How to show a Vlcak?

[z Peronówki]

Originally Posted by saschia

But, the question comes from Americas and of course most of the judges there (and in Europe too) have no idea what wolfdogs are supposed to look like and how they are to be presented. I expect that in normal show community, positioning of the dog in "correct posture" and using show leashes with heads held high looks better and more professional than just letting the dog show itself...

It would be so nice.... If we could show the dogs so that all their pluses are visible... The problem ARE the judges. And the breed....
Wolfdogs are in the first group FCI but they vary from other "shepherds". But the judges do not get the difference and they judge our dogs according the same patterns as other breeds - usually GSD. And in such case good wolfdogs ALWAYS have more problems than the untypical dogs. Typical faults for Czechoslovakian come from German Shepherds: wide chests, short legs, angulation in the front 90°, overangulation of the back legs, long ears, heavy heads with open lips... And such fauls are exactly what many "allrounder judges" expect from wolfdogs in the show ring. It is why we have so many untypical Interchampions and Champions...

There is no problem to show your dog if the judge knows the breed - you just go, show the dog and finito... But on other shows you have sometimes to "cheat"....
My first show in Germany. Judge from a country with 0 Wolfdogs... I went into the ring and came out with note "very good" because the top line of my dog was not falling. Our friends who were showing next also had a Wolfdog with good topline... But they had a good idea - they went into the ring. By the statics the owner took the back legs of his dog as far behind as possible (almost to the GSD possition ). The topline started to be falling. They get excellent and BOB...
Similar situation in Slovakia - also an allrounder judge. People who were showing the dog before us were going outside the rings saying "make the front legs wide"... We have done like this and get "good "chest". While other people who where showing their nice dogs on the "normal" way get as fault "to narrow chest"...

But in the most cases you are not able to make your dog WORSER than it is ...

There are MANY problems - where the allrounder judges want to see something what is untypical for Wolfdogs but typical for many other Shepherds:
- with the angulation - that are unhapy when Wolfdogs are not angulated and do not move like GSD
- with the chest - when it is too narrow and not deep enough (do not pass the elbows like by GSD)
- with the legs - that they are too long (even by dogs which still do not have the 55% as written in the standard)
- with the tail (character) - when especially by males it is carried to high (usually when there are other males in the ring)
Example - two males in the ring. One with good character, the second shy. The good one start to pose - tail up - "look, I'm the best". Who wins? - first is "very good" because of the tail - "dog should never carry the tail over the back line" (he lost because of too good character). Won the shy scarred dog. Nobody cares about the standard - "When dog is excited, generally raised up in sickle shape." If you have dog with stable character you will MANY times loose against shy dogs who will carry their tails as "good German Shepherds should do"...

And there are MANY "faults" so typical for Czechoslovakian Wolfdogs. By some judges you can really win only if you have REALLY untypical dog...

And I don't think it will change since there is no possiblity to influence the judges or to write any protests - and we had really cases when in the evaluation cards there were written almost excepts from the breed standard - but in the breed standard it was description of the PERFECT dog and for the judge it was a list with faults...


______________________
PS. I know that in some countries after the "problems" with the judges the breeders decided to change the... wolfdogs and they breed dogs which are fitting to the judge's expectations. And no more to the breed standard. But....
I know that sometimes it is much harder to win with really good dog who has too many characteristics typical for Czechoslovakian Wolfdog but characteristics not necessarily liked by the allrounder judges.
BUT there are good judges and bad too... The same apply to the club judges - not all of them who have approvement for our breed really know the standard. Some of them don't even have idea how to judge at all... Dog shows are just a sport... Sometimes you win, sometimes you loose. But a good dog will stay a good dog independent on the judgements... And good breeders and owners will know it... A dog can be World Winner and Multi-Hiper Champion but still an untypical Wolfdog who nobody want to breed with...

[saschia]

Yes, Margo, you are right that the legs are wrong in the photo
but, the correct posture is not exactly vertical hocks, but only near to vertical. The line that joins the hock joint and the point of ischium should be vertical in correct posture, but the paws of the hind legs are slightly to the front, so the back of the paws can touch the line, not the middle of the paws. The dogs which stand with their hocks vertical to the ground usually have the paws and hock joint positioned behind the point of ischium, or the posture is too steep (or how it is called).

