Yesterday at Border Union I wandered past the German Shepherd ring and was appalled at the double handling going on. Names were shouted, balls were bounced over the railings in the ring and someone was running around with a duck call. This nonsense continued in the group and it all seemed to be accepted as normal. I made a remark about it and was shot down in flames. Apparently it is a worse crime to bait your dog in the ring than to double handle! Why has the Kennel Club not done something about this nonsense?

I've seen that at the SKC at Ingliston, I was surprised as Id always thought it was against the rules.

I don't show, but when I can get to spectate at a show, if the GSD ring is nearby (it usually is, as I go to watch other pastoral breeds) the noise from the GSDs is often so great that I see it affecting other breeds in rings nearby. Hard for the handlers to concentrate when there is whooping and yelling at their elbow. It's almost as though they have a show of their own within a show.

And before anyone says that show dogs should be bombproof enough to cope with anything like that, just stand near the GSD ring and imagine you are handling your dog in the ring next to it.

I have to say, I do find it hard to imagine a ring full of silent GSDs!

> I have to say, I do find it hard to imagine a ring full of silent GSDs!

The dogs are silent. Need I say more?

On top of that I and many other exhibitors have experienced bad manners from some of their exhibitors.
As SKC myself and many others ha trouble walking past their ring nd benches to get to ours. Dogs on long lines were owners were paying no attention to and this made it difficult to walk through without a shepherd face into mine. A few choice words were said by a well know flady of another breed and it was like she didn't exist as I was walking behind her trying to pick my way through.
Why do many of the exhibitors of this breed essentially isolate themselves? Manners cost nothing and some exhibitors clearly lack this or any form of show etiquette!
I won't tar them all with the same brush but many of them are ruining for the rest whether bad manners of the banned double handling.. Judges should stop until this practice is halted!

Didn't GSs lose their CCs a while back because of double handling? I may have imagined that but I feel like it was before the conformation stuff kicked off.

One of my obedience shows is run by a local GS club who also hold a breed class. Quite a challenge for 30 dogs in a stay ring with a class of whooping, squeaky toy obsessive people running around! Funny to see and it doesn't bother my dogs, but it seems absurd, unnecessary and I can see why many would be upset by it.

Oh how silly! I've no idea why they do that, as I know for me in a ring full of other dogs, keeping mine silent would be the problem! Haha