Sorry to be bothering everyone with what may seem quite a trivial question but to me it's not? I attended my first GSD 'show' yesterday, purely as a spectator to see what goes off etc- this may be due to the fact that I have a rather nice bitch, and typical of me, I'm on an endless quest for more knowledge on my breed. There were some real beauties there and it was an utter pleasure to attend. I know this question was posted a while back but I can't find the thread so I'm asking again- What does all the 'Post Grad Dog', 'Limit Dog' etc etc etc mean! What do all the initials MPD, SYD, OB etc stand for? I gather the OB stands for 'Open Bitch' but what does it mean?

Could someone please help with all the classes and their meanings?

Stacey x x x

Hi Stacey

MPD - Minor Puppy Dog
SYD - Special Yearling Dog

Post Grad classes: for dogs not won a challenge certificate or 5 or more first prizes at champ shows: in certain classes

Limit Dog: for dogs not won more than 3 challenge certificates or 7 or more first prizes at champ shows : in certain classes

I am still learning myself, but have to give the credit to the Paignton schedule !! :D :D

Natasha

Hello stacey, This is what they mean,


Minor puppy-for dogs of six and not exceeding nine calender months of age on the day of the show.

Puppy-for dogs of six and not exceeding twelve calender months of age on the day of the show.

Junior-for dogs of six and not exceeding eighteen calender months of age on the day of the show.

Novice-for dogs which have not won a challenge certificate or three or more first prizes at an open show and championship shows minor puppy, special minor puppy, puppy and special puppy classes excepted, whether restricted or not.

Graduate-for dogs which have not won a challenge certificate or four or more first places at championship shows in graduate, post graduate, minor limit, mid limit, limit and open classes, whether restricted or not.

Post Graduate-for dogs which have not won a challenge certificate or five or more first places at championship shows in post graduate, minor limit, mid limit, limit and poen classes, whether restricted or not.

Minor Limit-for dogs which have not won two challenge certificates or three or more first places in all at championship shows in minor limit, mid limit, limit and open classes, confined to the breed whether restricted or not, at shows where challenge certificates were offered for the breed.

Mid Limit-for dogs which have not won three challenge certificates or five or more first places in all at championship shows in mid limit, limit and open classas, confined to the breed whether restricted or not, at shows where challenge certificates were offered for the breed.

Limit-for dogs which have not won three challenge certificates under three different judges or seven or more first places in all, at championship shows in limit and open classes, confined to the breed, whether restricted or not, at shows where challenge certificates were offered for the breed.

Open-for all dogs of the breeds for which the class is provided and eligible for entry at the show.

Veteran-for dogs of not less than seven years of age on the day of the show.

AV Not Separately Classified-for breeds of dog for which no separate breed classes are scheduled.

Special Beginners-for exhibit and exhibiter who have never won a challenge certificate; exhibit to be handled by the owner.

There are some i have missed out, anything you want to know, just ask:D

Diane

P.s Welcome to the confusing world of dog showing!!!!!

So what exactly is the special yearling?

Stacey x x x

Special Yearling = For Dogs of 6 and not exceeding 24 calender months of age on the day of the Show.

Sweep

Hi stacey, well I will try. In all cases the D is for dog, and the B is for bitch. At open shows it is usually something like...Puppy Dog or Bitch,
Novice Dog or Bitch, Graduate Dog or Bitch and Open Dog or Bitch.
At Championship shows there are lots of different classes, and some breeds have a lot more classes than others. I will try to remember all I can. At Championship shows the classes are divided into seperate sexes, so I will do the Dog ones, and at the show, the same classes would follow later for the bitches. Here we go,( not all breeds have this many classes) Minor puppy dog,Puppydog, Novice Dog, Maiden Dog,Special Beginners Dog, Graduate Dog, Post Graduate Dog, Mid Limit Dog, Limit Dog, Open Dog. At breed club shows, after some of these classes, you may well get colour classes, progeny classes, veteran classes, stud dog classes, movement classes, head classes, the list can go on and on. Hope this helps a bit.

So what or who decides what class you enter in then? What is the BOB (Best of breed I presume) but what determines if you can enter this class?

In the National GSD mag the show dates die off towards the end of the year and we miss the Sheffield CH Show by 3 days- it's on the 22nd of Sept and Kass isn't 6mth until the 25th:( If we carry on, provided Kass is still good enough and all her teeth come through correctly etc- it'll be next year when we enter any shows so what class would Kass be in?- she'll be 1 on the 25th March 2003.

