Rottweilers Ate My Laptop

Rottweilers. Computers. Cameras. World Domination. Not necessarily in that order.

Rottweilers.
Computers. Cameras.
World Domination.
Not necessarily in that order.

Finally! Axel at the ARV 2010 Nationals

by

The long-awaited photos from the ARV 2010 National Sieger Show arrived this week. As you know, Axel traveled to Kentucky in September for the show with his breeder Denise and her husband Gary. After the long wait, I would have been quite disappointed if the photos hadn’t turned out well. And fortunately, they did. Here he is with his friend Scott Allen:

Click on the photo to see the rest of the pictures from the show.

As you know from my previous posts on sieger shows, the judge gives a critique to each dog. The critique is done for all to hear at the show, and you also receive a printed copy.

3 year old male, correct size, attentive, correct coat, correct markings, forehead should be wider for age, highly set away carried ears, correct shaped med. brown eyes, correct muzzle, more fill under eye and more pronounced cheek, exc. mouth pigmentation, strong neck a bit wrinkled, correct top and bottom line, bone could be a bit stronger, good front and rear ang, movement correct action in front, not enough in the rear, correct top line

I disagree with some of it: I like his head, I think his mouth pigmentation could be darker, and I don’t think his rear movement and drive is insufficient. It could have been so on that day. And although he was third out of the three dogs in the Champion Males class that showed, I’m still satisfied with his critique, his V (excellent) rating, and the reports that he traveled, behaved and showed well all weekend.

For comparison, here is his youth critique from the USRC 2008 National Sieger Show. He was 18 months old then and placed second with a V rating out of a large (20+) class.

strong boned maled nice outer lines excellent chest
proportion correctly set eyes good head shape
scissor bite lively temperment excellent coat correct
gate with good drive from the rear

Both critiques appear as typed: errors, strange translations and all. As a show typist many times myself, I don’t fault a few typos, and some things do get lost in translation. When you look at the show photos, do you see what the judges saw?

Something I really like about sieger shows

by

If you’ve been to a sieger (German-style conformation) show, or if you read the article from yesterday’s post, you know that each dog shown gets an individual critique from the judge. This critique is given for all to hear, and a written transcript goes to the owner or handler after the show.

The first dog shows I attended were AKC shows, and the selection of the winners was a mystifying process to me then (and if I’m really being honest, now, too). I knew that the judge was comparing each dog to the breed’s written standard with a hands-on examination plus observing the dog in motion, but I didn’t really get how the judge arrived at the final placements.

I feel like my Rottweiler conformation education was accelerated when I started attending sieger shows, and really paying attention to the individual critiques.
[Read more…]

Two weeks till showtime!

by

In just over two weeks, Axel will be headed out on a short road trip with his breeder. That’s right, it’s showtime again! This time, he’s going to a sieger (German-style conformation) show: American Rottweiler Verein’s 2010 Nationals.

Once upon a time, we could count on at least three or four sieger shows a year within easy driving distance. This hasn’t been the case in the last few years. Axel’s last sieger show appearance was when he was about 18 months old; he’ll be four this November. It was his very first show outing and he did very well, placing second in a fairly large 12-18 month old class.
[Read more…]