need or urge to "win, win, win" on the part of the owners/breeders. Why are Great Danes not as successful on the group level as some other breeds? Maybe as a group we dont have the discipline to make the difficult decisons when it comes to breeding that some of the more successful breeds do. Think Nikki Rigsbee's article on "master breeders". The other thing I have noticed is that frequently the dog that wins is then one that can stare down a piece of liver better than the more comformationally correct one...just saying....
Posted By: Karen Lozenski Posted On: Jan 14, 2012 Views: 712	best dog can be a loser I agree 100%. A good honest judge should be able to find the best dog with or without a professional handler, photo, etc. I have been saying this for years as I watched our breed go down hill. I hope all judges read this article and learn by it.
Posted By: Newcomer Posted On: Jan 13, 2012 Views: 747	staying true to the standard I am a new comer to the dog show world. I am amazed at the lack of breed knowledge of many of the judges we show under. I am one of the lucky ones, I have a well known handler and a great, dog breed to the standard, a breeder who is very knowlegable and tries to improve the breed and keep it as close to the standard as possible. WE,breeder, owner, handler, work as a team to promote the breed standard an to educate others along the way.I had difficult time getting show people to talk to me about the breed when I decided to purchase a show puppy. I think it is a shame, we should all be proud of our favorite breed, and always do the right thing to keep it safe and pure. This trend towards type , what appears alot in the show ring that is not the standard, will only change when the members of the Great Dane Club of America insist that judges are better educated in the breed when they are asked to judge it. I am looking forward to the day when I can become an active member.
Posted By: Giuseppe Caliguiri Posted On: Jan 12, 2012 Views: 811	Best dog is not the winner Bad Judging is the #1 reason Be it not in the know of our standard or just choosing to play politics or favors.. Bad judges & bad judging is the detriment of the breed
Posted By: Robert Payne Posted On: Jan 11, 2012 Views: 860	preferred breed type why the stand-out best dog ca I 100% agree with this. The judge has the final say Mr. Evans is correct( high Mort. It's all encompasing because When the judge is unsure he usually falls back to the face that he recalls most. So some of the fault also is with handlers that take dogs of lesser quality because they see dollar signs. I have known and do know handlers that have flat turned down a dog because it wasnt (in thier opinion) show quality and I commend them.. Maybe id each Judge was give a illutrated copy of the standard before each assignment they might just maybe remember it
Posted By: Mort Evans Posted On: Jan 11, 2012 Views: 831	Judges The word JUDGE says it ALL! They are the the final say on the QUALITY and CORRECTNESS of the dog on that day. That is the RESPONSIBILITY of a JUDGE...
Posted By: Caron Honeck Posted On: Jan 11, 2012 Views: 787	preferred Breed type Should we not fault the Judge for Not awarding what is true & correct in accordance with our Standard? Yes, some "breeders" do allow less that top quality to be sold to "show homes" & yes they also should receive blame, however, I feel the Judge should be the one to award or not award or with hold ribbons if warranted