[z Peronówki]

Originally Posted by saschia

The line that joins the hock joint and the point of ischium should be vertical in correct posture, but the paws of the hind legs are slightly to the front, so the back of the paws can touch the line, not the middle of the paws. The dogs which stand with their hocks vertical to the ground usually have the paws and hock joint positioned behind the point of ischium, or the posture is too steep (or how it is called).

Yes, by the second photo of the wolf it is nice visible...

Originally Posted by saschia

Yes, that's true. But who, when buying a pup, actually cares? Couple of people. The rest takes the champions as they are presented. So they take bad pups from untypical champions and then they are surprised and angry when they get bad marks at our club show or at bonitation...

It is an international problem... And after they get bad remarks at your club shows they start to say that Slovakian Club is promoting it's own TYPE of Wolfdogs, and they are breeding their OWN type... And it is NOT possible to explain them that what is "promoted" by the club is just a BREED STANDARD. And if they breed something else... they just breed untypical Wolfdogs...

Originally Posted by saschia

Anyway, I don't like shows exactly because of this - it is a good occasion to meet people and see their dogs, and make a good name for the breed among general public, but that's it. The show results should not be taken as the indicators of the stud value.

Golden Words.... Sometimes I'm really astonish which dogs win by some judges... Sometimes you can really take a photo of such dog and publish it with a description "How Czechoslovakian Wolfdog should NOT look like"...

BUT I like dog shows. Any my dogs are crazy about them. When they see that I pack the show leashes they already wait by the car... Some of them really love to show - to like to be "admired" (usually the males ). Shows are also great for socialization - there is no other place where you can meet so many people, children and dogs... But we go there mainly because of what you wrote - it is nice possibility to meet other people, other dogs. Usually we make that same what you do by you - we combine dogs shows with meetings. If I would go there ony to show the dogs and if I would believe what some judges are saying... I would stop to show a lot time ago already...

[Silvester]

I think that Margo wrote exactly what is indeed the real problem with dog shows and judges !
- If these judges are no experienced judges just for our race.

So i decided to go ONLY to special- shows for Cws .

( PS: I have got new dog "Zeus lupus ibericus" in december 2009 after death of my old one in november 2008 - Zeus now is nearly 9 months old .

I was at a lot of dog -shows in the past, but only as visitor, not as competitor. With my new dog may be i will compete also.)

Thanks to all advices for präsentation in this thread , especially to Margo and saschia !!

Greetings to everyone, Silvester

Margo, I know it's a lot to ask, but would it be possible to do diagrams like that, showing correct and various incorrect structures, for other elements of the standard? This is SUCH a great visual aid for me, it would be a huge help for me to understand the standard correctly! I've seen similar diagrams with other breeds (the most in-depth being for German Shepherd Dogs) and it has helped me so much in the past to develop an eye for correct structure.

Also, thank you SO much for posting all of this, and to everyone else contributing to the thread! It's been helping me greatly to get more of an understanding of how the dogs should be structured and shown.

[Mikael]

Originally Posted by Vicky

would it be possible to do diagrams like that, showing correct and various incorrect structures, for other elements of the standard?

Maybe this one can help you >>> http://dl.wolfdog.org/files/Articles/en/Czechoslovakian%20Wolfdog.ppt


Very best regards / Mikael

I can't seem to open the file. :/

[z Peronówki]

Originally Posted by Silvester

I think that Margo wrote exactly what is indeed the real problem with dog shows and judges !
- If these judges are no experienced judges just for our race.

So i decided to go ONLY to special- shows for Cws .

Believe me - you can be dissapointed with some judges... "Good judges" are not divided in "club" judges and "other"....

Believe me - I saw club winner choosed by one of the "experts". For giving such dog "excellent" note the judging rights for our breed should be taken away from this person for such verdict It was a dog not only really bad as CzW (huge and VERY deep chest, short legs, wide position of the front legs) but also as a DOG (because of the faults of the body he was not able to move correctly - while running his back legs were always about 10cm away from the front legs - if you saw dachshund running you know what I mean ). It was a CLUB WINNER who won with many really nice and good wolfdogs...

