Chapter One

Dog breeders are eternal optimists, and with each litter hope springs anew that this will be the litter in which the next great one will come forth. Indeed, it is for this very reason why we breed dogs, to get that next great dog, that champion of champions, that dog who will prove the worth of his breeding, that dog who will prove that we know what it takes to succeed at this game. If we get a great dog, we thereby succeed right along with the dog, and his wins become our wins, and the more he wins, and the more winners we produce, the better breeders we are, indeed, the better we ourselves become, at least in our own eyes. In this sense, it is indeed a game, a game of ego, and a challenging game of thought and wit. Oh yes, there is much more to it that that, there are dogs who still work, herd, track, protect and so on, but this is a book about how to succeed at breeding dogs who win in the show ring. In doing this we will discuss how to train, condition, and exhibit those dogs to their best advantage to make all this possible. Much of this will make sense, some of it may not, and some of it will be controversial, but hopefully anyone who reads this will come away with new ideas and a new way of looking at this very fascinating field.

As I have said, dog breeders are eternal optimists, and they should be. If you are not going to be optimistic about the work you are doing in your creation of new life, then you shouldn’t be doing it. Breeding dogs is hard work, and the pitfalls are many, and no litter should be bred unless the breeder fully intends on breeding up in quality, that is, to make something as good or better than what he already has. Once any breeding is done, the breeder has tacitly agreed to be responsible for the new life he has created. The world is full of dogs and there is no need for more dogs, yet for truly good dogs there will always be a market and they will always command a good price. This is true wherever you go, whatever animal you are working with. So one way to look at dog breeding is like being an artist, only instead of working with paints or oils, or some other medium, you are working with flesh and blood. You are trying to create a masterpiece, and you should be trying to do this with each litter you breed. You are trying to create a magnificent animal, one that anyone can recognize as being quality whether they are a student of the breed or the man in the street. So, much like the artist, the breeder needs to first learn what a really good dog look like. Some people are just better at this than others; it just seems to be a fact of life. Some people can see lines, like the artist does, and know how these fit together to make a harmonious picture. The lines he sees are different in different breeds. For a German Shepherd, which this book will center on, an artist/breeder might sketch lines to be placed or shaped somewhat like the following, keeping in mind that Shepherds are longer than tall, and the lines are long and flowing::

Or, if you were a breeder of Dobermans, for example, you might want to shape the lines that you see in your minds eye somewhat like this, keeping in mind that they are a square breed and more angular::

I don't think too many people would have a problem identifying the first abstract sketch as a Shepherd, and the second abstract as a Doberman. It is lines like this that gives type to the breed, and makes them what they are. You adjust these lines as you see fit to achieve the greatest beauty and functional ability for the breed. Great dogs have great type first and foremost. Type simply means that the dog looks like the breed should look.

We all know that there are some people in the breed who just never seem to get it, and some just take to it like a duck to water. Successful understanding of show dogs has sometimes been referred to as "an eye for a dog". Have you ever taken an IQ Test? Usually they have a portion of the test made up of math questions, and language questions, and also spatial questions. Those who see spatial concepts well are thought to be artistic. We can extend this concept to believe that those who have high IQ's for spatial relationships, and thereby artistic, will also be those who have an easy time understand quality in animals. They are the ones who see a harmony of the parts that make up the whole of a good dog. Any good animal is harmonious. All the parts are in balance and work in harmony.

The point is, it is much easier to get a simplified concept in your mind of what constitutes excellence, and thereby quickly be able to size up what it takes to make an animal fit into this mold. You need to be able to see the lines, as an artist does, and these are the lines you want to look for. Of course this whole concept is spelled out in detail in the breed standard, and you will need to become very familiar with that, which we will spend time on later on. A magnificent animal, no matter what the breed, no matter what the species, is truly great precisely because the parts fit together with harmony, and work together harmoniously to make it easy for that animal to do what he was created to do, or to do what he does best. In Shepherds we talk about smooth flowing lines, starting from the tip of the nose and running to the tip of the tail. This should be a long flowing line as sketched above. This translates into a smooth flowing gait, which is what show dogs are all about. Once you picture this, and get it clearly in your mind, then the project of sorting out the good ones becomes much easier because it is much clear in your mind what you are truly looking for.

One of the questions I have been frequently asked over my career in dogs concerns how to look at the breed, or judge the breed in order to accurately determine exactly what makes for the better dog. In a way, this book will attempt to help answer that question through out it's length, but also learning to see harmonious lines that constitute breed type is a way of cutting through the chase to simplify things. Everything works better for a trotting dog such as a German Shepherd if they keep the rear end down. The next time you are at a specialty show just watch top lines as the dogs go by. Pick out the dogs with the good wither height and the rear ends down. See how simple that is. It's not hard, and yet so many of our judges miss such a simple way of viewing this breed. Yes, I'm saying that Shepherds that run down in the withers and up in the rear are poor dogs. So this is a way to start sorting them out as to quality. If they are down in the rear, they will have better rear drive, and if they maintain decent wither height they will not pound the ground with their front feet. Yes, of course they can be steep shouldered and too high in the withers, and this type of dog would have to be faulted accordingly. This is just a shorthand method of beginning to look at the breed, and if you are a beginner and if you follow it you probably won't make serious mistakes. There is much more to learn, let's agree we are just starting here.

Another way to look at your job as a breeder and exhibitor of quality dogs is to compare yourself to a coach of an athletic sports team. You are going to gather talent, lots of talent, and you are going to train them, condition them, and get the whole team ready to compete. Now you can choose the level at which you want to compete, all the way from selling puppies for 4-H projects to All-Breed Showing to Specialty Showing, to World Showing. For our purposes, lets agree that consistent showing at the Specialty level is the highest form of competition for a breeder in this country, as the best breeders congregate there, and you are out to win their approval. Clearly the judges are more infused into the mainstream of the direction of the breed at Specialty Shows than All-Breed Shows. We will talk about the difference between All-Breed Showing and Specialty Showing later on in this book, but for now we are getting a generalized feeling for what the breeder can do to prepare himself to show dogs. So much like the coach of an athletic team, the breeder will want to surround himself with the best quality he can find, and generally, for our purposes, you can't have too much quality. The harder you work at this the better the end result will be. So just as those coaches who are master recruiters have a better chance to have a winning team, you will have a better chance at winning if you have a kennel full to top quality animals, and only top quality animals. So when you are beginning you will want to look for a "foundation bitch" from which to breed your future champions. In the cattle industry there is a well known saying which goes something like this, "You can’t pay too much for good breeding stock." The same applies to dogs. This is not where you try to save money, but where you spare no expense to get only the best you can find and afford, as everything will emanate from this animal. If she is not top national quality you will not get top national quality and I don’t care who you breed her to, unless you just get plain lucky, and that kind of luck doesn't last. As Aristotle said 2000 years ago, "Like begets like." There will be much said later about what qualities to look for in a foundation bitch, but for now I want you to get the feel of what you are doing, assuming you want to be a winner in this game. So you build a team based on talented breeding stock, and you work with it like an artist as you attempt to create a masterpiece. Again, like the coach you will constantly be evaluating your team, and you will need to make cuts when appropriate, even when it hurts. You should be constantly selling off the bottom of your kennel and adding to the top. This is the way great herds of cattle are created and kennels are no different, nor is a professional sports team. You are the breeder, coach, general manager and artist all rolled into one.

