Sunday, May 31, 2009

Put 'em to work!

Age:  10 Months


After lugging all of the extra brushes, sprays, towels and treats required for the dog shows, we decided it was high time Piston lend a hand!  Shopping at our local pet store, we were happy to find this Shiloh sized doggie backpack.  Below is a photo of Piston modelling his new pack :)

Monday, May 25, 2009

Down and Dirty

Age:  10 Months


We installed a "Doggie Dooly" in the corner of the backyard and Piston was quite sure we needed a hand with the excavation :)


Monday, May 18, 2009

IABCA Show Weekend - Pittsburgh, PA

lAge: Nearly 10 Months
Weight: About 95 pounds

Saturday May 16

Show 1


This was our first show EVER! The judge wasn't particularly impressed with us - in fact he did mention that this isn't something you just naturally do, most people train for it. So what can we say? We did win our Class - but that was easy being as we were the only male Shiloh in that age group. Next round he was up against the other male Shiloh puppies (under 12 months) and Scout took that honor. We knew it was going to be tough having never been to a show ourselves much less competed in one. The judge did provide some nice feed back on our written critique included below.


Judgement
Overall Impressioncorrect size & good bone
Coatgood texture & length
Headnice size & proportions
Bite, Mouth level & complete
Eyesnice almond shape & dark
Earsnice length
Chestfull to elbows
Front angulation fairly good
Back angulation fairly good
Top line straight & sloping
Tailfairly well placed, good length
Movementgood overall



Show 2



We had been there for a few hours now so Piston was starting to get a little more into the swing of things and this judge was a bit more accepting on Piston's puppiness. We once again won our class and then went on to win best male Shiloh Puppy. Next round, he lost to Molly as overall Shiloh Puppy - but that did give him best of Opposite Sex Puppy as he came out top of the boys. Below you'll find this judges comments.


Judgement
Overall Impressionnoble proud carriage
Coatdouble
Headbroad
Bite, Mouth scissors
Eyesdark, almond
Earserect, equal width at base to height
Chestappropriate for age
Front angulation nice lay back
Back angulation balanced to front
Top line straight
Tailcorrect sit
Movementlovely side gait with good R&D



Sunday May 17



Show 3



Ma told us he needed the puppy fuzz around his ears and head groomed so... even tho we hated to see that last bit of puppy fluff go, Margaret gave him a trim in the motel doing a great job blending it with just some short little sewing shears. We also had a full nights sleep instead of 2 hours and a 6 hour drive prior to the show. LOL. Now this judge really liked our boy. He talked to us afterwards about all the things he likes in this breed and the things he sees missing in GSD that we have. Some of the things he mentioned to me were his Wide solid backend. Broad Typey head, solid structure and just overall balance. He mentioned he has a lot of size and tho that can limit the working ability it is per the breed standard and he does move very well. He commented that he showed some puppyness but that he thought he has alot going for him. then followed that up with "but the handler needs some work."


Awww... not that its any surprise there. I never would've thought i would even TRY showing and suddenly here we are. So at that point I'm feeling like I'm the only thing holding him back... so much for no pressure. LOL. Below you'll find this judges written comments.


JudgementVery good example of young Shiloh - lots of breed type
Overall ImpressionTop Quality dog
Coatgreat condition
Headtype
Bite, Mouth scissors, full dentition
Eyesdark brown
Earsup alert good feathering
Chestgood depth and forechest
Front angulation good balanced
Back angulation good balanced
Top line level
Tailwell set
Movementmoves great although still puppyish



Show 4



Ok at this point I was feeling some confidence and we had already totally exceeded our best expectations. So although i felt our performance was all on me, I was a little looser since we had done it 3 times and tho i knew i wasnt going to be able to get Piston to stand like a perfect statue i felt that we were gettting the hang of it and we had a lot of improvement. I could see around the 2nd and 3rd shows that he understood what was expected of him... tho he wasnt at all into standing around. Some dogs you could see they loved being out there with everyone looking at them and they liked to show their stuff. Well thats not our boy. He wants action... and is always scanning for something more interesting going on over there. But i did feel like he was giving me more of an effort now.


Well when we got in the ring it actually didnt go all that well. He got distracted on our down and back and lagged behind. That got the leash on his ears and he started to grab at it. This was something he hasnt done since like the first week we had him on a leash!! Good timing. Sometimes you just have to laugh tho. and thats pretty funny. There will be more shows and we will do more preparation. This was pretty short notice and we had only worked on mostly the trotting in a circle a few times because I didnt know how he would do going in a left hand turn and he never had a problem. I must say tho, these rings were really cramped for us. He really didnt enjoy the trot in them much.


Below you'll find this judges written comments.


JudgementDecent example
Overall Impressiongood example of breed
Coatgood thick and texture
Headgood planes
Bite, Mouth good full dent.
Eyesgood shape and color
Earsgood set on
Chesta little narrow in fore
Front angulation good - 2 dew claws
Back angulation good
Top line good
Tailcorrect set on and carriage
Movementgood loping



Best in Show



For our best in show comps I could see he was really mentally fatigued from 2 days of being restrained and he was pretty much done standing around. He was always in the front of the line except for 2 times and that made it super hard for us too. He kept wanting to turn around and check out the other dogs, at one point he was even looking back while running. I just didnt get his best out of him and for that i was dissapointed. I really wanted to represent our breed better and take best in show for all the Shilohs. But in truth we are truly ecstatic with 2 Best in Group and it was an honor to be in Best in Show. Good Job Piston. I am so proud of you boy. :D


We wanted to be there to represent the real deal vs. the slivers and i really wish they had been there like we heard. I'm looking forward to seeing All of Us vs Them someday.


Don't forget to check out the web gallery for more photos - including the rest of the Shilohs that were at the show!


Sunday, May 10, 2009

Tight Fit

Age:  9.5 Months
Weight:  Too heavy to fit on the scale with David!

It is so easy to forget just how big our boy is getting!  But today....as he was trying to lay in his favourite spot in front of the door, it became glaringly obvious that he is not a small puppy :)

Thursday, May 7, 2009

A more refined request to go out

Age:  9.5 Months


Thought we'd show off the much more refined request to go outside.
Be sure to compare the video below to his earlier performance here:  I Think He Wants to Go Outside...

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Visiting the Lake House

Age: Just over 9 Months
Weight:  95 pounds

While visiting family in SC we took a trip out to the lake house where Piston was able to frolic with new friend Maggie who is a hound dog mix and Dawson the Jack Russel.  Okay, Dawson wasn't always the most friendly, but Piston and Maggie had lots of fun and she ran Piston until they were content to take a nap and do it again later!






Click on any of the photos above to go visit the gallery.