>Perhaps they should start standing the dogs square then outsiders would be less critical?

If only to satisfy personal curiosity I'd love to see comparison photos of the traditional GSD show stance and the more common square stand

Why do they stand them in that way and are they the only breed to have such a different stance?

I know John and Pauline very well and they fully deserved their placing with Elmo (Ricco) its about time the GSD was right up there.
And Steve as always handled to perfection. Im biased he's our handler and partner in our dogs :-) lol x

Just what I've often thought Brainless, I did point out to hubby that it was partly the way they are stood that accentuates the topline and he said they shouldn't stand them in such a silly way then (his words, not mine!) :-D

the same could be said of standing bulldogs and Staffords face on.  Personally I think all breeds should be stood fore-square.

like the GSD stance is, that does give a slope to the topline...try it with your own dog & see what happens

Funnily enough I did that yesterday with one of my Malinois -before even having read this. (It was after seeing various ads in the dog paper supplements for Crufts that I got curious.) Well she ended up sloping a little bit but nowhere NEAR as much as the GSDs do. Nor did her back turn into a banana shape. So I don't for a moment believe it is all down to how the dog is stood.

Yes, I agree with that too - bulldogs and Staffords should be more than just a head. :-)

> like the GSD stance is, that does give a slope to the topline...try it with your own dog & see what happens
>
> Funnily enough I did that yesterday with one of my Malinois -before even having read this. (It was after seeing various ads in the dog paper supplements for Crufts that I got curious.) Well she ended up sloping a little bit but nowhere NEAR as much as the GSDs do. Nor did her back turn into a banana shape. So I don't for a moment believe it is all down to how the dog is stood.

It does depend on the length of the dog & how far forward the back leg is put, as to how much slope is achieved.

I pulled the leg as far forward as I could before it hurt her. But obviously malinois are meant to be square -the body (minus head) should fit perfectly into a square box.

> malinois are meant to be square

Thats what I suspected