I had a great day yesterday- made a few contacts including finding out and speaking to the vice chairman of both the Derbyshire GSD and Sheffield GSD clubs- he lives in the same village as me and doesn't know it yet but he's my new best mate- when I see him out and about exercising his dogs:D I found quite a bit out re training classes- only ringcraft though- none of them seem bothered in agility:(

Thanks Metpol Fan and Lisa68 for all your (continuing-I hope;)) help- you're both 'pricelsess' assets to me;)

Stacey x x x

You basically go by age of dog, so if she was say 6 months old you can go in minor puppy, or puppy, and then when she gets older you can go in for junior which is from 12-18 months old, dont put her into classes with older dogs, like if she was 8 months old and you put her in graduate, the older dogs would be much more mature than she would be and you would probably get no where, BOB you are entered in for when you win your class that you have first gone into then all the winners of the previous classes go up against each other and the winner of this class will become BOB (best of breed) that then goes on to compete in BIS(best in show) against all the other breeds that have won BOB in there groups. Hope this makes sense Diane.

Hi Stacey,
Pleased to hear you enjoyed your day - just a shame you didn't come and find me! :-(

Nicky

If you can get hold of a few schedules that will list all the classes and the definitions, breed clubs have the most classes, like Novice, Debutant & Mid. Limit. Any class called Sp. or Special may have different definitions at different shows so it is worth reading the schedule well before entering. JH

Funnily enough Nicky I did see you with China- I think it's more a case of I know you (from your site) but you don't know me:) I didn't know whether to approach you or not as I wasn't sure if you'd remember me- I was the pain in the backside that kept emails coming and going from you when I was trying to find a puppy. You actually gave all my first pointers and helped me establish what I was looking for within the GSD world re bloodlines, type etc;) I take it you've not entered any in the national today? One lady I spoke to- her husband had her dog in the ring and she said she's taking the bitches down today- hectic schedule eh:)

Nicky who did you have in the ring yesterday?

Stacey x x x

You should have come and said hi - you'll know for next time! :-)
China makes me easy to spot, I suppose. lol
Pleased to hear you've got sorted with your puppy - you'd better get a handler booked now for your shows! <vbg>

I was supposed to be going for a day out at the 2-day, but got back yesterday to find that my lift had cancelled cos her cow hasn't calved yet (she thought it would have by now) so she couldn't leave it. :-(

I had Tyler (N Byzance) there yesterday - he finished 3rd in Limit but I think he's heading for retirement soon as he's just bone idle and won't work in the ring when he's supposed to. He's entered at another couple of shows then I think that'll be it.

Have you sorted out yet when/where your first show will be?

I don't even know if I will show- I'd like to but she's still young and a lot can change between now and then, even then she might not like it. There were two top bitches in the litter and after lots of Sue's friends in the breed looking, they didn't help much because some liked hers and some liked mine, she finally decided on one and I got the other one, so she's got the best start I suppose if I do show her, Terry Hannan was one of those who thought mine was best too:) The top dog was still there too- he was going to Nikki Farley- he was a right bruiser:)

I'm thinking of going to the West Yorks one for a few hours in the morning (7th July), at Huddersfield. I'll probably take her with me then, so if you're going I'll come over this time so you can have a look and see what you think.

Stacey x x x

Has Sue got you sorted with training classes (and/or helpers)? If you want to show her German style, it really is a team/joint effort so you'll need to find a good club that is prepared to help you and not just let you struggle to try and train her by yourself (already been there & done that :-( )
Even if you intend to show her yourself middle-of-the-road style, its still worth taking her to a good german style training class and teaching her to gait (properly!) out in front of you as a lot more are being shown this way.

I won't be at West Yorks - got nothing to show and my only GSD shows left this year are Blackpool & WKC (the rest of my shows will be with China). It would have been nice to see her though, as I quite like the look of Enzo so it'd be nice to see what he's producing (and also to see what you've ended up with after all those emails! <vbg>).

I don't think I'd ever end up being as serious as you and some of the others are- I only really bought her intending on having a really nice pet, it's just coincidence really that I ended up with one of the top bitches from the litter and the Derbyshire show was very, very close (next village) to me and I liked what I saw and what went on;) This is going to sound daft because I didn't catch the fella's name but he's on the committee for the Sheffield and Derbyshire clubs- he introduced me to Anne and Mel Hardy (Amhard) who gave me a few details of training classes etc and their card if there was anything else they could help me with, which I thought was rather nice:) Like I say I'll never end up that serious so I wouldn't mind going to training classes and learning how to handle her myself, then again maybe it would be nicer to have a handler and watch her in the ring myself? I don't know the possibilities are endless at this point in time so who knows.