While you are doing this you need to become a student of the breed and of the game we play when we show dogs. You should commit the Breed Standard to memory right away. You should attend every show you can get to. I used to tell my clients that if you have trouble getting to a lot of shows, then save your money and pick just one show to attend and make sure you attend it. That is beyond question the National Specialty Show. The reason why is that dogs from all over the country are at that one show, and this is worth more than attending many regional specialty shows throughout the year. You should talk primarily to successful breeders who have proven by their work that they know what it takes to succeed, and basically stay away from those who don’t win on a long term basis, as they can be a real poison to your endeavors. This is a concept that is somewhat difficult to follow because successful people are somewhat intimidating to newcomers, and therefore there is an inclination is to avoid them. On the other hand, those who don't do so well at this game frequently bombard newcomers with how important their program is, and how those that are doing all the winning do it politically and how they charge so much for their animals and how you would never want to do business with them as they are only on top because they are crooked. Don’t be too proud to analyze and copy the work of those who have gone on before you and have succeeded, as it can be a real shortcut, but remember it takes knowledge to do this; and knowledge in this game doesn’t come easy, you will have to work for it. In my opinion, unsolicited advice is generally something to be avoided as there are many reasons why it is offered, most of which won't work for you, and only a few that will. You will have to weigh the many opinions offered around ringside and gain enough knowledge to determine what is valuable and what isn't. It's like developing, over time, a nose for truth. One thing to remember is that nobody wins all the time, and you undoubtedly learn more from losing than you do from winning. As Jack Ogren was fond of saying, "A winner never quits, and a quitter never wins." As I have said, real knowledge in this game is hard to come by, and as far as I know, no one in the entire dog game has ever written a book like this one, as I intend to give you all the knowledge you will ever need to be a winner in dogs.

Consistent winning brings with it it's own set of problems, and believe me I'm going to talk a lot about that in this book because I've been there, done that. But on the other hand breeding magnificent animals in and of itself is intensely rewarding. I know of nothing that brings me the same inner satisfaction as creating a beautiful animal, and to watch it grow and develop into something spectacular. With German Shepherd Dogs so many things come with the package. You have such a highly intelligent dog, so trainable, so loyal and protective, so much so that they are really unique in these attributes because they have it to such a high degree. They are created to work at a trotting gait, and when you have a good one, you will see complete and total athleticism in the grace and movement they have. In fact, when you have achieved the creation of a great mover, you will see that it chooses the trotting gait naturally, because it is easy for it, and whatever is easy and natural is normally the choice animals take without giving it a second thought. I have had many dogs that once you snap a leash on them and put them on the ground they just start moving out at a trot. It was like total freedom for them to enjoy doing what they were meant to do, and what they do best. On the other hand, you will quickly find out as a breeder how very difficult it is to create a good one, not only to achieve the kind of type and beauty we have only touched on so far, but to avoid the genetic defects that saturate the gene pool today. The well bred Shepherd chooses the trot as a natural gait. It is structured to trot. This is true in all kinds of animals. Do you know that a poorly structured cow has trouble even standing in a proper pose to look right? Well it's true.

I have heard it said that everyone's first book is basically an autobiography, and in a sense I suppose it's true. I will be talking about my career in dogs as a breeder, handler and judge mainly in an effort to pass on many of the skills I acquired for the reader to put to his or her own use. I began as breeder of German Shepherds when I was still a college student. I would take my puppy to North Hollywood Park in the San Fernando Valley and let it romp and play with other puppies brought there in the evening by the many dog owners who lived in the area. I never have, to this day, tired of watching puppies play, move and gait with their natural energy and playfulness. Now that I breed and raise cattle, I feel the same way about new calves. It is so rewarding. So, come with me as I take you through my little book and tell you some of the things I have learned over a lifetime with dogs.

Chapter Two Andretti

(What do you really know about Andretti?)

"You have enemies? Good. That means you have stood up for something good in your life." W Churchill

It was a clear, cold sunny afternoon high up in the mountains east of Salt Lake City. I was excited to be searching along a swift moving stream looking for a perfect place to try to catch the first fish of the season. My hands were starting to num as I worked my rod along the eddy that widened out into a pool under the overhanging branches. I could imagine a big one just lurking at the edge of the pool looking for some morsel of food being carried downstream by the current. Straining to see where my line was going I slipped on a rock at the edge of the stream and plunged waist deep into the icy water. Instantly I was soaked in the cold water. I swore under my breath and turned toward dry land, dragging my fishing rod behind me. Now every rock was wet and slippery and I was struggling to make my way back upsteam to a lower spot in the bank to get out of this mess. Each time I stepped up I was slidding off, back into the bitterly cold water. The thought occurred to me that this could get a little bit dangerous as the stream was running very fast and rapidly got deeper as I struggled to make my way back from where I came. What was worse, was that each time I stumbled and slipped over a rock the bottom was getting sloping and I was sinking ever deeper. Soon the water was above my waist and I could now feel the current's strength savagely pulling against the direction I wanted to go. As I was grabbing rocks with my by now totally frozen hands and working my way back to the low spot in the bank I looked up and saw a hand extended towards me. We grabbed a hold of each other and I was pulled out of the water and on the bank.

I looked around and discovered three men out doing the same thing I was, looking for an early catch. They were young men perhaps in their late teens or early twenties. They were dressed normally for the place we found ourselves. I thanked them for their help and we chatted briefly. They said that they thought the fishing was better farther downstream closer to the lake and were headed in that direction. They were in a good mood as all of them had had quite a bit to drink, and each of them had a beer in his hand. I really didn't think anything about it, as it is quite common for men to drink beer while out fishing. They seemed a little rowdy even for young men, but this was something that I didn't take much notice of as I had been around plenty of young men feeling their oats and acting up. They began to move off and I thanked them once again for their help and started to think about how wet, cold, and miserable I was. I never did like to fish much, and this just made it suck. I really didn't know what to do, but I thought I would build a fire and dry out. I figured Holly, who was below me looking for a good spot would eventually smell the smoke and remember that I had our lunch. This, no doubt, would make her hungry and it wouldn't be long and she would be back here

So I busied myself looking for dry kindling to start a fire. Eventually I got the fire started and was thinking about how I'd get warm and start feeling better. I was really shaking at this point, as it was still cold and even though the sun was shining it did nothing to dry me off. As the fire got bigger I found myself practically sitting on top of it to soak up the warmth. About this time I heard someone shout below me, or at least I thought I did. It was just one shout, that was all. Nothing more. I just figured the three guys I had met were carrying on and having fun, but really barely gave it a thought. The fire kept going and I was finally starting to warm up. Believe it or not, my socks were drying and the top of my pants were starting to dry some as well. Just as I figured I was going to live Holly broke through the brush along the stream. She had a strange look on her face. She had her fishing pole in one hand and Andretti's leash in the other. Andretti! I had almost forgotten we had brought him with us. It was a comfort knowing the dog was here, but still, there was something about Holly that seemed strange.

"What's going on," I said. "Did you see those three men?" she asked.

