want to evaluate annie?

[someday]

I remember when we did a thread a while back evaluating dogs and I learned so much from it..Of course Annie isn't even registered and has a ton of faults, so I won;t be offended in you pointing them out...I just want to get better at evaluating dogs for when I do eventually get that show dog sometime down the road, and I was having fun playing with the new digital camera my fiance got from his parents for christmas...hehe..so here she is do a terrible stack, horribly out of shape and poor belly is shaved where she had surgery...but *I* think she's beautiful anyways

[juice1348]

do you really want my evaluation??? Well....here it is.....Annie is gorgeous and seems like a great family member, lol. Haha, I dont know anything about "show dogs". Avary has many faults too, including, her 'Dudley nose' hahah. Oh well, I love her!

But if someone else wants to evaluate Annie and Avary it would be cool....

http://www.picturetrail.com/juice1348

[kyles101]

for annie

[Freedom]

Well she is overweight like you pointed out, and she is lacking some muscle definition. Her stifles appear to be straight, and her tail also looks straight. In APBTs, Amstaffs, and AmBulls they prefer the dogs to have a "pump handle" tail. A "pump handle" tail is when the dogs tail is sticking straight out behind them it them go straight and then a slight hook at the end that gives their tail a "pump handle" look. This is NOT a "gay" tail which is a fault and curls up and over and the back. Her tallness and length are pretty proportionate so she doesnt look too long or too leggy. Her paws look pretty good, but her toes are not as tight as they could be. As for her head, its hard to see it from the side picture, but it appears to have the brick shape from the side which is preferred. She has a nice stop to her muzzle, but her muzzle is a tad on the snipey side. Her ears not rose prick, they are a little long. She is kinda crooked in the pic you have of her from the front, so I can't tell if her chest is easty westy or not. That's all I can tell from the two pics, but she is a beautiful girl none the less.

[someday]

Thanks juice and kyles

Freedom- I completely agree..but I'm a little confused on the pump handle tail...that's a poor picture of her normal tail set..she was getting a little tired of me running around to restack her after I set the timer on the camera, so her tail is a bit tucked...here's one i just took...the lighting is poor, but you can see her tail well..is this still too straight?

[MaxKellyAST]

[someday]

Thanks MaxKelly..really..I don't mind the critcism...I'm here to learn and she's a loved pet..I'm trying to figure out how to stack..not very good at it yet...but I'll keep practicing with her.

[goob]

She could use a bit more angulation (the front more than the rear) and more turn of the stifle (knee), but there are show dogs with worse than she has. She also looks a bit cow hocked, her "ankles" in the back turn in a bit, though that's not uncommon in the breed. Her front is nice, shoulders are set back on her body and legs are nice and straight, not bowed out. Though she looks a bit easty westy, I think her "socks" make it look more than it really is, and this is also common in APBTs. Her feet are a bit flat, but not too bad. Drop ears are a no-no according to the standard, but mean little structurally, and they fit her face anyway Her topline is pretty good, though it drops off a bit at her rear, it also looks like she was scrunching up because she didn't like being stacked (I know this because ours do the same), tail is set nice and low. Really she's pretty well built, there are worse dogs being bred and pawned off as "show dogs". She could stand to lose a few pounds though, maybe she and our Haley can pair up for an exercise program

For stacking, some dogs are just really put off by having people pulling thier legs all over, and then it all goes downhill as they stiffen up and silently resist. You're better off to do short sessions, starting with just a stand, however they want to stand, and rewarding for staying up (for some dogs, sit is the default position, and it can be hard to teach them that standing is sometimes desired). Then once they know "stand", and are comfortable with that, you can go in and manipulate them little by little, rewarding for correct positioning. I was also told that it works better to move their legs from the top, ie: instead of grabbing their foot, then placing it where you want it, take their elbow or thigh and manipulate from there, as their entire leg will be positioned right that way. It also helps to work with them on a table, where they're limited in their motion, or on a step, put their front paws at the edge, and they won't be as likely to move forward on you, then worry about the back feet. If they like toys or treats, you can bait them to take their mind off what you're doing, but this isn't allowed in most show rings. I haven't done much in the way of working with ours on this, as long as they stand, I don't usually care how they're doing it, so if I try to stack them they look like their legs are broken and they've been through the most horrible trauma imagineable They do have handling classes for people interested in showing, so that'd be a good thing to try when you eventually get that show dog

[MyPetTherapyDog]

I think she is georgous. I don't know how to evaluate a show dog. It is sure very interesting however and I have learned some from this thread.