Thanks for all your info though when I was looking:)

Stacey x x x

"I don't think I'd ever end up being as serious as you and some of the others are- I only really bought her intending on having a really nice pet"
LOL - that's what we all said as well! :-D
Then you win a few rosettes, make new friends and ........
.....well, here we all are <vbg>
When I first started, I think Derbyshire was one of the first Ch shows we did and were made to feel very welcome. They've got a nice committee who always seem happy to help (it was probably Tony Stanbra that you spoke to - he's judging at Blackpool).

I would rather handle my own dogs, but they go better for a handler (too soppy with me and not on their toes) so it doesn't leave me much choice :-(
If you're fit enough and can get the best out of your pup, then give it a go, but I would also see if you can get someone else to help handle at training classes then she's used to being handled by someone else from being young so its no big deal to her if you decide at a later date that she'd go better for someone else.

Oh well, enough rambling - I'd better get some work done :-)

That's what Carol Sykes said to me-'that first bit of ribbon-you'll be hooked'- she said everyone did exactly what I've said in the beginning and things just tend to escalate;) How do you all go on arranging and picking your handlers?- is there some sort of list somewhere or something? You're right- it's a good idea to get her used to being handled by someone else- if I do go on;) The committee guy I spoke to lives near me (same village), within walking distance, so if I ever see him out he'd make a good friend would he:D

Stacey x x x

LOL - see, we're all just sad addicts, really!

Handlers - that's the hard bit. Ask Sue about that one, or see if you can find someone (who knows what they're doing!) when you go to training class that will be going to the same shows as you and isn't already booked to show for someone else.
You will tend to find that once the regular handlers start to handle a dog, they will continue to handle that dog where possible throughout its show career so try not to leave it too late if you intend to use a handler. This also makes it more difficult if you only do a few shows, as your usual handler will probably handle other dogs in the class that you would have been in and you may not get them back again if the other dog is being show regularly :-(

Sounds fun, eh??
Now you know why I show a German Spitz as well! :-D

(Oh, and if Tony tells me he's got a stalker, I'll know who it is? <vbg>)

There are still other Championship shows on after Sept.

There is Driffield and Midland Counties in October, and Ladies Kennel Association in Decdember! The LKA is a lovely show, and has a Christmas atmosphere, as people give out cards, and do their doggy christmas shopping from the Trade Stands!

Do you want to do champ shows straight away? usually start of with open shows first to see how you get on and whether your dog is good enough to show as it is a lot of money to enter a champ show, open shows go on throughout the year, then you have to find out which judges like your type of dog, im best going under all breed judges as they seem to like callum better, he does not do well under gsd judges, although i still show him as it is good for him, but he is not a show type shepherd so therefore doesnt look like a show dog, he is a big powerfull looking dog, straight back even when he stands he does not slope down, and really moves, but he is from working lines, and therefore that is against him in the ring although it should not be, good luck when you start to show her.

Metpol Fan- you're going to have to send me some photo's of him and Lady;) I've heard that much about them (not forgetting buffy;)) it would be nice to see them:)

Stacey x x x

E-mail me your address, and i will send you some of them:D

E-mail sent- put your address in-then I can return them:)

Stacey x x x

I have just been told by my other half that he can send them through e-mail, as we have pictures stored in the computer, he is just finishing off something and then we will e-mail them to you Diane.

They should be winging there way to you this very moment.

Having trouble sending e-mail to you, it wont accept it for what ever reason, your e-mail account isnt full is it?

My account isn't full so I don't know why you're having trouble sending them- I'm still receiving them as I type this, so I'll let you know if I receive them alright;)

Stacey x x x

Thanks Diane- I've got them, three wasn't it. It's quite funny really- Lady looks elegant-exactly like a Lady and Callum on the photo where he's sat just looks all noble and serious- how you'd expect a policeman to be stood for a photo:D To say how old she is she doesn't look her age does she- shame she's not human really I could have scored a few brownie points off her eh;)

Stacey x x x

It was six that we sent, on two different e-mails, was there any of buffy that came through?

I only got Lady and two of Callum I'm afraid- none of Buffy. The trouble can't be this end because I've just received an e-mail from Sue(breeder) asking about Kassie.

Stacey x x x

I have just sent it again, fingers crossed.

Diane- I've got it, I got it last night actually but I was just going to bed si I didn't post a reply- there was a receipt attached though:) They're sooo nice, the photo of Lady was lovely, you're room must be lovely with these professional photos of your dogs;) For some reason I imagined Buffy being an orange cocker so now I can put the name to a face and I know she's not:)

I've got to wait until later today before I collect my photos of Kassie:(- impatient eh, it's not that it's just that I've seen your's, one of Philippa's many boys and Cleo's boy- I'm dying to distribute my bitch;)

Stacey x x x

Hi Kash,
Have you got those pictures of kassie yet? Dying to have a look at the female mock!