The following story was related to me by Holly and I repeat it here exactly as she said it. She was fishing downstream from me and was absorbed in the task. She heard a low growl from Andretti and looked up to see the same three men who I met approaching her. She reached down and grabbed onto Andretti's collar and held on to him, assuring him it was alright. Over the course of Andretti's career many people had approached him and not one time had there ever been a problem with anyone who did so. Holly really didn't think anything of it. Anyway, the men stopped a ways off and talked among themselves for a moment before continuing their approach to her. Once they got closer to her they partially surrounded her, one facing her and one on each side. She had her back to the stream. At first there was some idle chat but then a remark was made that caught Holly's attention, which was something about if she was out fishing alone. Perhaps due to the drinking, or perhaps due to a more sinister plot, the men had her quite worried. At some point right about in here one of the men took a step towards Holly. There was an explosion of movement from Holly's side as Andretti leapt from the ground. He hit the man directly in the chest and grabbed his entire face in his mouth. As the man toppled over backwards he let out a loud scream. As he fell on his back Andretti was on top of him still holding his face in his mouth. Holly walked over and took him by the collar and stepped backwards. There was not a mark on the man's face, which probably would have been easy to see since it was deathly white. He laid there for a little while, picked himself up, and after a few choice comments about Andretti's ancestors they quickly left. Just as quickly Holly left and headed upstream to find me, and that is a true story about the courage of an American Bred dog who can and did step up when the situation arose.

This is a dog whose entire life up to that point had been a kennel dog, a show dog, and a stud dog. He had never been trained to attack anything, much less a man. It is a classic example of what this breed is capable of when faced with a demanding situation. There are countless stories in this breed that are similar, stories of German Shepherd pulling children off the train tracks, finding people buried under snow, alerting people to a fire in the house, waiting with someone who is injured or getting help. I am so proud that among this dog's many accomplishments, he is able to take his place along the many canine heroes in the breed as well. There are so many people out there who talk about Andretti as if they knew all about him, yet in reality they know so little. I, his owner, knew so little as well, because this truly was a special dog, but let me tell you some of the things I do know about this great dog in the rest of this chapter.

Am Select Am Can Ch Nike Clayfield Andretti ROM, ROM TT OFA 24352G4-T H/E

The first time I saw Andretti I was at a show in California. After the show Sharon Earl had promised me she would show me the dog at a nearby open area. By the time I got there I could see she had two dogs on display. There was a large crowd of people around one of the dogs, and the other was over in a corner by himself with just a Junior holding his leash. Of course I went to the large group thinking this must be the dog she had been promising she would show me. I fought my way through the crowd and there stood a large, masculine, high withered dog with tons of bone and tons of rear. He had a massive chest and plush coat with beautiful pigment. What a dog! Jerry Guzman was holding the leash, and about the time I got to see him up close Jerry took him around in a circle. For such a big powerful dog, he took a long stride keeping his rear end down and looked just awe inspiring to the Specialty person. Yes, I thought, he is going to be tough to beat. Never mind there were some problems, his great strengths seemed to overpower everything. So this is Andretti, I thought, and I moved closer to put my hands on him. At that time I heard Sharon calling his name: "Chateau, Chateau!" Whoa, wrong dog, I thought, as I turned to head for the other dog. Too bad, as I felt there couldn't be anything to compare to this awesome specimen I had just seen. I was already disappointed and really didn't expect to see much, but I wanted to check him out anyway.

As I walked across the grass towards Andretti the first thing I saw was this totally immature animal. He had such long legs, and a long elegant neck, and a long body, and long ears. In fact, the very first thought I had was that he looked like a young deer. He was not a small dog by any means, but a very tall elegant, long boned dog of great stature. His presence was unmistakable, He had a well chiseled head, strong ears like steel rods, and a very intelligent, keen dark eye. He has a beautiful coat and pigment, a well formed croup and tail set, and a tremendous rear, much like his famous mother. He had the presence and tight ligamentation of his breed leading father. This dog looked me squarely in the eye as I approached him in an unflinching attitude. Hmmmm, nice, I thought, but sure immature. Oh well, I want to watch him move, as I believed then, and still do, that if they move right they must be built right. "Take him around" I said, let's see what he's got. Almost before the words left my mouth he was in motion, striding around the grassy area. It seemed his feet never touched the ground, so swift and lightly he traveled. The length of stride was stupendous, the back was like iron, and the ground flew past this dog. He completed the circle and was back before I had even had time to think about what I saw. "Take him around again" I said, as I had to confirm and make sure what I had seen. Around and around they went, and my head was spinning. Look at that stride! What a great reach and drive, with front and rear perfectly balanced and with maximum reach and maximum drive. There was no way I could fault this movement, it was so very flawless. This can't be, I thought, he has to have a fault somewhere. So I asked the young lady to take him out and back, as this is where he had to fall apart with all that extreme rear. To my great surprise, he was flawless going away and coming at me. What could I say, I was in love. This dog could move circles around any dog I had seen. I glanced back to the other dog. The large group was still there, They were moving him again, and it was like night and day to me. The other dog was working hard, even though it looked good, he was heavy footed, and massive. Looking back at Andretti, I was stunned by the effortless, flying trot, truly covering a maximum amount of ground with a minimum amount of effort, truly flying, truly doing it like he should, truly one of the great movers in the breed. I no longer thought about this long limed immature dog as anything but a superstar, as I had never seen a male move like that. I knew right then, I had to have this dog, and thus began a chapter in my life that was to take me to great heights, and extreme lows, things that I could never have know about at that time. This dog, with such potential to contribute to the breed had his career cut short at only six years of age, and yet still made an impact on the breed such as few dogs ever have. In the course of this book I will reveal why he was voluntarily taken off the market by me, and why this was done.

From the first time I set eyes on him, Andretti has always
had that look of nobility, "Impossible to define but unmistakable when present."
He generously passed this onto his progeny. He passed
on the characteristics of his great showmanship, his will to go, and
his wonderful temperament. His puppies have those beautiful lines
so desired by breeders across the country, and they are excellent
movers like their father. Andretti easily did what the great ones do, he changed the look of the breed. It was Andretti that gave the breed a look of elegance with the long arching neck, the high wither, and the beautiful long flowing lines starting from the ears going down the long neck, smoothly flowing into the shoulders onto the back, loin, croup, tail set, and on down the saber-like tail.

He was the Number One Stud Dog Futurity/Maturity Tabulations for 1989,1990,1991,1992. He was one of the youngest dogs
to ever win the coveted ROM title in the history of the breed.
By his fifth birthday he had sired 12 champions, thirty two other
pointed progeny, as well as a number of progeny with foreign championships. As we will come to see, by his sixth birthday, he was taken off public stud, and sired no more litters during his lifetime. It is not hard to think about what records this dog could have set, had he stayed at stud, as it during the later years when a good stud dog gets the top quality bitches, the proven producers owned by established breeders, as a dog must prove his merit first. It is so hard to get people to take your dog seriously when he is young, and it takes so much time to get the recognition and proof your dog needs to be used by top breeders, who have the top bitches, the very ones that will help create the quality all lovers of the breed are after. This is why the early part of a stud dogs career must be managed well, in order to get him off to a good start, thus ensuring he will be used by quality breeders. Andretti was able to make his contribution to the breed in the first years of his career. It is not hard to project what he could have done had he stayed at stud for another four or five years, which very likely he would have done had he had the opportunity.

Andretti's strength comes from his pedigree, as does any good animal, and his good fortune for drawing the right genetics from his parents. His mother and father both lived past 12 years of age, and so would have Andretti, which would have clearly given him four or five more years of production. Yet, the great records he set were all accomplished is such a short timeframe. It is not hard to think that he could have set production records that would be unmatched for generations. He was a dog truly ahead of his time, he was so far advanced.

Andretti was test bred free of the long coat factor, the blue, liver, and
black factors. We have never found an Andretti sired puppy with
a missing tooth, or a bad bite. He produced a dark eye and strong
vertical ears. He consistently produced excellent hips and elbows. In fact all the vet's at the office we used said he would OFA Excellent, but they came back Good. Nevertheless, he sired several progeny that did OFA Excellent, and there are still progeny closely descended from him that are OFA'ing Excellent.

