ukc show/weightpull

there was a ukc show and weight pull this last weekend we took roxi "the mystry dog on the end in the west side xmas party" sown for her first show and she did really good for her first time unfortunetly she was the only gsp so she didnt have any one to go agianst. but it was a garanteed 1st. im so proud of this girl being a rescue and comeing from the the back ground she has just come so far to be able to go out there. also beth and jeff brought down pheonix and tundra. phenoix showed in the puppy class and did quite well, tundra gave weight pull a try and with a little more practice i think will get it down. we also ran into kel down there with her dogs im not quite sure how they did. but here are some pics.
roxi



tundra



pheniox



kels dogs









j-man

Wow fun pictures! Looks like a good event. Those pointers are stunning! And I really hope Kel's boy won the conformation.....he looks the most athletic by far!

Thanks, Annie. I can guarantee you that he was most definitely the most athletic GSD in the breed ring. Unfortunately, we had several judges this past weekend who seem to believe that GSDs should have extreme angulation, walk on their hocks and pasterns, and have drastically plunging toplines. So, he only won his class in two of the five shows. It doesn't help when the #1 GSD (very angulated) is owned by the host club's President/Secretary who, in turn, picks the judges for the event. Had Baako won three of the five, he would have taken over the #1 spot. Unfortunately, due to the fact that some judges still think overangulation is a good thing in a dog that should be built for working... he will have to settle for the #3 spot. Of course, considering he is the youngest dog in the GSD Top Ten, has been showing for by far the shortest time period, and is also the only dog in the group to have titles in things other than just conformation... I'm pretty proud of him being that highly ranked. I believe that also makes him the only GSD in the Top Ten to have ever earned a Total Dog Award (and he has several).

The boys did great in wpull this weekend though. Baako set a new PB, pulling 2000 lbs (on wheels) and was just under 2000 each of the other two days. Jack Tar pulled a new PB of 2430 lbs, and pulled not much under that the other two days. So, I am very proud of them. I have yet to verify it for certain, but I believe that Jack Tar is the #1 pulling GSD in any wpull org. I have yet to find one on record who has pulled more, or anyone at an event who can recall another GSD coming close.

It was nice to see some other REAL WORKING GSDs in the ring this weekend for some of the shows as well... Polo, Steel, and Ace being of particular note. I really hope that someday GSDs who don't look crippled will be the norm in the breed ring again, rather than the exeption.

Good job to the GSP girls for their first tries at breed ring and wpull! I'm sure they'll both get better and better with time.

Kel, that's really cool that they're ranked so high! It's awesome that they're "total" dogs....I've never been fond of conformation, but when dogs like your boys win (who do WAY more than just show) I can nod in agreement! (and it's unfortunate that the judges don't see that!) Connor's never had the joints to go all-out, but he definitely has the personality. It's hard to tell him to stop, but it's harder to let him keep going. I'm biding my time until I'm out of college and I'm going to get another lab or just a dog.....but I'll pay CLOSE attention to build and background. I'm hoping to get a true, healthy field (probably pointing) lab who will have the whole package! Pretty much just like Connor....except the new guy will have the body to do what his mind wants.

I'm with you, really... never been a big fan of conformation. "Form follows function" (Max V Stephanitz quote ) has always been my motto. Of course, form should be what function requires... which means healthy, well balanced dogs. I mainly do breed ring just to prove that point.

I totally agree with you on Connor... he definitely has a lot of heart and drive!

Jaime, thanks for the pics! They're great.

Hi, I may have a silly question to this, as I am new to this, weight pulling, are they their own event/show? Or are they grouped in the ultimate air dogs, competition? Or are they in the agility shows etc? Is there a schedule for these events? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much! Scott

they are ther own event. weight pulling dosnt really have any thing to do wit UAD other than there are a few people that compeat in that as well. usually weight pulls are put on by clubs and can also be tied in with ukc events. you can look on www.ukcdogs.com and check for upcomeing events. if its a ukc event your dog will have to be registerd with ukc aseither a full or limitid privlage registration to compeat in those events.

Yup, like Jamie said above. Weight pull is a totally different sport, separate from all the others. Pulls are sometimes held in conjunction with other events, but not always. The pics from above were from an event that had both weight pulling and conformation. The "Total Dog Awards" mentioned are offered at UKC events where both conformation and a performance event are held. If a dog wins with competition in the breed ring, along with earning a qualifying score in the performance event, they earn a Total Dog Award.

UKC and the American Pulling Alliance (APA, website here: http://www.weightpull.com/) both offer pull competitions in MI. Both groups are very nice and we've attended events for each. There are several pulls in MI coming up, the soonest being some UKC pulls in Leslie in Jan and Erie in Feb.

is it done by weight classes, I would highly think so, so all breeds of dogs are grouped in their perspective weight classes? Thanks again for being so patient and understanding, in all my silly questions. I am just trying to learn, as my wife and daughter are just as excited as I am in getting involved in this amazing new popular sport!!! Again, thanks in advance for you patience and understanding in all these questions! You are a great group of ppl, and can't wait to meet you all at all this events! Happy Holidays to you and yours! Scott

all of the dogs seperated by weight class and i belive ther are 2 diferent wagons a biger one and a smaller one kel knows a bit more than i do so she can probly explain it better