What a coincidence- I've literally just finished sending them before I came back on here:)

Stacey x x x

Surely not a Mockadilly! She looks absolutely adorable...

Ah but the pretty face's just a decoy- to lead you to believe she's an angel:D

Stacey x x x

Yep, and no classes for GSDs at Mid Cos or LKA and no CCs at Driffield :-(

HI,
Can i high jack your topic briefly ;)

I have just been trying to locate my local breed ringcraft class (well bull breeds) and the lady who runs it told me not to bother with obedience classes... Obviously i am still going to, mainly for the socialisation of solo with other breeds, and different ages of dog. However, she went on to say that if i did go to basic obedience not to get him to sit too much as then they constantly sit down when gone over in the ring - does anyone know if this is the case really?
Also, do you think that it is worth going to a breed only class for ringcraft? There is one much nearer to me (about 20 mins rather then nearly an hour) that does all breeds... Someone else has suggested that i go to breed only to get the basics of breed handling, then change to the any dog class to keep the practice up? Whilst someone else again has said that any breed classes are a waste of time as staffords are shown differently to most other breeds...
Any one have any sensible suggestions! :D :D

I'm going to ringcraft classes with Kass, unfortunately the nearest one's miles away for GSD's, apparently the numbers attending shows etc has fallen drastically, it could be due to the foot & mouth-who knows? But however I am still going to obedience classes with her because after all she was bought first and foremost as a pet:) Don't you know anyone within the breed who shows who you can ask?- What about Solo's breeder?

Stacey x x x

Thats the problem Kash! I have asked a few people that i know in the breed, including the breeder and they all give me different answers about breed ringcraft.
But what that lady said about the basic obedience and dont teach sit to much is the first that i have heard...?

When you are showing your dog you want it to stand, so when i first started showing callum i was also doing obediance but was told to stop by another exhibitor because when you run round with a gsd, they will be anticipating the sit command and also he wasnt moving fully because of the heel work he had been taught, so the obediance was put on hold for a while until he had learnt how to show properly, now i do both and he gets on fine.

Sounds sensible now that its been described properly!
I can teach basic obedience myself, so will happily hold off on the obedience part until the end of the summer, and start taking him to ringcraft in about 3-4 weeks. BUT i still want him to be socialised with lots of different types of dogs in a safer than park environment, and am not sure how to go about that bit of it... Any ideas?

It sounds like a load of rubbish to me, but then again I don't know 'jack';) I think (nobody kill me this only applies to some that I've heard of;)) that if you run kennels and the dog is kept outside then it doesn't matter too much (to the individual owners) whether the dog has manners or not as they don't really live with the dog, providing the dog behaves in the ring they're okay. On the other hand if you're dog's are first and foremost in your mind or live WITH you then I would have thought it a must that you attend obedience classes, unless you're experienced enough not to, as the dog having good manners is a MUST since the little blighter is with you all the time I know what I'm trying to say, I just don't think I'm getting my point across how I want to And I in no way mean this personally to anyone on here;)

But like I said I don't know 'jack s**t' and you worry too much;) Deep breaths Alex:D :D :D

Stacey x x x

Diane as I was posting my last message you've posted that:) Answering a question I was going to ask you later:D I want to do both but which do you do first? I would have thought the most important first, which to me is obedience, like I say first and foremost she's a pet, also because I would have thought that without an obedient dog you're not going to get her listening at ringcraft And surely the sitting part comes in handy as you have to wait for the other contenders in the class to go too? Your specialist GSD knowledge needed here please:)

Stacey x x x

What i did was small amounts of obediance just enough to have a well behaved dog and then concentrated on the showing side, if you really want to do obediance classes then tell the instructor that she is going to be a potential show dog and when the class do there sits you do a stand, otherwise you are going to have her sitting all the time when you want her to be standing, callum i do not allow to sit when he is in the ring at all so he knows that when he is in there he has to be stood all the time whether relaxed or in the show stand, is your gsd german lines, if so you are going to want her running out in front of you which puts pay to you doing obediance, no heel work, if you are serious about showing you are going to have to make your mind up which activity you are going to do.
Decisions Decisions:D

I have just seen the photos that you sent kassie looks lovely a nice shape from what i can see, the only picture that i could see properly was the one of her lying down all the others were to big, they went off the screen probably to many bytes, is that what they call it? anyway she looks like a nice pup be nice to see how she turns out, looks like she maybe quite a chunky build were her parents?

Diane- click on the paper clip in the top right hand corner of the e-mail- then open from file- I think that's what it says- then you view the whole page rather than scrolling down:)

Stacey x x x