The fact that Andretti was the Number One Stud Dog in the country
was the best testimony to his real producing ability. His pups have
won this honor for him based on the decisions of many judges at
many shows, and over a long period of time, and in all geographical
areas of the country; as opposed to just one show under just one
judge; at just one point in time. Most of these wins were won by breeder-owner
handlers, just plain ordinary dog people, not the top prestige owners and
handlers in the breed during his time. This testimony to the produceability of this dog was very humbling to us, as were many other things about this dog.

	Andretti finished at 15 months of age in 5 consecutive weekends.
	Andretti was the sire of 12 Am Champions and 32 pointed progeny at his 5th birthday.
	Andretti was one of the youngest stud dogs to win the ROM title in the history of the breed.
	Andretti was the #1 Stud Dog in the US for 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, based of the Futurity/Maturity Tabulations.
	Andretti was the most successful stud dog at the 1990 National with more overall winners than any other stud dog.
	Andretti was the sire of 2 Select Champions and the WB at the 1990 National.
	Andretti was the sire of the BOB Winner at the 1990 Mexican National.
	Andretti sired a total of 41 US Champions while standing at stud for only six years. Many of his progeny went on to become well-known animals themselves.
	Andretti daughters are much sought after due to their great producing ability.

This is perfection in motion, always sought after rarely achieved.

   2x Sel Am/Can Ch Nike Clayfield Andretti ROM/ROMC OFA T.T.
                                                            Select
                                        Select           Ch Doppelt-Tay's Hawkeye ROM
                                        Ch Lockwood's Sundance & Stuttgart ROM
Select                                                   Ch Lockwood's Zaja
Ch Stuttgart's Sundance Kid ROM
                                                            Select
                                                            Ch Doppelt-Tay's Howkeye ROM
                                        Ch Caprice Kitty Hawk
                                                            Galewynd's TNT of Gan-Edan
                                        Select           Cobert's Sirocco of Windigail ROM
                                        Ch Covy's Mazarati of Tucker Hill ROM
Select                                                   USGV Ch Covy Tucker Hill Rosemary ROM
Ch Clayfield's Always A Lady ROM
                                                             Select
                                                             Ch Karagin's Crusader ROM
                                        Clayfield Smithfield Jordan ROM
                                                             Clayfield Dijanna v Hausemekon ROM

If you look at this pedigree you can see that Andretti did not come by his great attributes by accident, but honestly. There is an old saying in the cattle industry, which goes something like this: It is not hard to breed good cattle, you don't have to be a genius, it is not rocket science. What you do is get the best cow you can find and breed her a bull out of the best cow you can find. This is interesting, because we are not talking about scouring the countryside looking for the newest and hottest bull on the market, but rather we are looking at "cow families". This is giving the credit for production to the cow and not just the bull. Not that the male isn't important, as they they are equal in importance, but it calls attention to the dams, and the background of the dams. In my breeding theories today, I give a lot of weight to the dam, and to her background. I also would never breed to a stud dog today, without knowing who his mother is, and without seeing her in person. Andretti's mother was a power in the breed and offered length of bone we had not seen before.

I am frequently amazed at the rumors that come back to me about what people in the breed say about Andretti, without ever having seen him, bred to him, or even talked to me about him. It is my hope that by the time you are done reading this book, you will know the dog in a more accurate way, and will also pick up some useful tidbits of information you can use in your own career in this business.

Chapter Three: Handling To Win

Life is what was happening while I was making other plans. ----- John Lennon

I spent a goodly portion of my most productive years handling dogs at dog shows. At this point in my life is seems a little silly that I spent so much time doing this. One dog show blends into another, and there are only a very few that stand out for me in my memory. The rest are just a blur today. One might question if this is the way you would want to spend your life if it has no more meaning than that. There is no retirement, it doesn't make you any money, and it is a lot of very hard work. This is not like most sports which reward you for being good at what you do. Think of the amount of money a good athlete makes. A good handler can only hope for more and better dogs, but little else. In fact the better you are the more criticism and wrath you will incur from your fellow competitors. I must have been a great handler, because there are people who still hate me to this day, and I haven't handled a dog in the show ring for over ten years. Well, more of this later.

This chapter is not going to be your usual chapter about how to handle dogs. I'm not going to talk about how to move a dog in an L or a T or a Triangle, nor am I going to say much about how to pose a dog or groom them. I'm assuming that my readers are pretty sophisticated and advanced in such things, and that they want to know some insider secrets about how to stand out from the crowd and how to win on a regular basis.

The first thing any good handler needs to know is what a good dog looks like, and believe me there are some that don't. If you show top dogs naturally you will win more. That should be obvious. Secondly, and this can take years, a good handler needs to know the type of dog any given Judge prefers. This just takes years and years of going to dog shows and learning what each individual judge is like. What kind of dog does he prefer, how good of a judge is he? Does he like side-gait or does he prefer a clean dog coming and going. Is he on top of things and can he find the good ones. Does he know type? There is still much more to know though, and this is where knowledge can help you. Is this a political judge who knows which dogs are winning and then puts them up. Does he read the Dog Magazines and see who is advertising? Is he easily swayed by crowd support and hype? Can he be intimidated? Can he be pushed? Does this judge respond to good common friendship, or does he or she respond to alcohol, partying, sexual favors? Don't think it doesn't happen. I had a competitor bring the judge whiskey in a coke can while he was judging. The more he won, the more coke cans kept ending up at his table. It can get a little competitive, and if you don't think so , then you just don't know what's going on. I've seen handlers sell themselves out for a win, no matter how low the price. I've seen people who would sell their own mother for a three point win. Some people just don't have any character and no request is too much to ask for a win. Probably the worst and most insidious crap that goes on is the constant back stabbing, bad mouthing, and put downs that goes on at dog shows. Ask any judge how many times he is approached before a dog show and told that the rumor is that so and so is going to win under you, calculated to make the judge very wary of putting up the dog you are most afraid of. Or another good one is to tell the judge that you know he's been spending time with, or talking with your competitor, or that this is what you've heard. Or, people who send photos of their dogs to the judge just before a show, so that they will know what the dog has done. Sure you want to get involved in this game? There are some people whose dog just never gets beat by a better dog, and so when their dog gets beat, you can be sure the reason was politics and favors.

"It's not about what you do, it's about how you do what you do."

When I was a handler, after getting some experience in the ring for a few years I was ready to push the envelope. I suppose I am one of those people who likes to learn new things, and once I know them I'm ready to move on and learn something else. I did not start out fast. I believe I showed dogs for seven years, if I remember right, before I put my first point on a dog. Now that takes some determination. It was important to me to prove to myself that I could win at this game. It is not important to me today. I started showing dogs in Southern California. At that time it was a hot bed of top dogs and intense competition. Many of those people showing are still around today, some still showing, some judging. We are all old people now, and we were so competitive in our day new people who wanted to get into dog showing were just overwhelmed and after taking a good look around got right back out again. In my opinion this is one reason why the numbers at dog shows went down so bad. The cattle people realize that it is the juniors who are the future of the breed, and they do many things to encourage juniors to obtain and show cattle. They provide transportation, provide shows for juniors at every show that is held, and provide scholarships, and many other kind of things just for them. It keeps them interested and helps to build them into future cattlemen. There is not such quality programs for juniors in the dog world.