On the other hand - one time I was in Lithiania there was a woman from Russia judging one of the dog shows... I was not happy about it because at that time there were no wolfdogs in RU and in most cases judgement of judges from "no-wolfdog-country" was really funny... After we went to the ring I get REALLY surprised - she not only knew the standard but she told us she was working with wolves for a long time. And it was visible. Sorry, it was one of the best judges I ever met...

It is really better to ask for good judges and to go to them (even of they judge "normal" dog shows).
Sure they judge different as every person has an own imagination about typical CzW. Breed standard is pretty precise but still there is a place for own preferences (shape of the head, strenght of the bones, colour, size, format of the body, aso)... But a good judge is one who keeps to it...

[Silvester]

Originally posted by Margo:

"It is really better to ask for good judges and to go to them (even of they judge "normal" dog shows)."

Yes, I agree to your opinion. Thank´s a lot for your advice!

Bye, Silvester

[Sona_Bognarova]

Regarding my presentation, yes, I agreed that wolfdog.org uses it. After all, they helped with pictures for it and moreover, it has been the purpose of the presentation. So, as long as the presentation is not modified (with the exception of translations, of course, and in such case it should carry the info that it has been translated) and carries my name, it can be used by anyone. Originally, I was asked to make it for judges less experienced with CSW to help them to understand the standard. The presentation itself is deliberately very basic and brief - for two reasons: I was actually asked to make it brief and in a killing deadline. I believe that it met its purpose at that time and even now it can help some people. I've been planning to upgrade it for a long time, but well... Definitely I have to do it to have the breed recognised in Australia. As somebody mentioned above, there are other materials too, any effort to learn more about the breed is highly appreciated!

[Vaiva]

Originally Posted by z Peronówki

Golden Words.... Sometimes I'm really astonish which dogs win by some judges... Sometimes you can really take a photo of such dog and publish it with a description "How Czechoslovakian Wolfdog should NOT look like"...

Maybe praparation of a really good comment of the standart would help? There is allways a possibility to post it to a local kennel club and ask to show it to the judges of the country (or even make a seminar) Step by step... Maybe someday...

P.S. Cho! Mikael posted it Does anybody have any idea if this comment can be published with a name of Sonja Bognarova, or it should be first agree oficialy by her?

[Mikael]

Originally Posted by Vaiva

P.S. Cho! Mikael posted it Does anybody have any idea if this comment can be published with a name of Sonja Bognarova, or it should be first agree oficialy by her?

Hmmmm... It´s a Wolfdog.org file... I think it is OK ???

Best regards / Mikael

[z Peronówki]

Originally Posted by Vaiva

Maybe praparation of a really good comment of the standart would help? There is allways a possibility to post it to a local kennel club and ask to show it to the judges of the country (or even make a seminar) Step by step... Maybe someday...

This file which you downoaladed is just start of the commentary written by Sona Bognarova. There is also another one made by Oskar Dora. Good one is also the commentary from Hartls book. 2 more has beed prepared - one is EXTREMLY detailed with many photos showing different anormalities of the development and faults.

Originally Posted by Vaiva

P.S. Cho! Mikael posted it Does anybody have any idea if this comment can be published with a name of Sonja Bognarova, or it should be first agree oficialy by her?

Sona gave it to as to spread it among the judges to shows them how a typical CzW should look like. The copies were given to several judges and it would be nice if more will receive it. In Poland I made a copy with two versions (the oryginal) and VERY close translation. Some judges already use it and it works ... GREAT!

[saschia]

Originally Posted by z Peronówki

Dog shows are just a sport... Sometimes you win, sometimes you loose. But a good dog will stay a good dog independent on the judgements... And good breeders and owners will know it... A dog can be World Winner and Multi-Hiper Champion but still an untypical Wolfdog who nobody want to breed with...

Yes, that's true. But who, when buying a pup, actually cares? Couple of people. The rest takes the champions as they are presented. So they take bad pups from untypical champions and then they are surprised and angry when they get bad marks at our club show or at bonitation...

Anyway, I don't like shows exactly because of this - it is a good occasion to meet people and see their dogs, and make a good name for the breed among general public, but that's it. The show results should not be taken as the indicators of the stud value.