Shawlein Fine Art & Purebred German Shepherd Dogs

2012/01/02
by Linda J Shaw
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The Back & Spine When I first look at a dog, the first thing I see is the spine. The topline is the upper surface of the dog that is visible to the eye, but the spine, or backbone, is what lies underneath the muscle and fur. I think of the spine as the cornerstone of the dog, the architecture that is the foundation of the dog’s structure. If it is normal, the rest can’t be too bad (according not to some show standard, but to nature’s requirement for how a dog should function). If the spine is not correct, whether too long or too short, swayed or roached, it can affect the proportions and function of the entire body.

In the German shepherd breed, roached backs are a problem, and have been for decades. It’s obvious from show critiques that many judges do not understand the anatomical structure of a roached back, and why it is wrong. Hundreds of roached dogs appear in breed magazines with critiques praising their strong backs. Recently a photo of a young dog made the rounds of the internet, with discussions about her topline. Some commentator suggested that, because her midback did not rise above her withers, her back was therefore not roached. She is a very nice female and I like her, but her spine is roached. This person could see only the visible back, which was not humped, but could not visualize the spine underneath, which was. It’s little wonder that curvature of the spine has become widespread.

Before you can visualize the spine though, you have to know what a spine looks like. Below I’ve attached six illustrations from the preeminent folio of studies of mammalian anatomy: An Atlas of Animal Anatomy for Artists, by W. Ellenberger, H. Dittrich and H. Baum, originally published in 1901. The Canidae, or family of canines, is represented by a large central European “cur dog” very similar in structure to a wolf. The lion represents the family Felidae, the felines, which with the dog are dominant members of the order Carnivora. The horse represents the order Perissodactyla, the odd toed animals, while the ox, goat and deer represent the even toed. The predatory carnivores evolved for pursuit speed, while the hoofed prey animals evolved for escape speed. The goat specialized somewhat for agility and the ox for power. However, the most immediately interesting thing about them is how similar they are.

The Dog

The most important points to take away from these illustrations is how the longer thoracic spines of the withers give the topline a much different contour from the actual line of the spine. In all cases in an animal built to run, the vertebrae are strung in a virtually straight line from the base of the neck to the pelvis. In the predators, both of which show a double suspension gallop with huge flexion of the backbone, there is a very slight upward curvature of the spine, which is generally not visible particularly in a dog with a heavy coat. This cur dog is very close coated. In all cases the withers show a slope well differentiated from the slope of the back.

The Lion

Look at these studies carefully. Note that the “cur dog” was a nineteenth century animal produced without any influence of shows (dog shows as we know them did not exist in the mid-nineteenth century), or artificial breeding by man. He was just a common dog, and probably the product of generations of street and farm dogs. So it’s a pretty fair guess that this is the anatomy that nature confers on a large domestic dog when man does not interfere.

The Horse

In Part Two I will post drawings of the typical roach backed GSD, the kind that is regarded as having a good, strong back, as well as anatomical drawings of what the spine of a dog like this actually looks like under the fur and muscle.

The Ox (cow)

The Deer

The Goat

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2011/12/16
by Linda J Shaw
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A Christmas Story, by Linda J Shaw

Enjoy, and have a safe and happy holiday

Once upon a time, there lived a breeder of German shepherd dogs. He and his wife lived in a tidy little house on a pretty little property, and he kept a neat little kennel in a glen not far from the house. In every kennel run but one there lived a champion. The breeder was retired, and spent nearly all his time with his dogs, grooming, playing with and just admiring them. They were beautiful dogs, darting about their runs, flashing black and gold. His wife sighed over his obsession, but was content that he was happy. Only once had one been brought into her tidy house, and had quickly been banished back to the kennel. They were not house dogs.

One day a woman came to see his dogs. Proudly, he stood before the run containing his prize beauty, a lithe, graceful bitch who zoomed about the perimeter of her run. She took no notice of the visitor. She was the culmination of his breeding program, he said, and was undefeated in the show ring. The visitor smiled, but moved on down the kennel. She stopped at the last run, where quietly sat a young, grey bitch, sturdy and curious, with a tiny notch in one ear. She was not one of the breeder’s dogs, but had belonged to a relative who had fallen ill. She would never be a champion, said the breeder. Her name was Sarah, and she needed a home. It was decided she was suitable, but the breeder refused payment. “She’s not really worth anything to me”, he said. “All I want is that she get a good home”. So the little bitch was loaded into the woman’s van. The breeder did not pet her goodbye.