Anyway, as I was saying, I wanted to learn this game and to be successful at it. So I stuck with it and learned by observing and watching those who were successful. I had to learn to stay away from those who were not winners and not listen to them. I had to realize that my ideas were not necessarily right just because I though so. One of the big lessons I learned was that just because I thought I had a great dog, what was really important was what kind of dog does the judge like. Once you understand as a handler to take the type of dog to a judge that that judge likes your wins will go up, and not try to convince a judge that the type of dog you like should win. It is not your theories that will win the day in the show ring, it is what the judge likes that is going to win. This was a major advance for me as a handler. However, as a breeder one must know what they believe is correct and always move towards that goal. These are two very different things. So I would wear a handlers hat when I was a handler, and would wear a breeder's hat when I was planning my next breeding.

"Learn from the mistakes of others, you can't live long enough to make them all yourself." Author unknown

I hate to admit it but I showed dogs for seven years before I put a point on a dog. Pretty inauspicious beginning. In those days the entries were much larger than today, and the competition was fierce. So after this very long and difficult start in this business, I finally made my first major break through as a winner at All-Breed Shows in Canada. It was much easier to win in Canada in German Shepherds then. While the Canadians breed excellent dogs they were not strong in the German Shepherd ring. They had excellent Terriers and Setters and just about any breed that could be traced back to the British Isles, but fell behind in some other breeds. Eventually I came to dominate the Shepherd ring in Western Canada. It was at this time that I began to experience some of the things that happen to anyone who wins a lot. People were always trying to find out what shows I was going to and if they knew I was coming they would either not enter at all, or they would pull their entries. They would form cliques and applaud loudly for their dogs and remain deadly silent when my dog was gaiting. Still, I think it had an overall benefit for the breed as they really began to search for a dog that could beat me and the quality was very high in those days.

Also, at this time I began to experiment with handling other breeds, thereby continuing to learn new things. In some ways we can really learn more about our own breed by showing other breeds. For example, what a Shepherd breeder thinks is clean coming and going can often be totally unacceptable for someone in another breed. I've seen other Shepherd breeders who, like myself, never even knew what a sound dog coming and going looked like until seeing it in some of the other breeds. While Shepherd breeders really don't think about heads much, I learned that heads are very important to some other breeds. Shepherds are not a head breed, which is probably why we still have good heads. Once breeders start to fool around with something like heads and ears, thats when the trouble begins.

After a while, winning consistently in Canada started to lose it challenge for me, and I wanted to try new fields. The next advancement came when I began to win at All-Breed Shows in the US. At this point I was finishing three or four dogs in the US a year. I handled for Ann Mesdag of Von Nassau Kennels in those days and learn much from her. Then, it wasn't just taking the points that I wanted, but to start winning Best of Breeds and getting into the Group. So I started looking for a good Special to win BOB and place in the Group. One is rarely satisfied in dog showing however, and the better you do, the more you want to do. Eventually I wasn't satisfied with Group wins and wanted that elusive Best In Show. Eventually, I believe I ended up with about twelve Best In Shows before I was through. Not great if you compared to some handlers, but not too bad for an Iowa farm-boy who did it all himself. The point is , if you want to increase your wins as a handler of German Shepherds at All-Breed Shows, you need to be seen in the Group. Most judges hang around for the Group Judging and if they keep seeing you in the ring with your breed, they will remember you and give your dog more attention the next time they are judging your breed. So you will want to be in the Group as often as possible. You can send photos to judges who put you up as a place to start. You can spend money, if you or your client has it, to advertise. Advertising pays believe me.

The last step in my mind was to succeed at Specialty Shows because I thought this was the cream of the cream. Specialty Shows are almost always judged by breeder judges, people who have spent a lifetime in the breed and who have some prestige and authority therein. So I started the quest to rise to the top in the Specialty ring. To this day, Specialty showing is different from All-Breed. Here dogs are shown differently and it is up to the handler to be able to make the switch. If you take an All-Breed dog to the Specialty ring you won't do well as a rule, although a truly exceptional dog can still go both ways. A good Specialty dog needs to run the ring very hard, out at the end of the leash and make the most out of itself. It needs to have great attitude and presence, looking around with head and ears up. Most of all it needs to have great reach and drive, truly covering a maximum amount of ground with a minimum number of steps. This has been focused on to such a great extent, and for so long now, that we have lost sight of a wide variety of other factors that make this breed great. In fact the worship of side-gait has brought with it in increase in otherwise faulty dogs being put up just because they have great side-gait. Indeed, I believe the argument can be made that in some cases the All-Breed dog can be, and in many cases is, the better overall dog. This is simply true because the focus at Specialty Shows is too narrow, with side-gait being the sole determination why one dog wins over another. When this is true, when the worship of side-gait determines everything, then everything else begins to suffer, such as temperament, secondary sex characteristics, feet, coming and going, and even ears that stand up without flopping with each step the dog takes. I can remember when the ears on Shepherd puppies used to come up by themselves at eight weeks of age. Then it became popular to comment around the show ring that ears aren't that important, as they don't run on their ears, once again the worship of side-gait to the detriment of all else. So, today we sometimes have to wait until the dog is eight months before the ears stand, and sometimes they don't stand at all.

Once again, however, I am digressing. Eventually, after a long and, at times, hard road I began to be the one to beat at Specialties. This was my heyday in the dog world. At this time we were flying out about twice a month to attend Specialty Shows, as well as all the local shows we could get to. We did not drop the All-Breed Shows but worked them around the Specialties. Now we were finishing about twelve dogs a year, meaning about one a month. This takes a lot of winning to do this, and I became a marked man. No longer could I sneak up on someone. Each win had to be well planned and carried out. I tried to leave no stone unturned and prepared for each show with great care. I wanted to have the best dog in the show, groomed and conditioned the best, and each dog chosen for the right judge to show him under. It seemed the more I won, the more I wanted to win, and the more I had to watch out for those who I was beating. Rather than being rewarded for my successes with additional money and recognition such as a sports star would be, it was a constant battle to squelch rumors and back stabbing. Such is the life of a good handler I suppose. I would spend more time between dogs shows working on winning than I spent at the dog show. Showing dogs is like a chess game, the moves are planned well before you make them.

So this was the progression of my career in dogs. To this day I would recommend that it is a good pattern to follow. I believe it is easier to get a start, a foothold, in the show world at the All-Breed Shows. The competition is not as fierce and they are, at the point level at least, less political. All-Breed Shows become very political at the BOB, Group and BIS level however. Specialty Shows can be very political, largely because of the way the AKC constitutes the show. Only one person can win, and yet at most Specialties there are several dogs, each of which is equally capable of winning. When this is true, it becomes very arbitrary who wins. There is an old saying in dogs that goes something like, "Always put your friends up when all else is equal, because your enemies will never do a thing to help you." It's a human equation which is very difficult to totally remove in this kind of world. Were dog shows set up so that any number of equally deserving dogs could win points towards their championship I believe you would find much less politics. Indeed, this is exactly how some other kennel clubs do things, such as the International Kennel Club. Many, myself included, find this a much better approach. I have heard people say that Canadian Championships are too easy, International Championships also. Well, I have seen some truly outstanding Canadian dogs, dogs that come down to our shows in America and beat us all. Good dogs are wherever you find them, and no one has a monopoly on them.

"Hatred is the cowards revenge for being intimidated." George Bernard Shaw

As said, winning became very important to me. So I gave a great deal of thought to what I could do as a handler to maximize my wins. I studied everything I could do to set myself apart from the other handlers in the ring. I pushed the envelope to the max. I looked at the other handlers in the ring and what I saw was a group of robots generally. They were so dutiful and similar, each standing holding their dogs without even trying to make their dog stand out. I wanted my dog to get attention, to stand out, to be different so that people would notice it. So I looked at the judges. If the judge was new I pushed, sometimes I really pushed the judge hard to the point of being obnoxious. If the judge was from another breed and I felt he or she was not knowledgeable about Shepherds I would talk to them during examination, or I would emphasize certain aspects of my dog that were good. I would pick the front end up and bounce it off the floor while the judge was looking. Sometimes, if a dog the judge was looking at had an obvious fault, such as a gay tail, I would get the judges attention, lift my dogs tail up, and the turn around and look at the dog with a gay tail. If a dog was shy, I would stand clear at the end of the leash, sometimes even with my back turned, when the judge was going over my dog. If my dog was clean coming and going I made a real point to make sure the judge got a good look at my dog on the out and back. I would ask to do it again if I felt the first time was not good enough. I always ran the dog on the mat and I ran on the cement so the dog has the best chance to move well. I took every opportunity to grandstand my dog. I could not just stand in line and do nothing while all the other dogs were being examined. So I let my dog pose out at the end of the leash with head and ears up, looking for the owner. This was called grandstanding, and I guess I was guilty of that. I figured even if the judge didn't see it, at least the ringside would, and I wanted that as well. One time I even stacked my dog backwards and let him bait off the dog behind him. I won the breed that day. Interestingly enough, the dog I beat went on to become a Grand Victor. I always figured the judge was in control of the ring, and if he or she didn't like what I was doing the would tell me so. One time someone who was sick of my techniques decided to use them on me. She stacked her dog right in front of my dog, completely covering me up. I merely let her do it and just looked at the judge, as I had no place to move, being boxed into a corner. The judge came over to me, pulled me out of the middle of the pack and placed me in front of the line and gave me the points that day. It's all about thinking on your feet. Either you can do it, or you can't. Those who don't understand this is a game of competition and of wits don't get it, but they will generally hate you for it.

I was a speed demon at getting my dog stacked. I always had my dog ready when the judge looked, and at the end of gaiting I was the first to get my dog in a stacked or posed position. I never stopped working in the ring, and did not like to stand around and talk while the class was going on. It was when we were moving around the ring that I loved the most. I was always pretty athletic, and I stayed in good shape to show dogs. So this was my turn to excel. I was always ready for the moment to move the class together. If the person in front of me couldn't run, or if their dog couldn't move, I would run up along side of them to emphasize the point. Sometimes I would let them start out a half a ring ahead of me and then I would let my dog fly and catch them before they finished their first lap. I loved it when we had a judge who liked to let us run and do our thing as handlers. I would try to run everyone into submission just by flying around the ring. When the judges made us slow down, I would get my dog on a lose lead and then let it cover the dog ahead of me. Bad form? I don't think so, because everyone else in the ring had the same opportunities to do the things I did. If they were as competitive as me, they would do it too. Hey, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. I came to Dog Shows for only one reason, and that was to win. I hated every dog I had to compete against. I was not very patient with a grown person in the ring handling a dog that couldn't run, or showing a dog that couldn't move. I wasn't there to win a personality contest. This would eventuate in some blowback at times. I remember a handler in Canada who was pretty afraid of me. Once when we were gaiting and my dog's front was about even with his dog's rear he slowed down and attempted to kick my dog! Now this crosses over the line. If I bother you that much, and you can't figure out what to do about it, at least kick me, not my dog. This really burned me up as there are so many other ways to better deal with this problem. The best answer would be to let him cover me, don't worry about it. If the judge likes the dog being covered he will make sure he can see it. They are in control of the ring and they will make sure they get to see what they want to see. Anyone who kicks at your dog has lost control and you have won the psychological game with them. It's like getting your dog out before you go in the ring and making a great pass right in front of your competitors nose. You are trying to intimidate them and win the psychological battle before entering the ring.

There are so many things a handler can do if he is a thinking handler and not just going through the motions. If my dog had a great rear I would stack my dog at an angle so that the judge would have to see the rear as he looked down the line. I took great care in grooming and conditioning my dog. There are many tricks to learn about grooming, how to sculpt your dog so that he looks more typy. Flat croups can be shaped by good grooming, and how the dog is stacked. This is done by bringing the inside leg farther forward. When you do this, it pulls the croup downward, making it look better. Short necks can be made to look longer. Backs can be made to look better, bone can be made to look heavier, and dogs can be given more depth of body. Exercise will clean up a dog that is not good going away. A good quality dog food will produce a good coat and overall condition on the dog. The teeth should be clean and white, which is easy to do. The ears should be cleaned and the toe nails trimmed. Naturally the dog needs to be bathed and blown out or combed out. You should be able to run a comb through any part of the dog's hair without it sticking or catching before you enter the ring, and never go in the ring with gop of matter in the corner of your dog's eyes.

The only time I ever felt truly alive was when I was in the ring showing dogs. It really didn't matter what breed it was, I just wanted to be in there competing. I used to stay busy all the time I was in the ring. I always carried a straight comb with me in the ring for final touch up of the top-line just before the judge was going to look at my dog. I went over every aspect of my dog while the judge was looking at other dogs on individual examination. I would comb the tail, adjust the collar, make adjustments with the owner or double handler; whatever I could think of to make a good impression with my dog. I also wanted to stay busy outside the ring, and that's why I learned to handle other breeds. When you are at an All-Breed Show, Shepherds will be over in an hour or two, so why not show other breeds and make more money and earn a living? I know of some handlers who just go get something to eat or go lay down somewhere once Shepherd judging is over. Not me, I just kept going.

The main thing is to learn to think in the ring and on your feet. When I went to a dog show I looked at every other competitor there as my enemy. In my mind they were there for one reason only, and that was to beat me. I, of course, went to dog shows for one reason, and one reason only, and that was to beat them. There was no other reason why I would be there. I had few friends at dog shows. I never allowed my double handler to talk to anyone while I had their dog in the ring, because it is an old trick to have a competitor walk up to your double handler and engage them in conversation right while you need them to get the dog up to make a good pass. They could do all the socializing they wanted to, but not while the dog was in the ring. I had ways to show my displeasure if the double handler did not do what he should. When I got really frustrated I would grab my sun glasses and throw them on the ground and stomp on them. That usually got their attention.

Showing a German Shepherd properly at a Specialty Show is a two man operation. To try to show the dog by yourself is suicide. No dog can see any real reason for running around the ring as hard as he can with his head and ears up looking beautiful. They just don't see it that way. So we encourage them to do this for us by having a double handler outside the ring. This has to be someone the dog is really attached to, someone the dog wants to find and get to. The double handler discretely calls the dog, something only the dog is attuned to and hears. He will then start to look for his owner, or double handler. It makes all the difference in the world in the general appearance and showmanship of the dog, and the degree of energy and verve with which he will run around the ring. This needs to be discretely and without be obvious or even obnoxious, which is what I see today with some of the newer owners.

When Holly and I were showing dogs we developed this to a high level. Since we showed so many dogs and did it over a long period of time we each knew each others moves. Holly understood how judging is done and how judges think. She always knew where to be and when to call and when not to. She could read the dog I had in the ring and knew what to do outside the ring. We won a tough Futurity one time precisely because she was positioned outside the ring right where the judge was going to look and picked the dog up just at the right time. Remember, if you are going to win a tough show, you had better make sure you are looking really good those last forty feet. When I was handling I never had to wave my hand at her, which I think looks very tacky, indicating that now is the time to pick the dog up. We were much smoother than that. In fact, we worked together so well you could not see any communication between me the handler and Holly the double handler. Today I still see some handlers waving at their double handlers, which looks amateurish. When you are doing it right, it should be impossible to tell.