A few days later the breeder took his prize beauty to a large show. Of course, she won. She always won. He gaited her back to the car, a cascade of blue and gold satin fluttering from her lead, turning admiring heads as they went. In the parking lot, they ran past a vehicle whose engine suddenly coughed, and she leaped aside, nearly breaking her lead. They made it to his car, and she curled up with relief in her crate.

The drive home that night was long and the breeder was happy but tired. He wondered where in the den he would find room for the trophy on the seat beside him. There were so many. It started to drizzle rain. He wished his wife had come, but she never came. His dogs did not interest her. He mulled over in his mind the pedigrees of several stud dogs, wondering which to select for his prize beauty. In his preoccupation, he did not see the stop sign that flashed past. Suddenly, there was only the glare of headlights. It was the last thing he ever saw.

In the hospital, his bones eventually knit, but his eyes were gone. He was told his prize beauty had been killed. At home, his wife tried to care for the dogs that remained, but it was hard for her. They would not heed her commands, and she found it difficult to cope with them. When her husband finally came home, he struggled on her arm to the kennel and fed and groomed each one. But time passed, and it became more difficult for him also. They could not be exercised, and often escaped. He became fearful of being knocked down by their frantic spinning and leaping. The decision was inevitably made, friends were called and advertisments placed, and the day came when the last dog was loaded into a van bound for another kennel. The breeder retired to his chair in his den, to spend his days brooding amongst trophies he couldn’t see.

The months passed and winter came. He sat listening to Christmas carols on the radio while his wife decorated the tree. One day she insisted that he rouse himself and helped him into his coat. “We’re going Christmas shopping”, she said firmly, and guided him out to the car. He sat slumped in his seat without speaking. The thought of glittering lights and colourful packages only deepened his gloom. After a while, he began to wonder at the length of the journey. He couldn’t recall downtown being so far. Finally he felt the car crunch its way into a driveway. His door opened to a rush of cold air, and a man’s hand grasped his. “Welcome to the Seeing Eye,” said the man. In an office, coffee was served, questions were asked, and it was explained to him why he was there. “I don’t know, I don’t know”, he muttered, and then he slowly ventured, “could I have a shepherd?”. “Well”, said the man, “that depends on what’s available, and what’s suitable for you”. There was a pause. “But we’ll see what we can do”.

Suddenly he heard the sound of a door opening, and the scrabbling of nails on the floor. A woman’s voice laughed “oh dear!”, and he heard a flurry of delighted squealing heading straight for him. A dog flew into his lap and a warm bath drenched his face. “Oh! Oh!”, he spluttered. “Are they all this friendly?” No one answered. His hands clutched the dog’s head, and he knew instantly that it was a shepherd, a large velvet bow tied to its collar. But then he froze, as his fingers reached a tiny notch in one ear. His arms slowly encircled the now quivering dog, and he buried his face in her fur. The only sound was her tail beating against his legs, and the small sqeak of a new leather harness. Sarah had found her new home.

Courtesy of German Shepherd Rescue of England & Wales http://www.germanshepherdrescue.co.uk

2011/12/15
by Linda J Shaw
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Balance in the German Shepherd Dog There is an interesting article on Ed Frawley’s site (http://leerburg.com) written by Jean Mueller, “Balance Problems with the American Show German Shepherd”, concerning over-angulation and the American show type GSD. The article has been there a while. Ed’s is a good site, full of information for anyone interested in working dogs, and I highly recommend it. Jean’s is a good article, well written and on point. It’s illustrated with a photograph of a black and tan dog posing with his trophies, and labelled as a typical American show dog. Well enough, except that he’s a very balanced looking show dog. I’ve never been able to figure out why this particular dog was chosen to illustrate this article, because he is not really a typical AKC show type, at least not a typical specialty style dog, and he is not over angulated. In fact, he is a very beautiful, very correct dog, the type of dog that American show lines can produce when breeders know and care what they are doing, and judges know what they are looking at. He looks like a substantial, compact dog with a short, straight back, beautiful shoulder, high withers, decent croup and good rear angulation – not too much, not too little. His feet are good, his head looks nice, even his colour is attractive. I don’t know if he was a good dog or not (temperament, hips etc), but he certainly looks like a nicely constructed dog and using him as an example of extreme structure must be very confusing to anyone trying to learn about conformation. I know it’s probably not possible to use a photo of an extreme winning US show dog – the owners tend to object – so if Ed would like to use one of my drawings of an extreme dog that would really illustrate the article, I’d be happy to send him one.