I played sports while I was young, and much of what I learned in sports carried over into the way I looked at showing dogs. I believed that you work far more between dogs shows then you do at dog shows. I thought that practice made perfect. I thought when I first started that we all played fair, but in time I learned that dog shows are not different than life anywhere you find it, and that people being what they are, will always find a way to win beyond just tough competition in the ring. This was an area that I was never very good at. I did not ingratiate myself with judges, and become friends with them. I tried to let my dogs do the talking in the ring, and hoped that this would be enough. Sometimes it was, sometimes it wasn't. No one wins all the time in dogs, but there was a time when I won a lot by anyone's standards.

When I look at handlers today I'm somewhat amazed. I swear that all some of them know is to get a twenty foot leash and run around the ring twenty feet behind their dogs. What can a handler possibly do to help his dog if they are twenty feet behind the dog. How can they collect the dog as they enter a corner, just as a good rider collects his horse? I was recently watching a tape of the National and saw a dog head into a corner and spot someone standing there. The dog spooked and jumped back. In my opinion a good handler would have seen this coming and would have moved between the dog and the corner and avoided this. Most of handlers today don't even know how to set a dog up so that they can accentuate the animal. They don't know how to place the front feet nor the rear to get top-line and create angulation and curves, nor do they even try. For example, I watched a handler let his dog stand out at the end of the lead for the judge to examine and both front feet were turned east west and the dog was pinched in front. No attempt was made to correct this. . If your dog lacks rear, it can be made better by placing the extended hind leg a little farther then normal and spreading the hind legs farther apart, thus lowering the rear and giving more top-line.

Robert's 5 Step Easy Method to Stack a Dog

When you are showing a dog in the ring and the pressure is on, you can't take the time to try to remember how to stack your dog. If you simply learn this easy five step procedure you will never make a mistake, your dog will always be set up to perfection, and your mind will be totally free to watch the judge for timing and to know what else is going on in the ring. It will relieve pressure from having to think about stacking the dog, and it will increase the speed with which you get this done so that you are always ready should the judge happen to be looking at your animal.

Step One: Drop the lead to the ground as you don't need it to stack your dog. Get squarely in front of your dog and hook your fingers under the dog's collar. As you are doing this be sure you bring the collar all the way up the neck to the ears. This is important so that as you are holding the dog later on in these steps you won't have a bunch of hair and skin lumping out on the dog's neck, thereby ruining the profile. Walk him forward until you can stop him with his rear leg closest to the judge in an extended position. The rule of thumb is that this leg is stopped when the hock is perpendicular to the ground. With some dogs it may need to be adjusted to get the dog to look it's best.

Step Two: Get around behind your dog and kneel down. Take a pinch of skin and the collar between your thumb and finger and hold the dog in position. If the extended rear leg is not exactly where you want it hand place it. Next, place the inside rear leg. The rule is thumb is that it is placed where a line dropped from the middle of the loin would touch the ground. Place the toes of the inside rear leg so that they would touch this line. Some handlers bring the inside hind leg way too far forward and at the same time stretch the outside rear leg to far back and thereby create an awkward picture. This is over-stretching. The distance the inside rear leg is moved forward and back affects the slope of the croup. If the dog needs more topline widen the stance of the rear legs, and this will lower the topline. The point of doing it in this way is that it quickly gets your dog into a good profile. Generally the judge will be in the middle of the ring and you will want that judge to see your dog's profile at it's best and this way you quickly have it.

Step Three:

Next place the front feet. Be a perfectionist here as this is especially important to the All-Breed judge. The front feet should be shoulder width apart and parallel to the front. When placing the front grab the front legs at the elbow, as you want the entire shoulder assembly to be straightened up and this is by far the best way to place the legs and feet.

Step Four: Now smooth down your dog's topline and correct any dips or lumps with your hand, or fingers as necessary, starting from the withers all the way to the croup. Shaping the croup is important and often overlooked. Lastly, flick the dog's tail out so that it hangs naturally and is not caught underneath him.

Step Five: You can either remain in a kneeling position or you can stand up. At this point you will alert the dog. It can either be done with bait, or you can have your double handler call him. Either way, be sure this step is clear between you and your double handler if you have one, because you can't do both at the same time. If this is done rapidly and in good order you dog will be set up in a flawless way, you can make sure your timing is good, and you won't have to be waving at your double handler which always looks tacky to me. When done right it is smooth, effortless, and takes attention away from the handler and directs towards the dog. Truly good handlers are noticed very little and the dog is noticed a lot.

Good handlers have soft hands, and make the dog feel confident in the ring. They work with the dog in stacking in a way that makes the dog feel comfortable. Soft hands. When gaiting the dog, it is so easy for a good handler to move a dog well, because the inwardly know how to run with the dog. They do not fight with the dog and try to get the dog to do what they want, but rather let the dog do what it wants, move with the dog, and then gradually correct it to the desired pace. It is a way of feeling the dog that is hard to put into words. Communication between dog and handler takes place in many ways, and eventually it is like magic. A good handler gets the dog to do what you want just with an unspoken communication between dog and handler. You can feel it through the leash. I used to believe I could just think a dog into doing what I wanted it to do without a lot of manhandling. In my mind, the epitome of great dog handling is when you can completely and totally show a dog from the end of a six foot leash. It requires that you have a good dog to show however, as when it is done in this way you cannot be correcting a lot of faults. This means that you can pose the dog from the end of the leash, and you can gait the dog from the end of the leash. This requires a lot of communication and training between dog and handler to do this, but when done right it is a sight to behold. It is man and dog working together, everything going exactly as you want it to. Most of the time the leash is totally slack between the dog and the handler. Most of the new handlers today don't even know what I'm talking about here. They are all worried about having control, and to them control is bringing the collar up around the ears and keeping them on a tight leash. When the run with the dog it is jerk, jerk, jerk. As soon as the dog hits its stride they jerk. To me it was about giving the dog it's head, and running with the dog. Drop the leash and learn how to run with the dog and get it to do what you want it to by thinking. I guess it really comes down to magic after all.

Here are some other things to keep in mind. Never under-estimate your opponent. Work towards gaining confidence in a judge that you will bring him or her good dogs, and they can rely on that. So don't show a bad one under a judge you win consistently under. Once you start to win with a dog keep going. One of the worst things I see done with some dogs is as soon as they get a win, the owner thinks it's time to hold them back. I will never understand this and this remains as one of the dumber choices I have ever seen. Leave things alone if they are working, you know, like if it ain't broke don't fixit. I had a Weimaraner client who didn't like the length the tail was docked, even though the dog was winning. So she had the tail re-docked. Sure enough, it got infected and the end of the story was that the dog lost the complete tail right down to the body.

I showed a lot of dogs without getting paid. Dogs were different when I started out. Handlers used to hang out at ringside waiting to get a dog to handle. I would handle any dog just to learn the business and just to get myself known in the dog world. Also, many of my clients who had really good dogs often had little money. I would never pass up the chance to show a dog that could win just because the owner did not have the money to pay me. There are many other ways to work this out. I got puppies in trade, or stud services if I could use them. I once had a client who worked for a hospital and he had access to x-ray film. I would accept this and then trade it to my vet for veterinary services. Winning was more important to me than money, because I figured once I had won enough the money would come, and it did.