Definitely NOT a typical American Specialty dog

2011/10/22
by Linda J Shaw
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GSDCA Judges’ Booklet I’ve had some queries about the German Shepherd Dog Club of America’s Judges’ Booklet, and whether I did the illustrations. Yes, I did. However, the four images showing posed dogs in the four basic colour patterns were done at least thirty years ago, before I knew anything really, and while I had given permission decades ago for them to be used by the club, when this publication was being assembled I did express the desire that they not be used. These four images illustrate dogs with a degree of hyper-angulation that is not ideal for an athlete, and reinforce the idea that an extreme dog is correct. I was disappointed to see them appear in this booklet and used to educate judges. The GSDCA has promoted hyper-flexion of the stifle and hock joints for years, and that’s not likely to change any time soon. I just don’t want anyone to think I agree with it. Aside from these four images, it’s a good publication and illustrates the rest of the standard nicely. I’ve attached the pdf version below.

GSDCA JUDGES’ BOOKLET

2011/10/12
by Linda J Shaw
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JUDGING TYPE In the judging of conformation in purebred dogs, there has always been a great emphasis on rewarding uniformity of type. The final lineups of knowledgeable breed judges are expected to show consistency of type, and if the dogs in the ribbons differ in type, the judge is assumed to be ignorant or incompetent, assuming he had a reasonable number of dogs to choose from. This phenomenon is very apparent in the German shepherd breed resulting in several distinct types. A V (excellent) rated German showline dog in an American specialty ring will probably be ignored, unless the judge has a fondness for German dogs. On the other hand, a top rated American champion, assuming it could achieve a schutzhund title, would likely be completely ignored, or worse, in a German SV show. The FCI and AKC breed standards do differ, but not that much. Good German dogs are imported by American breeders and crossed into American lines with good success. Aficionados of both types claim their dogs show the most efficient working trot, and have true shepherd working ability. And yet we have two radically different types of German shepherd. I think it’s because judges, rather than judging the dogs, are judging type instead.

The bigger issue of course is the genetic consequences to a population of breeding a race of lookalikes within a dwindling genetic pool. The desire for uniformity has created an environment that bestows an aura of quality on a group of animals simply because they look the same. Humans love consistency. We like things to match. However, rewarding genetically similar animals for similar virtues will result in elevating animals that often have the same weaknesses. How better to deal with this conundrum than to turn those flaws into virtues. American judges claim the hyper-angulated hindquarter shows stronger rear propulsion. It doesn’t – extreme American dogs virtually never achieve the AD (endurance test) or schutzhund titles that require jumping – but that’s what they believe and it is a fiction which has persisted for over thirty years. German judges claim the roach back is an indication of strength. It isn’t – slow motion video shows how a malformed back distorts in motion – but that’s what they believe and it is a fiction which has also persisted for over thirty years. When you have boxed yourself into a genetic corner with no acceptable genetic resource to correct a problem, make the problem go away by transforming the problem into a virtue. You won’t improve the dogs, but you can keep handing out awards. So now we have the sad situation of American judges who won’t reward a dog who doesn’t show an extreme rear, and German judges who won’t reward a dog who doesn’t show an arched back.

In the first graphic, I’ve shown a lineup of nice American dogs, with one nice German dog. They are different, but they are roughly equivalent in quality. But the poor German dog looks the odd man out because he spoils the uniformity of the class. The American dogs all show extreme angulation and, from a genetic perspective, the German dog could bring the qualities of correct angulation and firmness that the American dogs lack. The German dog should be in the ribbons if the judge is thinking of the breed, but if the judge is rewarding uniformity of type, the German dog will be excluded. Click on the image to show it full size.

Similarly, in the second graphic I’ve shown a lineup of nice German dogs, with one nice American dog. Again, it’s the American dog that looks out of place. The German dogs all show arched backs, and the American dog (leaving aside issues of working titles) could bring the genetics for good backs that seem to have been bred out of so many German dogs. The American dog should be in the ribbons if the judge is thinking of the breed, but if the judge is rewarding uniformity of type, the American dog will be excluded. Click on the image to show it full size.

It should be remembered that these types all have the same genetic roots, and isolating them into discreet genetic populations is a form of inbreeding that is not in the best, long term interests of the breed.

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