Chapter 4 Magic

"When love and skill come together expect a masterpiece."

I used to have people come to me and ask me how I did it. How do you win so much? I had two answers. The first was simply, I was lucky. If this didn't work and they persisted I would say it was magic. I suppose neither of these answers were very satisfying, but there is a lot of truth in both. First of all, there is always luck involved. Yes you make luck happen by hard work, but that is not the whole answer either. When luck fails to explain it, magic takes over. Now I know this seems stupid to some of you, so let me explain what I mean.

When one totally absorbs themselves in something they become so much a part of it that advancements are made that will never happen for the person who does not give of himself to this degree. Magic, as I mean it, occurs in the sense of using all the energies that are available. I was not studying old books or lore; rather it was like it was dictated to me. I don't know if I learn things or not, but I do remember them. In my world animals are as much a part of my reality as cars and money are for the next guy. I have a communion with them so when they are there I can feel it. That feeling has caused me to strive to create special ones.

As I said, I don't think I learn anything, I just remember it, from what has gone on before. I didn't breed good dogs as much as they bred themselves. The measure of spirituality is a clear headed acceptance of duty. Once you have truly learned the breed, the pedigrees, the pillar dogs, and the type that is what we all want, the creation of them will come to you. You are involved.

I reached a point where I would know when I was leaving the driveway whether I would win that day or not. At times I found this a little disconcerting and would refuse to share it with the people who were with me. I sometimes would think if I would say it I would be jinxed that day and so refused to tell others what I already knew. I think most psychics are actually psychics, but once they go into business and the costs of advertising and promotion start to rise they lose their awareness and become charlatans and make up what they used to know. Now I don't pretend that I am psychic or anything like that, I'm just saying how much one knows when they are totally emersed in what they do.

"Knowledge is only power if you use it. "

I got my degree in philosophy and so I can't help but to approach this subject on magic in a more scholarly way. So follow with me, if you will, a more intellectual approach to what I have said above. There has long been known man's desire to achieve a higher knowledge of the world and beyond. In man's search for a higher knowledge he has come across what is called portals to help him achieve this. This can be traced far back into time, back to the Greeks, and even far back beyond that. The Greeks however were adept seekers of knowledge. I would like to review just a tiny bit of this to help explain what I believe was beginning to happen to me in my dog showing days.

To instruct the initiates in how to achieve a higher state of consciousness, mystical philosophers point to magical portals though which humans can learn to travel to higher dimensions. These are:

1. Art
2. Meditation
3. Physical activities such as drama and dance
4. Argumentation which Plato called the Dialectic
5. Altered states of consciousnes
6. Mathematics such as geometry.

Mystics, or Perennalists teachers, maintain that humans have the capacity to attain a higher state of consciousness through understanding the super sensual world of Plato's Forms or Ideas. Mathematics, especially geometry, was a bridge for Pythagoras between the visable and the unvisable worlds. It was a way to turn the mind away from the physical world, which he held is transitory and unreal, to the comtemplation of the eternal and truly existing things that never change.

The implicit goal of Classical education was to enable the mind to become a channel through which the physical plane (earth) could receive the abstract cosmic life of the heavens. The practice of geometry was an approach to the way the universe was ordered and sustained. Thus a seemingly common mathematical activity can become a discipline for intellectual and spiritual insight. Of course the study of geometry must be at its highest level in order to achieve understanding of a higher realm of being. So during the time of the Greeks, before Aristotle, it was believed that through the portals of art, math, contemplation and meditation, physical activities, dialectic, and altered states of consciousness we are able to enter into a realm of higher being, and with it higher knowledge.

Obviously there is a very large body of written belief systems that attempt to explain how we know things beyond the scientific method, and this scope is far beyond my book. I merely want to point out this small understanding of how this may happen. Who really steeped in dogs is not involved in art? While we don't work with paints and oils, we clearly are working artistically with flesh and blood. Breeding dogs in not a science, not yet anyway. We are truly artists when we breed to create a magnificent animal? Who in dogs does not contemplate and meditate on what they do. I used to visualize dog shows before I ever got to them, going through the events that would take place there. Who in dogs in not involved in physical activities in road work, and training?
Who in dogs is not involved in our own kind of dialectic? All dog people ever do is talk about dogs. I think it is very likely that all this involvement in dogs would lead the sensitive and thoughtful person into a knowingness that is separate and different from the usual level of being.

Chapter Five Ear Training

(Some Practical Information)

Directions for Inserting Trainers in German Shepherd Puppy Ears

Begin with ears that are clean and dry.
Buy the Extra Large Goody pink foam hair rollers. They have a plastic center clasp. Remove the clasp. I insert a pencil into the hole to help hold the roller while I glue it. The glue we use is found at a large animal vet or some feed stores...and is called Shut Eye (or sometimes Tag Cement). It is a product used on cattle to glue a patch over the eye when they have pinkeye. So far we have not had a dog who is sensitive to the glue or has had a problem with it. Another product that some people use is Skin Bond found in a medical supply store. This does not hold as well, but like the cattle glue, will not irritate the skin. I prefer the cattle product.

Apply the glue to the roller about 2/3rd of the way around, leaving it free of glue in the front. If you use the pencil to hold it your fingers stay cleaner, but have the eraser end down, as you insert the roller and hold with your thumb in front. Be sure to have an adhesive remover product like Goo Gone or De-Solve-It on hand for your fingers, or for removing glue from unwanted areas.

Holding the ear upright, and even slightly toward the center of the head, insert the roller into the base of the ear, just above the 'knob', the little cartilage bump at the base of the ear.

Once the rollers are inserted, wrap the bases a couple times around with one inch wide athletic tape. (This can be found in some pharmacies, medical supply stores or veterinarian offices. One manufacturer is Johnson and Johnson. If you hold it to the light, you will see it is filled with tiny holes.)

It is easier if you have help holding the puppy for this job, scratching their chest to distract them. Now do the same thing with the other ear.

The next step is to form a bridge between the ears to keep them erect. I start by bringing the tape across the front starting at the side of the ear, so the ears are positioned perfectly vertical, and holding them perfectly forward.

As I come around the second ear to the back I follow the contour of the ear, then stick the tape to it self, then the second ear, so that I don't change the position of the ears. Wrap them at least two times around. Check to see that the hair is not pulling anywhere and is free of the tape. Check, also, to see that it is possible for air to get inside the ear. If the roller is positioned too low, take a small pinch of the roller at the base in front and remove it to make room for ventilation.

Check the ears every couple of days for any sign of irritation or infection. You will know by putting your nose near the ear, as an infected ear will give an odor. If the ears are infected, you will need to remove the rollers immediately. (Be sure to use a citrus-based adhesive remover if you need to remove the rollers, as this glue is very, very sticky and the roller will be difficult to remove without it.) Leave the rollers in the ears until they come out on their own. If the tape comes off after some time, and the ears are standing erect with just the rollers, this is fine. Once the rollers fall out (usually as much as a month or more), watch the pup closely and if the ears are not standing on their own, reinsert a new set of rollers immediately or within a day or two if you want to give the ears a rest. It is highly unusual, but I have seen it take some dogs until 8 or 9 months before their ears are standing...but once they are up, they are fine.

It might also help to supplement the dog during this time with glucosamine/chondroitin. Do not expect the ears to do well during the teething process. We usually don't even begin to tape them until that process is nearing completion, around 5 months or so, although it may not hurt to start a little earlier if you suspect a problem.

Above pup as an adult with her ears up.